Weighing the low-carb craze
Products with fewer carbohydrates may not taste as good, but that isn't stopping shoppers
By Joe Yonan, Globe Staff, 3/17/2004
http://www.boston.com/ae/food/artic...low_carb_craze/
When Steve Kapner started the Atkins diet last December, he got help during the "hard core" two-week induction phase -- when he couldn't eat fruit, bread, pasta, grains, starchy vegetables, nuts, or most dairy products -- by supplementing meals with Atkins Nutritionals Inc.'s shakes.
After losing a quick 12 pounds, Kapner fast-forwarded through some of the program's remaining phases, slid straight into maintenance, and now considers himself on "modified Atkins." He stays away from all refined sugar, tries to keep other starches to a minimum, and allows himself some grains and fruit. And he doesn't religiously track his carbs. "I do sort of have in my mind that 15 to 20 [grams of] carbs per meal would be good," he says. "So maybe one meal a day I'll count, and the others I'll sort of let float." Kapner, 37, who lives with his wife and two young daughters in the South End, is one of an estimated 32 million people in the United States who are following what the company founded by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins calls "a low-carbohydrate lifestyle." Just as fast-food chains such as Subway have rolled out menu items to capitalize on the craze, food manufacturers are weighing in with packaged products that can be found not only online or at health-food or nutrition-supplement stores, but at supermarkets. Although Atkins Nutritionals, which makes hundreds of products, is the undisputed industry leader, it is far from the only player. The milk Kapner buys is the result of a cooperation between Atkins and New England's own HP Hood Inc. He also buys chips made by Robert's American Gourmet, which saw success with the popular Pirate's Booty, and ice cream from Klondike, whose chocolate-covered confections are a junk-food classic.
In fact, many manufacturers have knocked off their own or another company's popular snack food, hoping to satisfy customers who want, say, cheese puffs without all the carbs. The effect can be seen up and down the supermarket aisles.
"In the last few months we've added products that we like to call `quality meal solutions,' " says Terry Donilon, spokesman for Shaw's Supermarkets Inc. "That includes pasta, sauces, marinades, candy, soup. It's just really exploded."
Consumers have noticed. "When you see a low-carb version of something you haven't had in a while, it's exciting," says Melissa Bachman, 33, who isn't following a specific low-carb program. "You think, `I can have that again!' "
But while manufacturers aim to satisfy the demand, Kapner, Bachman, and other customers give the low-carb versions decidedly mixed marks. "I certainly would eat more pasta and . . . bread if there were really good substitutes for them that are diet-friendly," says Brian Kern, 30, of Brookline, who is on the South Beach Diet. "There are passable substitutes that are still somewhat high in carbs, but they're not super satisfying, and they're not super diet-friendly."
Bachman is blunter. "I tried some of the energy bars, and the texture is gross," she says. "The low-carb waffles are pretty good." She describes low-carb breads in the most unflattering terms.
Indeed, when an informal panel of a dozen tasters at the Globe sampled reduced-carb products beside their regular equivalents, we found a few pleasant surprises but otherwise little to love. We tasted 14 pairs, which were presented without packaging and, where possible, were cut to make both products similarly sized (to reduce the possibility of prejudice). In only a few cases were the tasters unable to determine the lower-carb version from the regular. Granted, in some instances the appearances easily gave the identity away because some products are so distinctive: Nothing else looks or tastes as much like a Dorito as a Dorito.
But there was some good news. Only two tasters, for instance, could tell which of Entenmann's butter loaves had fewer carbs; many found the lower-carb one moister. Tasters had a similar reaction to two Ragu pasta sauces, finding them difficult to tell apart. Both Klondike ice cream bars were also well received.
On the other end of the spectrum, Danielle brand lower-carb pasta drew more than one comparison to cardboard, Hood's low-carb "dairy beverage" was likened to watery chalk, and snack chips by Atkins, Trader Joe's, and Robert's American Gourmet were compared to packing materials. Most of the chips were faulted for off-putting aftertastes.
But taste is just one element to consider. The nutritional content is crucial. While food companies are introducing new products right and left, the Food and Drug Administration has not yet established standards for recommended daily intake of carbs, nor, therefore, any definition of "low carb."
Other labeling issues make packaged products even more complicated. Some, such as Thomas's Carb Counting Bagels, were deemed by the Globe panel to have a decent flavor and texture, but at 18 "net carbs" per serving, and a serving size 40 percent smaller than that of a regular Thomas bagel, its standing as a low-carb product is questionable. "If you're not trying to lose but trying to maintain your weight, maybe you can have one of those now and then," says Kay Hobkirk, who under the pseudonym of "Boston Kitty" operates a website devoted to low-carb information. "But [18 carbs] for one meal is huge for a lot of people. And they don't even taste very good."
The "net carbs" idea, in fact, is controversial in the nutrition community. To arrive at that figure -- which is designed to reflect that some carbohydrates don't have the same effect on blood sugar as others -- manufacturers take the total carbs and subtract the fiber and in some cases a substance called "sugar alcohol." Some nutritionists question whether sugar alcohol, which can cause a laxative effect, can justifiably be subtracted because it affects people's blood sugar differently. Which means that products such as the Entenmann's butter loaf or the Atkins Endulge candies may not be as friendly to carb watchers as they might seem.
Finally, there's price. In only one of the 14 pairs sampled was the low-carb version cheaper by weight, and in many cases the price difference was vast. Shaw's charges $2.19 for a half-gallon of Hood milk, for example, but $3.49 for the same size of Hood's Carb Countdown Dairy Beverage, or about 60 percent more. And while 12 large Reese's peanut butter cups cost $2.79, a package of three small Atkins Endulge peanut butter cups costs $1.49, or almost four times as much per gram.
Even so, sales are strong enough that Atkins alone expects to introduce 100 packaged products this year, almost tripling the number it introduced last year, says chief marketing officer Matt Wiant. But he urges consumers to remember that no diet should be built around such products alone. "You're going to get a better balance of nutrients if you eat whole foods," Wiant says.
Other carb counters second that idea. "One of the reasons I like to do all my own cooking is I like to know what's in my food," says Hobkirk, whose website includes recipes. "If you're willing to spend the time, you can have complete control and eat delicious food, and it's real -- none of this artificial stuff."
Joe Yonan can be reached at yonan~globe.com.
"Products with fewer carbohydrates may not taste as good, but that isn't stopping..."
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