Atkins Diet Food List

Atkins Diet Food List

All fish Including... Tuna, Salamon, Sole, Trout, Flounder, Sardines, Herrings
All fowl Including... Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Goose, Hen, Quail, Pheasant
All shelfish Including... Oyester, Mussels, Lobster, Clams, Squid, Shrimp, Crab
All Meat Including... Beef, Port, Lamb, Bacon, Veal, Ham, Meat Vension
All eggs Including... Scrambled, Fried, Poached, Soft Boiled, Hard Boiled, deviled, omelets

**Processed meats, such as ham, bacon, pepperoni, salami, hot dogs and other luncheon meats—and some fish—may be cured with added sugar and will contribute carbs. Try to avoid meat and fish products cured with nitrates, which are known carcinogens. Also beware of products that are not exclusively meat, fish or fowl, such as imitation fish, meatloaf and breaded foods. Finally, do not consume more than four ounces of organ meats a day.

OTHER FOODS THAT ARE ACCEPTABLE DURING INDUCTION
Cheese
You can consume three to four ounces daily of the following full-fat, firm, soft and semisoft aged cheeses*, including:
• cheddar
• cow, sheep and goat cheese
• cream cheese
• Gouda
• mozzarella
• Roquefort and other blue cheeses
• Swiss

*All cheeses have some carbohydrate content. The quantity you eat should be governed by that knowledge. The rule of thumb is to count 1 ounce of cheese as equivalent to 1 gram of carbohydrate. Note that cottage cheese, farmer’s cheese and other fresh cheeses are not permitted during Induction. No "diet" cheese, cheese spreads or whey cheeses are permitted. Individuals with known yeast symptoms, dairy allergy or cheese intolerance must avoid cheese. Imitation cheese products are not allowed, except for soy or rice cheese—but check the carbohydrate content.
Vegetables

You can have two to three cups per day of:
• alfalfa sprouts
• daikon
• mushrooms
• arugula
• endive
• parsley
• bok choy
• escarole
• peppers
• celery
• fennel
• radicchio
• chicory
• jicama
• radishes
• chives
• lettuce
• romaine lettuce
• cucumber
• mâche
• sorrel

These salad vegetables are high in phytonutrients and provide a good source of fiber.
Other Vegetables
You can have one cup per day of these veggies if salad does not exceed two cups. The following vegetables are slightly higher in carbohydrate content than the salad vegetables:
• artichoke
• celery root
• pumpkin
• artichoke hearts
• rhubarb
• asparagus
• chard
• sauerkraut
• bamboo shoots
• collard greens
• scallions
• dandelion
• snow peas
• bean sprouts
• dandelion greens
• spaghetti squash
• beet greens
• eggplant
• spinach
• broccoli
• hearts of palm
• string or wax beans
• broccoli rabe
• kale
• summer squash
• brussels
• kohlrabi
• tomato
• bean sprouts
• leeks
• turnips
• cabbage
• okra
• water chestnuts
• cauliflower
• onion
• zucchini

If a vegetable, such as spinach or tomato, cooks down significantly, it must be measured raw so as not to underestimate its carb count.
Salad Garnishes
• crumbled crisp bacon
• grated cheese
• minced hard-boiled egg
• sautéed mushrooms
• sour cream
Spices
All spices to taste, but make sure none contain added sugar.
Herbs
• basil
• garlic
• rosemary
• cayenne pepper
• ginger
• sage
• cilantro
• oregano
• tarragon
• dill
• pepper
• thyme

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.

Acceptable 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 "expeller-pressed." 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 nonhydrogenated margarines are available in health-food stores.)
You don't have to remove the skin and fat from meat or fowl. Salmon and other cold-water fish are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
Remember that trying to do a low-fat version of the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM will interfere with fat burning and derail your weight loss.

Artificial Sweeteners
You must determine which artificial sweeteners agree with you, but the following are allowed: sucralose (marketed as Splenda™), saccharin, cyclamate and 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 between saccharin and human cancer." It can be safely consumed in moderation, meaning no more than three packets a day. Saccharin is marketed as Sweet'n Low™.

We discourage the use of aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet® and Equal®) because of clinical observations that it slows weight loss in certain individuals. The FDA has approved the herb stevia for use only as a supplement, not as a sweetener.

The Atkins preference, however, is sucralose (Splenda™), the only sweetener made from sugar. Sucralose is safe, noncaloric and does not raise blood sugar. It has been used in Canada for years, and the FDA recently approved it after reviewing more than 100 studies conducted over the past 20 years. Note that each packet of sugar substitute contains about 1 gram of carbohydrate, so don’t forget to include the amount in your daily totals.

Acceptable Beverages
Be sure to drink a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses of water each day, including:
• Filtered water
• Mineral water
• Spring water
• Tap water