The central tenet of the popular Atkins Diet states that low carbohydrate intake is to be pursued at all times, in everything you eat. This may be easy when it comes to main courses that can be mostly meat, but the difficulty of finding tasty low-carb desserts often has sweet-toothed Atkins devotees scratching their heads in frustration. How does one eat a pie with no crust or a cake without flour? Moreover, sugar itself is a carbohydrate. Marketers, including the Atkins organization itself, is aware of the demand for low-carb desserts and has engaged in fierce competition in order to provide tantalizing carb counters. In addition, home cooks have developed a vibrant online recipe exchange that has become the salvation for many hungry people looking for low-carb treats.

Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. is the company established by the late Dr. Atkins to popularize his diet theories and market Atkins-approved low-carb products. These include sweets, snacks, and desserts. The Atkins Endulge product line includes a wide variety of low-carb foods that actually taste good and provide relief from candy cravings without cheating on carbohydrates. Atkins also markets a full range of energy and protein bars that range from crunchy to chocolaty, and provide imbibers with very low-net carbohydrates with no sugar added. Some of the more popular bar lines are Atkins Advantage, which focuses on nutrition, and Morning Start, a line of breakfast substitute bars.

For a review of this diet and 3 other diets by the American Cancer Institute see the following article by TheDietChannel: Popular Diets Versus Dietary Guidelines.