Low-Sugar Products Are Great For People On Low-Carb

I came across this article from KCEN-TV, the NBC affiliate in the Temple/Waco/Killeen, TX area, which documents the transformation we are seeing from low-carb to low-sugar products on grocery store shelves.

This topic is still very fresh on my mind since I just completed the chapter in my book about sugar. And this article validates some of the points I made in my book regarding these "low-sugar" and "sugar-free" products. Unfortunately, the story also had to take a swipe at Atkins as "losing fuel."

What is so incredibly hilarious about this so-called drastic shift from low-carb to low-sugar/sugar-free is that most products that contain little to no sugar in them also happen to be low-carb! So while they may not call the products low-carb anymore (for whatever reason!), I would contend these low-sugar/sugar-free products are just as good for your low-carb lifestyle.

In fact, some companies are already changing their marketing strategy with their low-carb products by calling them low-sugar now although they haven't changed the ingredients one bit. I wrote about this in a post on Sunday.

"Low-sugar" and "sugar-free" products are being heralded as the "latest diet trend" to hit the market. Oh really?!

Ever since I started livin' la vida low-carb, I have eaten lots of lots of sugar-free products, being careful not to buy anything with hidden sugars in them. That's the danger with so many of these products is they have deceptive marketing. Read the labels very carefully and put that product down if it has too much sugar.

This story says more and more companies are cutting back on the sugar content of their foods, with over 2000 new sugar-free and reduced sugar products released in 2004. But that may not be enough.

Even smaller amounts of sugar can cause you many of the same problems you've been having with sugar. Even worse, food companies see dollar signs with the increased focus on sugar and will implore whatever tactics they have to do to sell more products and increase their bottom line.

A dietician in the story puts it well: "We see lots of products that say on the front 'No Sugar' and when one flips on the back it has sorbitol, which is a sugar."

This is not a mistake being made by the food companies, either. They know exactly what they are doing. They are deliberately taking advantage of a trend while it is burning white hot. When people realize they aren't losing weight or improving their health by using these products with hidden sugars in them, they'll go back to the original versions. The food companies will then say there's not a market for this kind of product and cease production of these low-sugar/sugar-free products.

Then the media will smugly declare an end to the "low-sugar fad" and laugh in the face of anyone who tells them it was a diet worth pursuing. Where have I hear this before?

Oh yeah, it sounds exactly like what they have done with low-carb, doesn't it?