For salad dressing use oil and vinegar( but not balsamic vinegar, which contains sugar) or lemon juice and herbs and spices. Prepared salad dressings without added sugar and no more than two carbs per tablespoon serving are also fine.
Fats and Oils
Many fats, especially certain oils, are essential to good nutrition. Olive oil is particularly valuable. All other vegetable oils are allowed, the best being canola, walnut, soybean, grapeseed, sesame, sunflower and safflower oils, especially if they are labeled " cold-pressed " or " expellerpressed." Do not cook polyunsaturated oils, such as corn, soybean and sunflower oil, at high temperatures or allow to brown or smoke.
Butter is allowed. Margarine should be avoided, not because of its carbohydrate content, but because it is usually made of trans fats( hydrogenated oils), which are a serious health hazard.( Some non-hydrogenated margarines are available in health food stores.)
You need not remove the skin and fat from meat or fowl. Salmon and other cold-water fish are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. I cannot stress strongly enough that trying to do a low-fat version of Atkins will interfere with fat burning and derail your weight loss.
Beverages clear broth / bouillon( not all brands; read the label) club soda cream( heavy or light); limit to two to three tablespoons a day; note carbohydrate content decaffeinated coffee or tea * diet soda made with sucralose( Splenda ®) essence-flavored seltzer( must say " no calories " and must not contain aspartame) herb tea( without barley or any fruit sugar added) lemon juice or lime juice( note that each contains 2.8 grams carbohydrate per ounce); limit to two to three tablespoons mineral water spring water water
* Excessive caffeine may cause unstable blood sugar and should be avoided by those who suspect they are caffeine dependent. Everyone should try to avoid caffeine. Grain beverages( coffee substitutes) are not allowed. Alcoholic beverages are also not permitted during Induction; those low in carbohydrates are an option, in moderation, in later phases.
Artificial Sweeteners
You must determine which artificial sweeteners agree with you, but the following are allowed: sucralose( marketed at Splenda ®), saccharin, cyclamate, acesulfame-K. Natural sweeteners ending in the suffix "-ose," such as maltose, fructose, etc., should be avoided. However, certain sugar alcohols such as maltitol do not affect blood sugar and are acceptable.
Saccharin has been extensively studied, and harmful effects were produced in the lab when fed to rats only in extremely high doses. The Food and Drug Administration( FDA) has removed saccharin from its list of carcinogens, basing its decision upon a thorough review of the medical literature and the National Institute of Science ' s statement that there is " no clear association
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