Hi again from a new member. Here's a question I haven't seen in the archives: I live in France, and am wondering whether anyone else here lives in France, or knows the answers to these questions:

1) How do you ask for Ketostix in French? I speak French pretty well, but this one stumped me. I went to the drugstore and asked for "the little pieces of paper used by diabetics to measure the amount of ketone bodies in their urine," but the pharmacist looked at me as if I had three heads. I'm sure they're available; after all, France has diabetics -- even if it doesn't have overweight people, I swear -- but I just don't know the word.

2) France is pretty much a paradise for low-carbers in a lot of ways; lots and lots of lovely meat and foie gras and cheese; but there are NO low-carb products in the stores. I guess according to everyone here, I'm better off avoiding Frankenfoods anyway, but does anyone know if there's any specialty store in France that might supply things like Splenda?

3) I'm looking at all the info on artificial sweeteners, and I don't see good old saccharine mentioned. What's the word on that? Here, it's pretty much a choice between aspartame and saccharine, and from what I'm reading, aspartame isn't highly recommended. I'm avoiding sweeteners during induction, trying to break the back of that sweet tooth. But if I make it through induction without killing anyone, my mouth is watering to try that low-carb chocolate peanut butter cup recipe. Could something like that be made with the French equivalent of Sweet'n'Low?

Thanks!

haha. sure there are low-carbers, ask any diabetic if he eats carbohydrates =).

I used to smuggle in boxes of splenda on my trips to France and sell them out for 20 dollars each =).

-Dave

Cool! So all I need is to find the black-market Splenda smugglers and I'm set! I bet the Russian mafia controls the trade. Wonder if the guys up in Belleville who sell hashish and trafficked women from Eastern Europe could hook me up? If I disappear, alert the American Embassy; I've probably been arrested for trying to buy illicit Splenda.

Now ... back to my question about saccharine ... what's the deal on that? Maybe I don't have to risk jail or being stuffed in the trunk of some French Splenda-mobster's car?

Atkins was ok with saccharine. It is aspartame he did not approve of. Can you buy stevia there-it is a herbal supplement. Expensive but a workable solution.

Thanks! I've never seen Stevia here, but would love to hear from anyone who has, and to learn exactly where they found it.