Atkins Diet: Daily Sweetener Limit
August 17, 2010 by Low Carb Website
Filed under Atkins diet
In this video, I deal with a much overlooked section of the Induction phase (and latter phases). It covers the daily sweetener limit. Dr. Atkins recommends no more than three servings or packets of sweeteners per day. That means each Diet Coke with Splenda or packet of Splenda in your coffee is counted against that limit. Why did he set the limit at three when the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) levels set by the FDA are usually much higher 6-10 cans of soda for Saccharin or Splenda depending on body weight? First, he of course urged to eat as much unprocessed food as possible, and adding additional chemicals to your diet or sweetened foods was never seen as a mainstay of the diet. It was also useful to break old eating habits of dessert following each meal. To reward yourself consistently with a “sweet.” Your tongue or tastebuds could then begin to relearn how to taste the more subtle sweetness of vegetables and fruit. Finally he wanted to prevent the cephalic insulin reaction from stalling the diet followers. The more sweetness the greater likelihood of that insulin release. Thanks for watching!
@RafaKBLudo On Induction, you should be having exclusively heavy cream – 1 to 2 fl. oz per day limit. It is definitely not a “eat liberally” item.
@RafaKBLudo There is a possibility with any sweetener to cause that cephalic insulin reaction, but it is more common with some than others (aspartame). You do however have it essentially correct. Even food without sugar can cause the body to think it needs to release insulin because the sweet sensors were tripped.
ps: btw, do you know about light cream allowance? People tell me it’s ok, but I don’t think so. While it hasn’t got fat in it, it probably has loads of lactose.
Bowulf, another fellow Atkins dieter here. So what I got from your video is that everything that tastes sweet, including no-carb sweeteners, will invariably give the brain the ‘sweet signal’, so it will release insulin and store some body fat. I don’t know if I got it right. There’s such a huge amount of internet sources stating completely opposite things about sweeteners and other Atkins topics that it would be quite neat to nail down the logic behind it.
Cheers and Lots of Peace from Brazil.
thanks for posting this. i had the same problem and just decided instead of counting artificial sweetener carbs, that i would just not have any.
it took a while but i got used to water and a scarce amount of tea. my weight loss took off like a bat out hell!
The amazing thing is when you start to use them not only in beverages but as cooking ingredients as well. They are an easy way to add a lot of flavor into some dishes like chicken or pork. Just add a little low carb ketchup and a can of that into a slow cooker (some liquid smoke too), and you have a phenomenal sauce.
I agree low carb does kick ass.
Bowulf, a fellow low carber here. I just ran out and got my first case of Diet Rite. I was skepitcal at first about how it might taste, but boy was I surprised. After what you said about aspartame and caffeine I decided to perhaps drop my diet dew and give Diet Rite a shot. Looks like I’m buying Diet Rite from now on, and I’ll keep it limited to 3 cans per day. Low carb kicks ass.
Diet Coke with Splenda, Diet Rite, Diet RC Cola, Pepsi One, Diet Jones Soda, and a lot of house brands of soda.
What diet soda does not contain Aspartame?
thanks for that reply. i suppose the only way is to try it with keto stix before and after
While ketosis is possible on aspartame or its other name of phenylalanine, it does have a nasty reaction in some people of insulin release (cephalic insulin reaction to be technical). While it doesn’t affect ketosis or burning fat, it does enable the conduit that dietary fat can then be stored on the body.
what about on ketosis while on phenylaline?
I noticed ever since I started atkins I don;t get migrain headaches, and acid indigestion is literally gone.
You can definitely lose while taking in aspartame; you might be one of the fortunate few that can take a few cans per day without stalling like others. On Atkins you are limited to 3 servings (cans) per day if that is your only sweetener.
I am glad I can provide whatever encouragement I can to get you to goal.
i started the atkins diet for the 2nd time
im hearing alot about this aspertame and i am a lover of pepsi max its pretty much the only sweetner i will have as i jsut cut out the sweetner in tea or coffie and i dont have it in food.
will i be slowing down my atkins if i drink pepsi max? or how much can i consume a day before it does become a problem?
thanks in advance for any help you can offer
and congratulations on your weight loss your story is inspiering
I am happy for you. You know I think more people have that reaction. Why would I miss bread if I can have this? For me bread or pasta was always carrier or a filler for the things I really wanted. Good job – keep it up!
i just started the induction phase, going on day 3 now, i have to say that its sooo much easier than i thought it would be, i dont crave any carbs and the swelling in my feet has nearly disappeared. i used to have a lot of stomach cramps from foods, i can honestly say that my stomach has not hurt one time!! im soo excited
Essentially yes. They all can cause a insulin response, but aspartame can do it at much lower intake levels. Congratulations on your progress so far, that is impressive! I would agree if you are not achieving the results you want you may want to evaluate your aspartame intake. There are other reasons for it as well. I made a video “why am I not losing?” about this topic, which may help as well.
Is it that sucralose, AceK are OK to have but are limited, and that aspartame is a no no because it sets of the insulin response, or do they all do this? I am a wee bit confused. Thanks! I have lost 11 1/2 stone and now at 15 stone, I am noticing my weight loss is slowing down. I think it maybe the extra food I use with aspartame in. E.g. orange coridial, fizzy pop, sugar free ice pops, chewing gum, sugar free lolipops and mints.
Check out my temptation and visualization video. It deals with these temptations and cravings, and hopefully provides a way out. Yeah, it sucks, but there are ways to make it better.
Induction is so hard…I want some cake or a biscuit or a sneakers. I think I’m gonna break
AceK is typically used in conjuction with another sweetener like aspartame or splenda, so it would still be under the Daily Sweetener Limit. Coke Zero with both aspartame and Ace K would not count twice.
How about Acesulfame K?
Son of a gun… I found this sugar free fruit-punch that completely curbed my appetite giving me back the control and now I know why! haha! I should have known things don’t come that easy.
Not a problem, I’ll just learn to live without it.
Great video again my friend!
For some there is no safe amount. They (~25% of his patients) stalled when they had any of the stuff. Can one drink the stuff and lose? Sure, but while I was losing, I wanted to be sure I was in the most likely to lose camp each week. Choosing to forego aspartame was just one more way to ensure that success.