Are Atkins Snack 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 Snack bars 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 Snack bars, give them keto friendly grades, and see how they stack up against other low carb treats!

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

Atkins Snack 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. Some of these snacks also contain Maltitol which is a sugar alcohol with a glycemic index of 36. (more than half the GI of table sugar) I'm counting 50% of the Maltitol in these treats as net carbs for simplicity, which is low-balling since it's closer to about 67%. These snacks are also low nutritional density and easy to overeat.

• White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bar: D-
  5g Net carbs per 170 calorie 40g bar
  2.9g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  2g Sugar
  

• Sweet & Salty Trail Mix: F-
  8g Net carbs per 190 calorie 38g pack
  4.2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  1g Sugar
  

• Caramel Chocolate Peanut Nougat bar: D-
  6.5g Net carbs per 170 calorie 44g bar
  3.8g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar
  

• Coconut Almond Delight Bar: D-
  7.5g Net carbs per 200 calorie 44g bar
  3.8g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar
  

• Triple Chocolate Bar: D-
  8g Net carbs per 160 calorie 40g bar
  5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  0g Sugar
  

• Cranberry Almond Bar: D-
  6.5g Net carbs per 150 calorie 35g bar
  4.3g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  1g Sugar

• Lemon Bar: F-
  4g Net carbs per 160 calorie 40g bar
  2.5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Caramel Chocolate Nut Roll: D-
  8g Net carbs per 190 calorie 44g bar
  4.2g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red+)
  2g Sugar
  

• Caramel Double Chocolate Crunch Bar: D-
  5g Net carbs per 160 calorie 44g bar
  3.1g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar
  

• Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut Crunch: D-
  5g Net carbs per 170 calorie 40g bar
  2.9g Net carbs per 100 calories (Orange)
  2g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Crisp Bar: D-
  8g Net carbs per 140 calorie 35g bar
  5.7g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  0g Sugar
  

• Peanut Butter Fudge Crisp Bar: D-
  5.5g Net carbs per 150 calorie 35g bar
  3.7g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar

• Classic Trail Mix: F-
  6.5g Net carbs per 190 calorie 38g pack
  3.4g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  2g Sugar
  

• Caramel Chocolate Penut Nougat Bar: D-
  6.5g Net carbs per 170 calorie 44g bar
  3.8g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar
  

• Cashew Trail Mix Bar: F-
  9.5g Net carbs per 170 calorie 40g bar
  5.6g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  3g Sugar
  

• Dark Chocolate Decadence Bar: D-
  8g Net carbs per 160 calorie 44g bar
  5g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red++)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Hazelnut Bar: D-
  7g Net carbs per 180 calorie 40g bar
  3.9g Net carbs per 100 calories (Red)
  1g Sugar

Atkins Harvest Trail Bars Keto Friendly Conclusion:

These Atkins Snacks fit in pretty well with the rest of the Atkins brand products, they tend to use sources of fiber and sugar alcohols that raise blood sugar, and there really isn't any excuse these days with how many zero glycemic options are available these days. Some of these bars may seem keto friendly on the surface, but when we compare them to real keto friendly snacks and treats, the cracks start to show. 

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

Atkins Snack Bars vs ChocoPerfection and Keto Bars

As you can see, when comparing Atkins Snack 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.

Also check out our Keto Shop for more expert selected keto friendly products or my first YouTube video “5 Tips to Get Back Into Ketosis Fast” below!

Want to get into ketosis fast? These 5 tips I've learned from over seven years on the keto diet will help you get back into ketosis quick and easy! My Favori...