I hadn't heard of almaseed, but i just had a look at this site and explanation of it.
http://www.almased.com/t/what-is-almased
I won't bother going into deconstructing all the sales chatter but will just say this. I agree with Jack.
Since this product is low carb and if that is what you are living on, or even if you are just substituting one or two meals with it, you might as well go and do low carb proper. I am sure you will find it much more enjoyable than a formula and i'm confident that the food you'd eat on a low carb diet is much more nutritious and healthy.
I would recommend getting hold of one of the older Atkins Diet books as i'm told the more recent ones are not written by him and they put products more which is unnecessary.
I started off my low carb experience at 100 per day and found it very enjoyable. But this doesn't get you into ketosis so i am down to around 40 per day which is still not as low as many go when they start out. I prefer to be a vegetarian that's why i didn't go down to induction level of 20 carbs per day. At 40 i'm eating quite a lot of fish and seafood but also tofu.
These days they say that you should be careful with eating a lot of soy, which is what that product is based on. The only good soy if you are going to eat a fair bit of it is fermented soy as in tofu, tempeh and miso and something else. I admit i'm also drinking soy milk in my coffee but i won't be doing this forever either.
I must say that low carb is pretty luxurious way of eating. Basically i am not worried about any of the health aspects of it. I've read widely enough to have my initial concerns answered.
Some issues come up often with low carb that i think are not difficult to deal with if only you know.
1. You need to consume more salt, because when you go low carb, you lose a lot of water and salt naturally because low carb is a diuretic diet. I didn't believe that when someone on another forum told me. Luckily i didn't contradict her. if you get any little headachy thing happening, that's telling you you need salt. So drink a bonox or similar and add more to your meals.
2. Constipation is an issue for a lot of people. It is for me too but you should take psyllium fibre (about 1 dessertspoon per day) and eat the maximum recommended amount of vegetables.
3. Although in low carb its generally said that you don't get so hungry, when you are starting you can experience it when you carb stores (glycogen) run down). Apparently what you have to do then is to eat. I was not eating quite enough and got caught out with this, one day getting really hungry after i'd eaten all my food. But i haven't had it since then.
4. Another thing i had to adjust to was the way i managed my meals and their sizes, i.e. the spread of the calories. In the beginning, i think its helpful to eat most of your calories earlier in the day i.e. at breakfast and at lunch with a light dinner in the evening. The reason is again about managing hunger particularly in the beginning. I think now that i seem to have adjusted to the ketogenisis, i could probably get away with a light breakfast, average lunch and big dinner if i wanted too. I've been doing 40grams low carb for 11 days now.
I am really come round to the view that low carb dieting is probably the very best type of diet for diabetics. The books explain why. I have read one atkins book, but not finished it, The art and Science of Low carb which Phinney and Volek but its very technical and seems to be directed to doctors but worth the read anyway, especially if you are a diabetic, however maybe start off with something easier first. But i've heard about a really good book for diabetics written by ruhl and she has a website phlaunt.com. I have read a number of her articles and really like her general approach. I use her nutrition calculator to work out the ratios of all the macros and calories for weightloss.
I am doing this for a little while and will head back to being around 100 or 150 carbs after a while for weight management. But i'm not diabetic and do not have insulin resistance so my weight is easier to manage than those who have the condition. But if you do have the condition, i would think you can enjoy a pretty good life living the low carb way, it just means that the variety of what you can eat will always be a bit more restricted than someone who feels they can eat more carbs. after 6 weeks, i am just starting to miss bread a little bit so i can have that when i go back to about 100carbs. And a wide choice of fruit
But this is what i'm eating at the moment on 40g carbs: wine, coffee with soy milk and cream or soy and coconut cream, eggs, a wide range of cheeses, tofu, fish, other seafood, miso, butter, almost all vegetables which i am enjoying more than ever, olive oil mostly, a little peanut and sesame oil, occasional nuts (more when i'm on higher carbs, ditto seeds). My latest luxury has been strawberries with marscapone cheese which is like very heavy cream. Its to die for. I cook my fish under the grill, or in the frypan either in butter, oil or coated in sesame seeds in stead of the usual. Coconut milk is great for making stewy things in. Lots of salads made up of raw vegetables. I make soups.
When i go up to 100 i can add in more nuts, and seeds, but less cheese, legumes and lentils of all sorts, milk and unsweetenend yoghurt, and stop the soy milk which is not my first choice. Occasionally i will have some pasta, some rice, and some bread, just not every day but its nice to know i can have it so don't feel deprived. I also have a single piece of dried fig or fresh dates sometimes. You have to be careful with things like that because its very easy to start nibbling and continuing to eat them so resolve and determination is essential even on this type of diet.
I have totally quit sugar since the beginning of the year and find this to be one of the best things i've done. No honey either. I rely on fruit for sweetness and enjoy stewed fruit with yoghurt.
All of that said, yesterday i went out to a fashion parade at which they served a "high tea". And going along with my rules over sugar, i had one small serve of cake - walnut. I piled it up with cream which is allowed on low carb. On my quit sugar regime, i can have sweets when i am out and find myself being offered them. I have totally let go of the idea of buying them myself, cooking them and eating them at home etc. And also of scoffing them one after the other until all are gone. That way of eating is over for me - because sugar controls me when i let it.
Anyway i wanted to share this so that you knew you do have a good alternatives to buying diet products. Whatever you choose be well informed, and be committed then you will succeed. Also being a little organised helps. I don't plan my meals but when i go shopping i stock up on all the wonderful things i can eat and then its easy to decide on the spot what to eat.
