Greeks have no appetite for the Atkins diet

(Denver Post) - Walk through the maze of streets in the Plaka, the oldest neighborhood in Athens, and the aromas hit you in the face. Cinnamon, nutmeg and filo dough. Pasta, fresh bread and feta cheese. Falafel, lamb and red wine.

For the nearly 60 million Americans who have fallen head-over-steak knife for the Atkins diet, Greek cuisine represents the third circle of Hades. The majority of the Greek diet stands for everything the low-carbohydrate, high-protein Atkins diet professes to avoid.

With the Summer Olympics here, Atkins-subscribing Americans might think they'll starve.

Talk to Greeks, however, and they say they've lived quite healthily without the Atkins diet for, oh, about 5,000 years. Yes, they know the Atkins diet. It came to Greece in the mid-1990s. Yes, they've tried it. No, they have not punted their pasta maker or dedicated their culinary life to meat and dairy products.

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