Whee! WTG on tracking down an answer! You're a bull dog for the truth!

Thanks, that'll sure make me drink easier.

WOW. Coffee here I come. Thanks!

Thanks for the clarification! Definitely good to know.

Mmm, instant does have carbs though. Think I'll start drinking real coffee!

great news, indeed.

But please keep in mind that Dr. Atkins didn't ban coffee due to the carb content, but because he believed the caffeine could trigger cravings. Then there is the whole dehydration issue.

--nw

And yet, the Atkins Accel supplement contains caffeine (50 mg, and it is meant to be taken three times a day)...that makes me wonder if it is really so important for people to give up their morning coffee...

Hip, hip, hooray! This is good news! Although I admit I never gave up coffee in the first place when I started Atkins last August, it's good to hear this news. There have been days when I had five or more cups, which Fitday counted as 5 carbs. Plus I add cream, which adds carbs as well.
Good job investigating

Justfor fun: Wow, you should host some kind of TV thing where the reporter doggedly pursues the carb truth!

In regard to drinking coffee, Atkins was "against" it because caffeine lowers blood glucose levels so if they are already really low, caffeine may give you a twinge. I never gave up my coffee though and have done just fine. But you have to be prepared for an occasional inner scream for sweet. A second thing is that I read in a book I got recently "eat and drink", oh, shoot, what is the name! Sorry, it's at home so I cannot look it up. Any way I know I got it from a link at mainecottagefoods.com when I was shopping there a few weeks ago. And the author, who is this big nutrition guy, had a *lot* to say about the drinking/dieting thing. And he basically said fluid is fluid is fluid and that coffee is A-ok. That you have to have 8 glasses of water in addition to everything else you drink is just a medical urban legend. I totally love this book. Maybe "eat, drink and be merry"? "eat and drink to be healthy"? Oh, for pete's sake, I need a cup of coffee!

The low blood sugar/coffee thing was recently studied and it was found that it does happen, but only in people who are not habituated to it.

As far as caffeine and dehydration, caffeine makes you pee slightly more than normal, like 1T more. Not exactly an amount that will lead to dehydration.

Are you talking about Dr. Dean Edell's book? He's not a nutritionist, he's was an opthomologist but then he got into talk radio. He likes to go after the medical urban legends and find the truth of things. Although, I think he's a little hung up on low carb diets (i.e. he doesn't like 'em).

This is from www.lowcarbexercise.com

Caffeine on a Low Carb Diet?

Q: In all that I have read about low carb diets I have yet to read anything concerning the consumption of coffee. I have two small children, so "my time" is 4:30am starting with strong coffee (with half&half and splenda) followed by my "harder/smarter/shorter" exercise! Any comments on the coffee intake here?


A: There's been a lot of back and forth thinking about coffee. Some used to say that it dehydrates you, now others say it doesn't. Some say if you're going to drink coffee then drink an extra glass of water to offset it. Some even claim that caffeine can help you lose weight. Who to believe?

The one thing I know about coffee is that it impacts your blood sugars in a negative way (you probably didn't want to hear that!) In most people caffeine reacts in their body the same way a high carbohydrate meal does -- quick energy surges and then a crash (while wreaking havoc on a steady metabolism and thus, weight loss).

Ideally I encourage people to trade in their caffeinated coffee with decaf. Sometimes this works without a hitch, but other times people go through withdrawal symptoms such as headache, irritability, and fatigue (it's like breaking an addiction). My best advice is try trading the caffeine for decaf for a†couple of days, but if you're up at 4:30am (Yikes!) that won't be an easy feat. If you don't miss the caffeine then great! (And you might get enough energy from your shorter/harder/smarter workouts, anyway.) But if you start experiencing withdrawal symptoms, then add it back in.

If you're not trying to lose weight and if this is your only cup of the day I wouldn't worry too much about it. However, those people who drink it all day long aren't doing themselves any favors and may have more trouble reaching their fitness goals.

My two morning cups are of the 50/50 variety. Alas, I used to always drink the fully leaded stuff.

But that was before I started low-carbing. I switched to the half-calf when I started in January - and haven't looked back. :-)

Even now, if I eat breakfast at a restaurant, I get the decaf. They don't usually offer the half-caf, although I guess I could ask them to mix a cup with both. Hmmmmm, that's a thought.

Either way, I'm not going to sweat 2 morning cups of coffee every day. Besides, several studies have also suggested many health benefits to a couple cups a day. And I'm a diabetic. My sugar does NOT spike after my morning java, and I check it religously.

And now - it's carb-free. Except for the cream (.5 tbsp) and DaVinci syrup (.5 tbsp) of course.

JFF

Are you going to let fitday know about this?

This is great, thanks for sharing. I might have to call there - I've E-mailed a couple coffee companies about the carb content of "flavored" whole beans like hazelnut, and I've yet to hear a reply from any of them.