The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that most of Europe – with the exception of the UK – has proven generally resistant to the lure of the low-carb diet trend.
Part of it is cultural. Germans like to eat sausage and potatoes, eggs and bread. Italians like to eat pasta. And the French like to eat their croissants. These culinary habits go back generations, and people there have no intention of changing them, being somewhat more resistant than Americans to fad diets.
In addition, while Europeans may eat foods that Americans would think of as unhealthy, they eat far less of them, also being immune to the “all you can eat” craze.
But there’s another tradition that may make low-carb diets less necessary – Europeans like to walk. Everywhere. All the time.
Part of it is cultural. Germans like to eat sausage and potatoes, eggs and bread. Italians like to eat pasta. And the French like to eat their croissants. These culinary habits go back generations, and people there have no intention of changing them, being somewhat more resistant than Americans to fad diets.
In addition, while Europeans may eat foods that Americans would think of as unhealthy, they eat far less of them, also being immune to the “all you can eat” craze.
But there’s another tradition that may make low-carb diets less necessary – Europeans like to walk. Everywhere. All the time.
- KC's View:
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So Europeans have a balanced diet, eat less copious amounts of food, and get plenty of exercise.
Sounds like a plan.
Actually, we think that walking is one of the great pleasures in life, especially in cities that have a vibrant street life. Our kids don’t like to New York or Boston with us because we refuse to take cabs…they think we’re cheap, and simply don’t understand that the way you see, feel and smell neighborhoods is from the sidewalk, not from a car window. And it has the added benefit of being exercise.
The Europeans have it right. And they’d probably really be healthy if so many of them weren’t smoking all the time…
