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Atkins Low Carb Products

Dillinger

Dillinger

Well-Known Member
Hello,

I'm a bit suspicious of the various low carb stuff from Atkins; on the one hand they claim 2g of carb per serving (for instance) whilst elsewhere saying 'total carbohydrate 35g'. Are they doing creative accounting on this?

Do people find them good/untroubling to blood sugar levels?

I've got nothing against them in principle, just worried by the too good to be true presentation....
 
I've tried the Atkins bars a couple of times and whilst they've had a negligible effect on my bs they have had a huge (and unpleasant!) effect on my stomach each time. Major bloating and wind - enough for me to NEVER touch them again :oops:

Kate.
 
Here is a link to some information about the Atkins Bars and some nutritional information.

http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/snacks/ ... on-delight

They quote net carbs as being 2 - 3.
However when you read the information lower down it states 21g carbs. It is not at all clear if this is per 100g or per serving which is 50g or another figure they quote which is of 40g. (minus wrapper ?)

They also state this: The only snack proven to help stabilize blood sugar for up to 9 hours.
Anybody have the evidence to back this up ?

Dillinger.......you weren't joking when you said it was confusing. :?

Ken
 
I think I've just discovered the same as you and Ken. On the Atkins web site they describe the Advantage (Choc Chip Granola) bars as weighing 48g. They then list the total carbs per bar as 18g and dietary fibre as 6g. In the US you have to deduct the fibre from the total carbs to arrive at digestible carbs, which means each bar has 12g of digestible carbs that will convert into glucose. Yet they claim the bar to have only 3g net carbs. They seem to have divided the total carbs by the fibre instead of subtracting the fibre!
 
I just emailed Atkins in the US to ask if they can explain the apparent discrepancy. Will let you know what they say.
 
From their FAQs
Net Carbs do not include fibre, nor do they include certains carbohydrates like polyols (including sugar alcohols), which act as sweeteners

I don't think the extend bars (those that are supposed to 'help stabilize blood sugar for up to 9 hours' ) are atkins bars.

Much more about extend bars here, with clearer nutritional info
http://www.extendbar.com/about/extendbar.asp
The main thing about its claims is the low gi, the ingredient that it relies on is uncooked cornstarch ( cornflour). One book I remember reading recommends using this to prevent overnight hypos.
 
You are quite right phoenix. the extend bars are made by a different company, I think. They were listed under the Atkins banner.

Doesn't change anything though as the nutritional information given here for Atkin's Bars is almost identical to the extend bars which make me wonder if there is any connection. Same sort of net carbs figure which is contradicted lower down the page. Still confused. :?

http://www.lowcarbmegastore.com/atkins- ... nut-crunch

Ken.
 
Hi all,

Here's the reply from the Atkins organisation on the Advantage Choc Chip & Granola bar that I queried.

Thank you for your inquiry.
You only need to count the net carbs. If you were to calculate by the subtraction method, you would subtract fiber, sugar alcohols and glycerine. However, Glycerine is not listed in Nutrition facts panel, so after you subtract fiber and sugar alcohols, the remainder is coming from glycerine. Glycerine is a product derived from vegetable oil with a rich oily texture and a slightly sweet taste. It is commonly used to retain moisture and sweetness in low carb products. Although glycerine is a carbohydrate, it has a different metabolic effect on the body producing minimal impact on blood sugar levels. For this reason, carbs from glycerine are usually not included in the “net carb count” of products.

However, as long ago as 1999 the FDA raised concerns about Atkins and others misleading the public with their "net carb" claims for their products. Most sugar alcohols have around 60 to 75% of the carbs value of table sugar. Glycerine also raises blood sugar, but it has a very low GI so does this very slowly. It is quite common for people having an Atkins breakfast bar to have a sugar spike some 3 hours after eating the bar! So their claim that glycerine and sugar alcohols have a minimal impact on blood sugar is somewhat economical with the truth!

In fact in the 80s and 90s the Atkins corporation refused to use either polyols or glycerine because of their impact on blood sugar. It was only in 2002 when Atkins relaunched their much extended foods range that they realised they needed a bigger range of sweeteners in their armoury, so they conveniently reversed their previous stance! Just goes to show that where there's a buck to be made things like honesty, principles and truth become the first casualties.
 
I tried them a few times before I understood more about carbs and they did have minimal effect on BG, far less than anything standard would have or certainly anything as carby as bread would.

However I've not really had them since understanding more about carbs as seemed a bit wrong to me too!! Nice to read the science behind though guys!
 
Hi all,

i have tried these bars, and they have very little effect on my BG or my stomach. I find them handy to keep by me in case I get a carb craving. :oops: :oops:
 
I stopped eating them when I realised they were not veggie!!!

I now buy Nature's Plus Ultra Energy Acai bars which they advertise as Low Glycemic sensation and "suitable for Diabetic lifestyles"!! They do have 21g protein in each bar, Total carbs 13g, of which 9g sugar, dietary fibre 1g . There is no "sugar" in the bar but there is fruit and veg extract blends and milk. They are big and I could never eat a whole bar at a time. I keep them in the car and in my bag and take a bite if I am hungry and not near sensible food. My favourite is the Chocolate berry flavour.
 
Hate to disagree, but I quite like these! (Well, some of them) The chocolate bar is terrible, but I have the Atkins day break bars. They claim 2.1 net carbs PER BAR, but this is made up with 8.5 carbs per bar total minus an amount for dietary fibre. (American system). Even at 8 total (which I count to be safe) it's not bad. Low GI,and only 0.6 grams sugar per bar (but 6.4 polyols)
These figures are all for a 37gram bar.
Must say I have no noticeable BG rise, and taste good with reasonable "full" feeling. Bit like a normal cereal bar really, except normal bars send my BG way high.
Try em Dillinger!
 
+1 Grazer

I'm actually a bad low carber. (I'm good at low carbing but I do it in a bad way and eat a lot of "easy" low-carb foods, rather than anything that needs special preparation).

I'm not sure that I trust the "net carb" thing entirely, but I eat the Day Break Bars and the Choclate Decadence bars regularly in lieu of Breakfast and don't see any spike. The pre-made shakes are very nice, and are genuinely low-carb (2g per shake or something).

When I can get hold of them, I prefer PowerBar Protein Plus Low Carb, which I think only have 7g per bar. I eat so many of these, that Tesco moved them from the weight lifting section to the Atkins diet section.
 
You can get them at Amazon, or any number of online places:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PowerBar-Protei ... B00426I3YS
(the nutritional info listed here is wrong, see the link below)

Boots also apparently sell them :
http://www.boots.com/en/PowerBar-Protei ... g_1217527/
(but their were none at my store when I looked today).

They do vanilla and strawberry flavour. You can sometimes get the strawberry ones at big Tescos, usually in the Sports Nutrition section, but sometimes near the Atkins Advantage stuff.
 
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