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§ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, January 31, 2003 CONTACT US TTT? 1\ /TTV THEY SAID IT Story ideas? Questions? I I P . 1/1 I /\ v H.L. MENCKEN: “Democracy provides the gamecockmixeditorfoi I I I i I W I I / only really amusing form of government hotma.il.com —I— —I ■ ^ A ? —M— —I— » ever endured by mankind.” _ Dueling Diets Denny Waxman, a macrobiotics teacher, displays some of the foods that make up his diet. Macrobiotics vs. Atkins PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS A typical meal from the Atkins diet might include steak, lettuce, asparagus and gelatin. Macrobiotic diet encourages eating traditional healthy foods, avoiding fat BY MEG MOORE fHE GAMECOCK The ever-expanding American waist line has reached epic proportions. Drawn in by the accessibility of fast food, American society has been super sizing without reserve. Not surprisingly, America’s fast food fixation has resulted in another explosive fad: the quest for a miracle left. The T-bone steak on America’s so called diet buffet, the Atkins diet, has certainly earned its share of publicity recently. Dr. Robert Atkins, who found ed the diet, asserts that by strictly lim iting intake of carbohydrates, one’s metabolism will reduce excess weight by converting fat into energy instead of relying on carbohydrates for fuel. His program stresses that “nutritionally dense” foods are more apt to improve one’s health than low-fat, reduced-calo rie regimens. While many prominent studies, such as those done by the American Heart Association, warn against the adverse effects of high-fat and high-cholesterol diets, the Atkins Diet promotes the con sumption of such saturated foods. Seemingly, this flies in the face of con ventional, and scientific, reason. The research that supports the pro gram’s low-carbohydrates principle stems largely from a Duke University run study. The study, published in the American Journal of Medicine, showed that the program was indeed effective in promoting weight loss and weight maintenance. Yet the report said long term research is still needed to estab lish the regimen’s enduring effects. Opponents of the Atkins program would assert that this is where the pro gram could prove detrimental by not limiting fat intake. Logically, one would conclude that, over time, the added fat would increase dieters’ risk of heart dis ease. Concurrently, the equally publicized macrobiotic diet centers on established healthy foods. The program promotes ♦ MACROBIOTICS, SEE PAGE 7 Tale of the Tape Weight loss is always an. issue in today's society. Which one of these diets is best? Macrobiotics Writer George Ohsawa invented macrobiotics while studying the theories of Japanese army doctor Sagen Ishizuka, who applied Western science to the traditions of Eastern food. Macrobiotics proscribes mostly vegetarian foods. Certain fruits and vegetables are more important than others - in macrobiotics, sodium and potassium are the “yin” and “yang” of foods, respectively. Atkins With more than six million copies of his "New Diet Revolution" sold, Dr. Robert Atkins made Time’s 2003 "People that Matter” list. Completely opposed at first, Atkins has won a few supporters in Ivy League schools. Atkins claims that, contrary to nutritional orthodoxy, fat has little to do with weight gain unless coupled with a high-carbohydrate diet. Processed carbohydrates release unnecessary insulin, which is used to store the energy as fat. High-fat Atkins diet appeals to many, but creates raging health controversy BY COREY GARRIOTT THE GAMECOCK Did you gain weight over the holi days? Or are you sick and tired of feel ing sick and tired? Perhaps you’re thinking about a diet plan. Dieting, of course, is defined as the tragic roller coaster ride of caloric deprivation, endless cravings and eventual relapse. Or maybe you’re building a personal torture chamber to save yourself the trouble. Forget about all that, says Dr. Robert Atkins, author of “Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,” a book that you’ve proba bly heard about. Atkins advocates eat ing as much as you want whenever you want, including meats, dairy and oils. Can something sp counterintuitive be anything but a fad diet? Harvard, Yale, Duke and The Journal of Clinical Nutrition think there’s some thing to it. In fact, the Atkins diet is the public face of a raging academic debate over the food pyramid. For 30 years, he’s been beating one point home: The culprit, he says, is in sulin, the hormone that converts car bohydrates to fat. Our bodies adapt to what we eat, Atkins writes. A sugary diet teaches the body to expect more sugar, so it main tains high levels of insulin in the blood. Unfortunately, constant insulin binds the body to one use of carbohydrates: fat storage. It’s called hyperinsulism, and it’s a cause of adult onset diabetes. Insulin became counterproductive be cause humans evolved to expect a pre historic diet. Our body stops being hun gry when we get enough of that diet, which happens naturally with fatty foods. Think about how quickly waffles satiate. But carbohydrates were a precious energy source, so the body thinks it can’t get enough. It was right — until refined, processed foods became avail able this century. Bleached flour and refined sugar are nothing but sugar. According to Atkins, we are instead designed to eat protein-filled meats, fat ♦ ATKINS, SEE PAGE 6 Love Apple won’t linger long in Columbia PY ELEANOR SIBAL W liAMKCOCK Over the past two years, Love Apple has established itself as a staple of music entertainment in Columbia. The band has released a full-length album and has plans to play shows in Atlanta, Raleigh and Charleston, as well as at the Lettuce Lounge tomorrow night. Love Apple will play only two or three shows in Columbia this semester. “Our next show is in late April, and if you don’t catch us now, you’ll have to wait a long time to see us again,” guitarist and singer Jason Sposa says. This Saturday also marks the first time they will play with a new drummer, Garrett Suggs, former ly of the Beatholes. “We’re pumped. It’s gonna be a good Sbow,” Sposa says. StJust a couple of years ago, Sposa was working as a key check er at the Towers. There, he met Love Apple bassist Jebb Graff and guitarist George Cooper in the laundry room. They talked often about music and their similar in terests, and, soon enough, they formed a band. These days, all the members have graduated except for Graff, who is a fifth-year media-arts stu dent. Different paths aren’t stop ping them from going further with dieir music career. “We’re in the band for the fun of playing music with three good friends,” Graff says, “but if fans want to fund us, then we don’t mind that either.’’ Sposa is now searching for a job, but is mostly a professional rock musician. “I’ve graduated and everything, and I’ve applied for jobs, but 1 don’t want to stop what I’m doing with the band and then regret it years later,” Sposa says. The band’s cur rent. self-titled al PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Love Apple will play the Lettuce Lounge on Friday in one of its few local shows this spring. The band is, from left, Jason Sposa, George Cooper and Jebb Graff. bum is an impressive and conta gious 31-minute dose of melodic riffs and simple, sweet lyrics (yes, sweet) that any college student can relate to. Notable tunes include the amusing “Winnie,” the pleadingly sweet “Need You So,” and the stel lar-sounding “88 mph.” Diversity is alive on the album, and although the group is sometimes reminis cent of Weezer and Alkaline Trio, it still maintains an original style. The band tried to mimic its live shows on this album because of the positive response members got from their audience. “We basical ly got a popular reputation for do ing good live shows,” Sposa says. “We tried to get that feeling on the disc. It only took us four days to produce the CD. We had very lit tle studio experience, and we think it turned out great.” Third-year criminal justice stu dent Brandon Rast has been to eight shows and thinks their new album “rocks.” “It captures the essence of Love Apple and garage band geek rock,” he says. “They make you rock it like you rock it. Bravo.” Love Apple will be playing old songs, as well as new tunes that are not on the album. Feable Weiner and The Starchildren will open the show, which starts at 9 p.m. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockm ixeditor@hotmail. com Local food market offers diet options Natural-foods store supports local vendors BY CAITLIN COKER THE GAMECOCK Big Macs and processed foods have done their share of damage to the American populace. A paradigm shift in our eating lifestyles must occur, or people won’t be able to see their own feet. Such a drastic change in habits makes grocery shopping hard—thankfully, one can turn to Rosewood Market for natural foods. The store’s current location at 2803 Rosewood Drive has been serving the organic needs of the community since 1988. Among Rosewood shoppers, the popu larity of macrobiotics peaked in 1995 and the Atkins diet has be come popular more recently. Although macrobiotics and Atkins diets are complete oppo sites, Rosewood has an exten sive variety of products that fit both categories. Browsing ran dom aisles, a fan of macrobiotics can find Honey Grahams made with organic grains, Amy’s Organic Burrito and flax cere al; a high-protein fellow can choose from creamy soy soups, a variety of tofu burgers and soy milk. The grain consumer and car bohydrate-restricted person can even collide in the same aisle, which houses special macrobi otic and Atkins diet sections side by side. The Atkins section has a multitude of low-carbohydrate bars, pudding and bread mix es, shakes, high-protein pasta, and even unsweetened ketchup. Next to it, the macrobiotic-de voted shelves contain whole grain rye, buckwheat groats (toasted grain also known as kasha), garbanzo beans, teas, wasabi chips and five different kinds of dried seaweed, among other things. Ben DuBard, Rosewood Market’s manager, admits that this is a strange pairing, since the two diets are juxtaposed. He says that Rosewood is “not com pletely purist.” Unlike Earthfare, Rosewood does carry some products with artificial ingredients, such as ♦ ROSEWOOD, SEE PAGE 6