Low-carbers can have beer and nachos, too

By KIM SEVERSON, San Francisco Chronicle

July 7, 2003

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A bag of chips and a bottle of beer might seem like a dieter’s nightmare, but in the brave new world of low-carb eating, they’re the darlings of the moment.

Michelob Ultra, a low-carb beer by Anheuser-Busch, and Carb Solutions, high-protein nacho cheese chips, are but two of the hundreds of new products filling supermarket shelves as people on reduced-carbohydrate diets search for substitutes.

The popularity of foods formulated to be especially low in carbohydrates and often extremely high in protein is a testament to the strength of the nation’s latest diet craze.

An estimated 30 million to 50 million people have adjusted their diets on the theory that carbohydrates — not fat — cause weight gain. The low-carb diet, popularized by the late Dr. Robert Atkins, has enjoyed a resurgence in the past few years.

The approach has caused plenty of controversy because it goes against years of weight-loss advice that centered on losing the fat and increasing complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Researchers also caution that the long- term effects of the diet haven’t been studied.

Still, there seems to be no slowing the low-carb train. Because Atkins and other diets based on similar principles restrict foods like breads, pastas and sugar, a market for replacement foods was created virtually overnight.

Candy bars, pancake mix, crackers – even bagels – are being reformulated and sold as low-carb diet options.

Atkins Nutritionals offers 30 low-carb foods, double the lineup offered in 2001. And stores like Safeway and Target are giving over precious shelf space to products low-carb devotees crave.

The foods have even edged out low-fat or fat-free products in shoppers’ grocery carts. A comprehensive study of American food trends published by the Institute of Food Technologists magazine shows that more consumers are interested in trying a new low-carb product than a low-fat one.

Although supermarkets carry many low-carb products, particularly "meal alternative" bars and shakes, the Internet is where many low-carbers finding substitutes for the foods their diets deny them.

Ketogenics is one such site. The company sells chocolate candy bars with 2 grams of carbs; waffle and pancake mix heavy with whey and soy protein that have just 5 grams of carbs in three pancakes; and even low-carb pasta.