While diets are certainly nothing new, this latest set of high protein low carbohydrate diets seems to have capitalized on the recent health kick striking across North America. "Zoning" claims to be more of a way of life than a diet. By pushing what should be common-sense exercise habits and combining them with a dietary plan, the zone appears to be the lesser of two evils. Atkins, on the other hand, is a more strict, almost draconian, version of the high protein and low carb combination. This is the most superficial look at the diet as anyone chomping through the diet will argue.

But what is most interesting is the recent corporate interest in these diets from the most unlikely of sources. Subway sandwich shops, for example, now has Atkins friendly wraps labelled with a low carb Atkins seal of approval. In a more unlikely of location, the McDonald's also has a carb-friendly menu available for its supposed health conscious consumers. Most recently even beer companies have begun advertising the number of carbohydrates contained in their bottled wares. If it wasn't a bad idea to drink before, it's ok now, because we're aware of how many carbs we're taking in while doing it.

Have these diets penetrated such a large percentage of the populace that companies have decided that including these sentiments in their marketing is a worthwhile venture? One would think that North America had a better mind than that.

Is it really that we're eating too many carbs? Or is it more likely that we're simply eating too much? One look at the Asian diet should be a good argument that eating excessive numbers of carbohydrates isn't the problem. But apparently everyone in North America is different and we all have solutions that work just for us. One has to be careful, though, to understand the supposed solution and to know both sides of the answer before drinking the corporate punch-du-jour.