Aaron Gillum's views of society, tempered with a quick wit and an acerbic writing style, make his columns both fun, and unique. With each issue, Aaron offers a fresh perspective into the catalysts that drive society; weaving these observations into refreshing, provocative pieces.

It has begun. Just a year ago, this low carb way of life was looked upon by the outside world more as a fad than a real system for healthy living but today... today, we are witnessing the birth of low carb into the mainstream American consciousness. Low carb has arrived... it is now the star of beer commercials.

That's right. Formerly reserved for only the most gifted of washed up celebrities, retired sports heros, and bikini models, the spotlight now falls on low carb. It seems that a couple of hundred years ago, a few beer recipes accidently made beer with lower carbs than their competitors and their modern advertising divisions are nearly wetting themselves over this good fortune. I'm sure the McCarb-burger is already being pored over by a braintrust of chemists as we speak, and that somewhere there is a graphic artist putting the fine print "(of mainlining cane sugar)" under a big, bold, bright red "HALF THE CARBS" logo on my favorite soda can.

The counter culture aspect of low carb is coming to an end, for better or worse. I'm left wondering what becomes of the community that has surrounded it for so long. For starters, until regulation catches up, I predict an onslaught of flashy labels bordering on outright fraud as they splash low carb propaganda around their packaging. Like the terms "diet" and "low fat" in years past, it's going to take a little time and a lot of lawsuits before regulations are passed to define the term "low carb".

You won't have difficulty steering through the land mines at the grocery store, of course. You've adopted a disciplined eating lifestyle already and have a consciousness surrounding food that most of the world does not. However, there is going to be someone in your office or church that drinks a six pack of sugared sodas every day, but has replaced their morning toast with low carb bread. Just as many switched from whole to 1% milk to wash down their bacon, egg, extra grease breakfast combo in the low fat Eighties, we might very well see a flood of good intentions turned sour by an education based on flashy promotions and 45 second morning news bites.

Secondly, like any sub-culture, some will fall out of the lifestyle as it, in effect, becomes Pop. As hard as it may be to deal with the craving at times, or as difficult it may be to eat a low carb menu in our fast food lifestyle, there are those occasions when low carbing sets you apart in a good way. There is something undeniably chic about a person that is different and particular. That convenient conversation starter you've used when bumping into another low carber disappears when suddenly the whole world seems to be a part of it. Some of us are more dependant on the "cool factor" than we'd like to think. Cravings conquered and menu regime entrenched, the loss of identity might be the downfall of many a good low carb dieter.

You — the faithful and steadfast — will be called upon to right these wrongs. Reluctantly at first, I'm sure. After years of snooty waiters rolling their eyes, and co-workers treating you like a mutant cross between a cult member and an IRS agent every time the topic comes up, you'd be justified in lurking in the shadows just a bit longer. You aren't going to have to shrink from the fear of being labeled an evangelist as in the past, however, because you won't be starting the conversations. Instead, you'll be the one they seek out because you were low carb before low carb was cool.

For your friends that seem to drift from the lifestyle as this "fad" is found by the masses to be a working plan for health and weight loss: Give them a little extra support and remind them of all the great health benefits that pushed them to begin in the first place. They are going to need your informed and experienced help more than ever to combat the flood of new arrival "experts" watering down their support structure. Peer groups like the one found here at Low Carb Luxury will now be more important than ever.

And if all of the facts, all of the packaging, all of your urgings, and all of the news coverage doesn't drive a special person in your life to come over to the winning side, tell them that there must be something worthwhile to it. After all, they show the commercials during football, right?
                                                               

Copyright © November 2003  Aaron Gillum and Low Carb Luxury