Are Atkins Harvest Trail Bars Keto Friendly?

At the time of writing this post I’ve been on the ketogenic diet for over five years and logged over 250 blood ketone tests in an effort to estimate the effects of food and ingredients on my ketosis, including those in Atkins Harvest Trail bars.

Atkins products are marketed to low carb and keto dieters, which makes sense giving the history of the Atkins diet, but do Atkins products live up to their namesake? In this post, I'll evaluate Atkins Harvest Trail bars, give them keto friendly grades, and see how they stack up against other low carb treats!

Atkins-Harvest-Trail-Bars.png

Savage Fuel Keto Friendly Grades:

  • A: Completely compatible, positive or no impact on ketosis.

  • B: Highly compatible, but don't go too crazy.

  • C: Moderately compatible, be mindful and limit intelligently.

  • D: Barely compatible, detrimental to ketosis and not recommended.

  • F: Not compatible, overdo it just a little and kiss your ketosis goodbye.

Keto Friendly Grading Factors:

  • Net Carbs per Serving: How many carbs are in this thing?

  • Net Carbs per 100 calories: Since serving sizes often vary significantly, a net carb per 100 calorie ratio is a more consistent measure of keto-friendliness than net carbs per serving. Lower ratios are also an indicator of higher fat content because fat has more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates.

  • Sugar: Sugars have a higher glycemic index and larger negative impact on ketosis than other carbohydrates.

  • Hidden Carbs: Hidden carbohydrates are based on the caloric values and glycemic indexes of ingredients sometimes classified as fibers or sugar alcohols.

  • Easy to Overeat: Some foods are easy to over-eat and require extra willpower to limit overeating which is an important factor to consider.

  • Nutritional Density: Foods that are relatively high in net carbs per 100 calories but are high in nutrition per calorie can still be worth eating like broccoli and cauliflower.

RULE of thumb for net carbs per 100 calorie ratio: 0-1 great, 1-2 ok, 2-3 caution, 3+ red alert

RULE of thumb for net carbs per 100 calorie ratio:
0-1 great, 1-2 ok, 2-3 caution, 3+ red alert

Atkins Harvest Trail Bars Keto Friendly Grades:

Overall factors: The fiber in these bars come from a combination of soluble corn fiber, polydextrose, and dextrin which I estimate 10% of as net carbs. To keep things relatively simple I'm going to add 1g of net carbs for each product that has close to 10g of fiber.  These bars are also low nutritional density and easy to overeat.

  • Coconut Almond: F-
    7g Net carbs per 160 calorie 38g bar
    4.4g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
    2g Sugar

  • Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter: D-
    5g Net carbs per 170 calorie 38g bar
    2.9g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
    1g Sugar

Atkins Harvest Trail Bars Keto Friendly Conclusion:

 
Atkins-Harvest-Trail-Bars-vs-Treats.png
 

These Atkins Harvest Trail bars don't use Maltitol which is a big step in the right direction for Atkins products, but they're still just not that low carb or keto friendly. Atkins tends to use sources of fiber and sugar alcohol that raise blood sugar when there is really no excuse with so many zero glycemic options available these days.

Let's compare Atkins Harvest Trail bars to some of the most keto friendly sweet treats available:

 

Atkins Harvest Trail Bars vs ChocoPerfection and Keto Bars

 

As you can see, when comparing Atkins Harvest Trail bars to the best keto-friendly treats out there by net carbs per 100 calories, which is the most consistent indicator of keto friendliness, there is no contest. If you’re looking for a meal-replacement or snack bar, I’d recommend Keto Bars. If you’re looking for an ultra-low carb sweet treat, I recommend ChocoPerfection chocolate.

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Keto Friendly Product ReviewClay Owen