Heavenly Di-ette D'Lights Offers Atkins Products

By JOSELYN KING

link to article

The terms "low-carbohydrate" and "sugar-free" do not mean "taste-free" at a new food shop in Lansing.

Heavenly Di-ette D'Lights, catering to diabetics and those on the Atkins Diet, has opened at 54917 National Road in Lansing. Among the offerings there are low-carb cheesecakes and chips, as well as breads and sauces.

Diabetics also can find sugar-free Belgian chocolates at the store.

Owner Linda Nedley worked 13 years at Wheeling Hospital, then went on to work at Veterans Administration hospitals in Martinsburg, W.Va. and West Palm Beach, Fla., while specializing in diabetics research.

Her own husband suffered from diabetes, and Nedley said she was able "to get him off insulin" largely by reducing his sugar levels through the low-carb Atkins Diet.

"I know nutritionists who won't endorse the Atkins Diet because it is so high in fat," she explained. "But they admit that following the diet has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels (in the dieter).

"You can control the amount of fats you intake as you are on the diet."

For Nedley, the issue of health and weight loss is a personal one.

"I have dieted all my life and spent thousands of dollars on weight-loss plans," she explained. "The only thing that I have found that has worked for me is the Atkins Diet. It's the only thing I could live with."

Nedley added that last year she had a near-fatal experience that could be attributed to one common diet product. On July 5, 2002, she sustained a brain hemorrhage that doctors believed was related to her use of Ephedra.

"After this, I became so scared by all diets that I just decided to start eating like a normal person," she said. "But this doesn't work for me, and I quickly gained 40 pounds."

The experience led her to believe that weight only can be controlled through proper nutrition.

"I tell people now if you can't lose weight with a proper diet, just don't do it (try to lose weight)," Nedley explained.

Nedley retired after her brain hemorrhage, and she and her husband moved back to the Ohio Valley from Florida. They now live near Seneca Lake, and Nedley travels each day to her shop in Lansing. Many family members live close by, and she terms the area "home."

At the front of the store is one table by the window, and Nedley hopes the public will stop in, sample some offerings and feel free to discuss their diet questions.

Nedley added her shop soon will offer low-carb ice creams, and she expects to continually add additional products from the Atkins Diet line.

The shop is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Those with questions about Nedley's products can call (740) 635-7131.