It's hard to miss all the talk about low-carbohydrate diets these days. Whether it's the Atkins, South Beach or one of myriad other weight-loss plans, the food world seems obsessed with limiting or even omitting the intake of high-carb items.

While they're not abandoning popular staples like tortillas and rice, Mexican restaurants are responding to the low-carb craze—and for good reason: The percentage of Americans who identified carbohydrates as a diet "don't" skyrocketed from 11 to 40 percent over the past year, according to a Unilever Bestfoods survey cited in the Jan. 11 issue of The Boston Globe. And a Harris Interactive poll conducted last summer for Novartis Consumer Health Inc. estimated 32 million Americans were on some kind of high-protein, low-carb diet.

"Many people's perception of Mexican food is that it's cheesy, beany, gooey food. And while that does exist, and we love that kind of food, there are a lot of lighter dishes," says Scott Linquist, co-executive chef at New York City's Dos Caminos Mexican restaurant, who was featured on CBS Television's "The Early Show" in a January feature on low-carb Mexican fare. "I do believe it's good for Mexican restaurants to have some low-fat, low-carb options.

Dos Caminos doesn't list the number of carbohydrates or calories in each dish. Instead, Linquist makes his menu "user-friendly" by letting customers order jícama and cucumber wedges to dip in the salsa and guacamole if they don't want chips, and fresh, grilled vegetables instead of rice with entrees like the Chilean Sea Bass a la Veracruzana and the Shrimp and Vegetable Relleno. "We educate our servers about what can be ordered or changed to accommodate low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets," he explains.

Dos Caminos is not alone. Last October, the Don Pablo's chain introduced Low-Carb Lettuce Wrap Fajitas at all 109 of its locations nationwide. Made with smoked chicken, mahi-mahi, or Black Angus sirloin on a bed of yellow squash, zucchini, button mushrooms and asparagus, the fajitas provide a complete meal for 15 carbs per serving. Don Pablo's also created the Lo-Carbarita—a low-carb version of Don's Real Margarita with just 1.5 carbs.

In January, Chili's Grill & Bar, owned by Brinker International, debuted its new Knife & Fork Fajitas.

January also saw Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill chain enter the low-carb arena with its Lettuce Tacos with just seven net carbs for three tacos at 105 of its California locations.

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With the Hispanic population on the rise, it's important for restaurateurs to understand the diet and health issues affecting this important customer base. Hispanics, for example, are more prone to diabetes than any other group in the United States. While the exact reasons for this phenomenon aren't clear, some traditional Hispanic foods are high in carbohydrates, according to the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging— and research shows the total daily carbohydrate intake affects blood glucose levels because carbohydrates break down into glucose (sugar) early during digestion. Says Dr. Carmen Castaneda of the Research Center, "Hispanics who live in the United States are more prone to having diabetes than those who stay in their native countries because they tend to eat larger portions of these foods here." —Source: Daytona Beach News Journal, Aug. 31, 2003

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