In the seemingly never-ending quest to find the perfect weight loss plan that will transform us into the ranks of the svelte and healthy, the folks at Atkins have devised a new method to track carbohydrate intake: the Net Atkins Count. When Dr. Atkins first started his weight loss program, followers simply counted ‑- and avoided ‑- carbohydrate in foods. Then the company developed the term "net carbs" using a subtraction system to differentiate between good and bad carbs. Good carbs are the ones that don't cause elevation in blood-sugar levels and help us lose weight; bad carbs are the ones that raise blood-glucose levels rapidly and contribute to burgeoning amounts of body fat. The most current terminology is the Net Atkins Count, a patent-pending program scientifically designed to finally determine exactly how much of those bad carbs lurk in the foods we love.

The new program is based on the glycemic index (GI), a ranking of carbohydrate-containing foods according to how quickly they raise blood-sugar levels. The higher the glycemic index, the faster a particular food raises blood sugar. Foods with a low GI are preferable because they don't cause spikes in blood sugar. More important for dieters, low-GI foods help promote weight loss.

Yet not everything is rosy with the glycemic index. Not every food has been tested, and there can be a wide variability in how foods affect each individual person. Cooking, processing and even the variety of the carb-containing food can make a big difference in its GI. Finally, we usually eat foods together in a meal or snack, which can alter the glycemic index.