When you follow the Atkins Diet, aka the Atkins Nutrition Approach, you actually count grams of Net Carbs, which represent the total carbohydrate content of the food minus the fiber content and sugar alcohols (if in the product). The Net Carbs number reflects the grams of carbohydrate that significantly impact your blood sugar level and therefore are the only carbs you need to count when you do Atkins. Foods that are low in Net Carbs such as nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits don’t have a significant impact on blood sugar and therefore are less likely to interfere with weight loss.
You can calculate the approximate number of Net Carb grams of a low-carb product yourself by looking at the information provided on a food label:
Total Carbohydrates
- Dietary Fiber
- Sugar alcohol
= Net carbs
For foods that don’t have a label, like fruits and vegetables, you can use the Atkins Carb Counter, and the calculation is:
Total Carbohydrates
- Dietary Fiber
- Sugar alcohol
= Net carbs
Atkins science allows us to calculate Net Carbs in our products more accurately. In the case of Atkins bars, shakes and other products, the glycemic (blood sugar) impact has been directly tested on volunteers, and the Net Carb count reflects the glycemic load test results. So you can rely on the accuracy of the stated Net Carb count.