Diet & Fitness 

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Diets A-Z: Low carbo-licious?

Another new craze of 'low-carb fever' has made its way across the Atlantic, hitting the supermarket and health store shelves. Advertised as guilt-free chocolate bars - a snack that you can eat without getting fat. But are they taking the biscuit? Dawn Gay investigates

Low-carb bars, such as Carb Minders, Carb Solutions and Atkins Endulge are stacked high in Holland and Barrett, Boots and leading supermarkets. Even Nestle Rowntree have jumped on the bandwagon with their own carb-cutting versions of Kit Kat and Rolos. They join a growing market of low-carb alternatives to foods that are traditionally high in refined carbohydrates, like pasta, bread and breakfast cereal.

According to Nestle Rowntree, the low-carb bar market value has risen to £125,000 from £10,000 six months ago. Sales of Kit Kat and Rolo varieties make up about half of this market.

Carb-bars are popular with consumers looking for a tasty snack or as an alternative to a meal. Seki Tijani, a clinical nutritionist from The Nutrition Coach sees patients who consume up to three of these bars each day, often as a meal replacement. 'Everyone jumped on the Atkins bandwagon as it has done phenomenally well (the Atkins business is now worth 15 billion dollars), so manufacturers are producing their own low-carb and high protein food.'

But is this a trick or treat? As with the fat-friendly Atkins diet, the craze for low-carb is all about eliminating certain food groups rather than cutting quantity. 'It is cleverly marketed - the makers of the bars are saying that you can still have your "naughties" and they won't affect you as they are low-carb,' says Tijani. 'Dieters still want their treats but want to eat something without cheating, so when they eat these bars they feel like they are still controlling their carbohydrate intake.'

Low in carb but high in fat and protein
These bars ditch the carbohydrates, but they are actually no lower in fat than a fully-fledged chocolate bar. A meaty Mars Bar, for example, contains 11.4 grams of fat. The low-carb bars are not far behind, in fact, the Atkins Decadence and Carb Solutions brands contain more fat than a Mars Bar! This bears another close resemblance to 'Atkins New Diet Revolution' philosophy - eat fat and cut back the carbohydrates and your body will eat into your fat stores when the carb reserves get low.

This weight-loss theory is based on the fact that when carbohydrates are absorbed into the body quickly, they are higher on the glycemic index, so blood sugar levels rise and any extra is stored as fat. 'When you eat refined carbs, like white bread and pasta, your blood sugar rises quickly and the insulin kicks in. If you take out the carb, the primary source of energy, the fat will burn as the next source of fuel after the carbohydrates. This is when the body goes into ketosis, using fat as energy,' explains nutritionist Seki Tijani.

Each bar contains 20 or 30 ingredients, from soya proteins to sweeteners, emulsifiers and vegetable fats, but these ingredients don't stimulate the release of insulin and affect blood sugar.

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