atkins is bad :(

[favian]

is this accurate?

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/food/139857_lowcarbsnacks.html


The Atkins Endulge chocolate candy bar, for example, proclaims 2 grams of "net carbs" on the package. The small, 30-gram bar actually has 16 grams of carbohydrates, unthinkably high on restrictive low-carb diets, but the manufacturer subtracts 3 grams of fiber and 11 grams of sugar-alcohol sweetener.

"That's not honest," said Dr. Daniel Preud'Homme, a weight-control expert.



go to the link to read more

[Afox]

I'm afraid it is true thats why anyone here will tell you stay away from the atkins product junk food. especially while on induction. Those bars and stuff are designed for two things. to make money and to make more money. Unfortunately the atkins company has grown to be a big business and like all big business they don't give a crap about the people only their pockets.

Also those candy bars were developed to tide someone over till they can get to a real meal as if in an emergancy situation like stuck in traffic for several hours or lost on a deserted island. Never have they ever been meant to actually be part of the daily diet or even weekly diet although the big atkins co would like you to believe otherwise.

[favian]

I'm afraid it is true thats why anyone here will tell you stay away from the atkins product junk food. especially while on induction. Those bars and stuff are designed for two things. to make money and to make more money. Unfortunately the atkins company has grown to be a big business and like all big business they don't give a crap about the people only their pockets.

Also those candy bars were developed to tide someone over till they can get to a real meal as if in an emergancy situation like stuck in traffic for several hours or lost on a deserted island. Never have they ever been meant to actually be part of the daily diet or even weekly diet although the big atkins co would like you to believe otherwise.


amazing. wouldnt they make more money making actual junk food like snickers or something. seems like they are targeting a small market.

oh well

saddens me

[bevbme]

Dr. Atkins allowed the "net carb" concept of subtracting fiber from carb count since it does not induce the release of insulin like simple carbs.

The sugar alcohols are another issue. They may or may not spike blood sugars.YMMV

There was a law suit settlement about 6months back (Atkins and LeCarb ) that made Atkins redo the labels that show full carbs on nutritional label .
They had to repackage all their products

[cc48510]

Most Sugar Alcohols (Maltitol may be the exception) have glycemic indices in the single digits and are only partially absorbed. The amount absorbed varies from polyol to polyol. Some, such as Maltitol and Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate...are 50-75% absorbed. Erythritol falls on the opposite end of the spectrum...You absorb only 1g for every 20g of Erythritol. The other 19g go right through you unabsorbed. Once you take into account the Glycemic Index and absorption rate, most Polyols...have Glycemic loads of <1. <10 is considered low for glycemic load. Glycemic load is indicative of how much insulin response you will get. Maltitol and its syrups (Maltitol Syrup and HSH) have slightly higher GIs and are as much as 75% absorbed. They may spike insulin...Most other Sugar Alcohols (Sorbitol, Erythritol, etc...) shouldn't.

IMHO, I don't even consider Sugar Alcohols and Glycerine to be carbs. I consider them Alcohols. For LC Diet purposes, they act just like Alcohol. They produce little to no insulin response, and they only stop fat burning while they are being burned. That being said, they are burned before fat. So, while your body may not entirely switch out of Ketosis, as long as there are Polyols present, you will not burn fat.

[GaryW]

cc48510, I think your post may encourage the reader to dive in to Erythritol perhaps more than is warranted. While Erythritol has less digestive complications for me than Maltitol, nevertheless, as Lisa N has pointed out, some people are suffering virtually the same diet-busting effects while taking Erythritol instead of Maltitol. The absorption percentages they claim simply aren't reliable enough to apply to a mass audience. For too many people, anything that even tastes sweet (however the item was produced) will produce too much of an insulin reaction to "compensate".
The voice of experience seems to indicate that "YMMV" is more the rule to keep in mind rather than what the manufacturers - including Erythritol/Eridex - would have you believe are mostly universal constants. When they write that "excess consumption may produce a laxative effect for some people" they are downplaying the reality that even one serving produces said effect (as well as throwing one's dietary progress out the window for as much as several DAYS) for more than just an insignificant minority of people.

My vague understanding of the Atkins Corporation was that years ago, he sold off roughly half of it to some entrepreneurial businessman, and at the same time, the over aggressive marketing/junk frankenfood line of the biz accelerated while the good Dr. seemed more focused on his daily activity of seeing his patients in Manhattan and writing his books... coincidence?

[Wenzday]

well IMO seems that these should only be eaten very seldomly.... and yes you should know that the "2" Carbs listed...well thats really not accurate..most of us need to think of it as a lot more... bu then again I am positive that it has a much worse effect on women...men seem to be able to eat anything and lose on this plan...

[RoseTattoo]

All I can do is cite my own personal experience. Before I started on Induction in May, I tried a period of cutting down my carb intake. I I also allowed myself one sugary thing per day--perhaps a candy bar or a helping of ice cream. My weight was as high as it's ever been in my entire life--125 (I am a very small person).

Then I went on Atkins/Protein Power, spending only a couple of weeks on induction. After that phase, I ate an Advantage bar, Endulge bar, or sugar-free chocolate almost every day. But no sugar or refined flours at all. Now I am down to 110 pounds. So if all I've done is to substitute the Advantage/Endulge bars for the actual sugar stuff I used to eat, I shouldn't have been able to lose/maintain the weight if the "fake sugars" don't actually have as few carbs as the labels suggest. Well, that was a very convoluted sentence :lol: , but what I mean is, in my case, the bars really don't seem to act on my body as if they're full of carbs.

[Lisa N]

what I mean is, in my case, the bars really don't seem to act on my body as if they're full of carbs.

That's why you'll see a lot of YMMV statements in conjuction with sugar alcohols. Some people seem to be able to eat them without a problem, but others seem to react to them as if they were the real thing with the added bonus of gas, bloating and diarrhea to boot. Why? Beats the heck outta me, but that's what I see from all the various posts here on the board.

[Angeline]

While discussing the merits and disadvantages of sugar alcohols, let's remember the bigger picture. Junk food is a big part of why people got so fat in the first place. Remplacing low-fat junk food by low-carb junk is like quitting smoking only to start chewing nicotine gum.

I believe that one of the reason Atkins works is the fact you replace a steady diet of crap food with good wholesome foods.... food that our ancestors would probably recognize as edible. I doubt the same can be said of Atkins bars.

[favian]

someone told me i should eat low carbs before two pm then meals with zero carbs after two pm. is this accurate

[cc48510]

cc48510, I think your post may encourage the reader to dive in to Erythritol perhaps more than is warranted. While Erythritol has less digestive complications for me than Maltitol, nevertheless, as Lisa N has pointed out, some people are suffering virtually the same diet-busting effects while taking Erythritol instead of Maltitol. The absorption percentages they claim simply aren't reliable enough to apply to a mass audience. For too many people, anything that even tastes sweet (however the item was produced) will produce too much of an insulin reaction to "compensate".

I'm not encouraging people to eat Erythritol...I was pointing out that Polyols have two extremes. Maltitol, by most estimates, is almost fully absorbed and causes a significant glycemic response in most people...while, FOR MOST PEOPLE, Erythritol is far less absorbed and produces a much smaller glycemic response. As for those folks it causes a glycemic response in...they obviously should avoid it. But, I would like to see most manufacturers who use Maltitol/HSH replace it with Erythritol.