Questions about net carb counter book

[7Miriam]

I have the little companion book by Dr. Atkins to DANDR. It is called "Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter" and has a 2002 copyright date.

Sometimes it lists an item as having net carbs, but the package itself says zero net carbs. For example, I bought all beef hot dogs wih no sugar and no nitrates. The label says 0 carbohydrates. But the book lists a beef hot dog as having 1.2 net carbs. Should I go by the book (and count it as 1.2) or go by the label (and count it as 0)?

Also, the book says (on p. 96) "Tofu is permitted in Induction, but you should not add beans and legumes back in to your diet until you are well into OWL or even in the Pre-Mainteneance phase." I'm confused because tofu is made from soy beans. Since tofu is not listed as an Induction food in DANDR, I'm wondering if this was maybe just inteded for vegetarians and if possible tofu should be avoided. Any thoughts?

[creamsoda]

I'd go by the label as the carb counter book could be based on different brands.

No real idea about the tofu though...I'd assume he means other types of beans and soy beans are acceptable in the form of tofu??

hth a bit

[not2late]

Originally Posted by 7Miriam

I have the little companion book by Dr. Atkins to DANDR. It is called "Dr. Atkins' New Carbohydrate Gram Counter" and has a 2002 copyright date.

Sometimes it lists an item as having net carbs, but the package itself says zero net carbs. For example, I bought all beef hot dogs wih no sugar and no nitrates. The label says 0 carbohydrates. But the book lists a beef hot dog as having 1.2 net carbs. Should I go by the book (and count it as 1.2) or go by the label (and count it as 0)?

Also, the book says (on p. 96) "Tofu is permitted in Induction, but you should not add beans and legumes back in to your diet until you are well into OWL or even in the Pre-Mainteneance phase." I'm confused because tofu is made from soy beans. Since tofu is not listed as an Induction food in DANDR, I'm wondering if this was maybe just inteded for vegetarians and if possible tofu should be avoided. Any thoughts?

It was either in an article or another book, that Dr. Atkins wrote that they did their own nutritional analysis on foods, because they found faults with other nutritional counters. In fact, they analysed a "low carb" bagel that reportedly had 2 net carbs, when in reality it had something like 50!

If you also notice in that book, cheeses have varying amounts of carbs that you won't see on the packages or even at the USDA website. That's why I think the Atkins Carb Gram Counter is slightly more accurate.

As for tofu....tofu is made from soybeans, but it doesn't have the carbs of soybeans. It's like cheese and milk. Cheese is made from milk, but it has less carbs than milk. The process of making tofu removes the majority of the carbs, leaving a product that is mostly protein.

If you read the cheese footnote in DANDR 2002, you'll see that "soy cheese" is listed . In DANDR 1992, that footnote is essentially the same, with the exception that the soy cheese is further identified as "tofu". That's because before vegan manufacturers began making imitation cheeses from soy, soy cheese was another name for "tofu". The process to make tofu is similar to the process for making cheese, hence "soy cheese". In fact, if you ever get a hold of vegetarian or macrobiotic books and cookbooks from the 1960s-1980s, tofu is usually called "soy cheese."

[OzLover]

I personally base all my carbs on the book you have mentioned based on exactly what not2late stated in her post.

[7Miriam]

Thanks so much - this information is very helpful!