As we don't have access to that many low carb products in the UK at the moment, I'd be interested in hearing the views of those of you in the US and Canada who do.




Carb Craze Out of Control?
Atkins Warns Consumers About Competing Low-Carb Products

By Daniel K. Hoh


April 16 — Wherever food is sold nowadays, you're bound to see the words "low carb" nearby. In the last few years, hundreds if not thousands of new food products have landed on grocery store shelves claiming low carbohydrate content, hoping to attract dieting Americans.

Now, the originator of the low-carb craze, Atkins Nutritionals Inc., is warning consumers to exercise caution when buying low-carb products. Atkins, which has its own low-carb line, suggests its rivals may not have your best interests in mind.

But some experts say the Atkins warning may simply be an effort to beat out the competition, rather than help consumers buy what's right.

Part of the problem is that the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates such products, has not yet defined what low carb means. Food industry advocate group Grocery Manufacturers of America petitioned the FDA last February to establish clear guidelines for claims made by these types of food products, but the agency has yet to issue a response.

In the meantime, says, Atkins medical director Dr. Stuart Trager, any food product can be labeled as low carb. "But it still may have a net carb count that is significantly higher than what is appropriate for someone following a healthy controlled-carb weight loss or weight-maintenance program. … Besides that, a food can be low in total or net carbs and still be unhealthy."

In addition, Trager maintains competing products can contain additives, transfats and added sugars as replacements that offer no nutritional value. Atkins products doesn't contain any of these ingredients, but instead use fiber, fiber derivatives, and select starches and proteins to substitute for removed carbohydrates.

Commented Keith Ayoob, associate professor of pediatrics and registered dietitian at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, "It sounds like the Atkins folks are finding a little competition in the marketplace and they'd like to hedge it."

"It seems self-serving," says Elizabeth Ward, a nutrition consultant in Reading, Mass. "I don't see any mention of the proliferation of their own products or of the licensing agreements they have with countless other food companies to carry the Atkins logo."


Read the rest of the article at:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Livi...g_040416-1.html