Sugar Alcohols

[lisaaw]

Are we supposed to count the total carbs in sugar alcohol or just the net carbs?

Lisa

[2big4mysize]

oh boy you ask a loaded question. That depends on how successful you want to be with your Atkins. Fiber by definition is a charbohydrate compound that porceeds from your lips out your rear end unmetabolized in any form for a human being so naturally you can't be burning those carbs for fuel.

Some of the compounds labeled Sugar alcohols are partially metabolized and thus can't be labeled as fiber. DANDR says you can subtract them and glycerine from the carb counts. I'd strongly suggest you do some Sugar alcohol research either on the net or on this board and learn about the sugar alcohols and how much is metabolized before you derail your hard work with SA foods. Once you know how they work you can decide for yourself if an occasional SA sweetened food can be a part of your Atkins.

Remember Dr Atkins never in his wildest dreams invisioned a low carb chocolate cake with only 24 net carbs and over 3000 cals. Even the ANA warns folk to as they say endulge responsible and gives the servings on their endulge produces warning so nobody eats the whole box cause it only has X net carbs and they have x+ y total in their carb budget.

Happy OWLing.

[Roserae]

I posted the below in this thread: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.c...=sugar+alcohol

Just wanted to add, Hershey has a box of chocolates that are low carb and they are not made with maltitol, but erythritol. This sugar alcohol has a lower glycemic index than maltitol AND it DOES NOT affect your bowels. If I'm going to indulge in anything with sugar alcohols in them I only eat this one. I've found that most, but not all of Hershey's low-carb products use erythritol, while most others use maltitol. Maltitol has one of the worst glycemic index of all the sugar alcohols.

Diabetes expert Rick Mendosa has a very interesting web page http://www.mendosa.com/netcarbs.htm that points out "If the sugar alcohols had no impact on our blood glucose, they would have a glycemic index of zero. With the the December 2003 publication of Geoffrey Livesey’s amazing review of sugar alcohols, we now know a lot more about them than ever before. His article, "Health potential of polyols as sugar replacers, with emphasis on low glycemic properties," is in Nutrition Research Reviews 2003;16:163-91.

Mendosa goes on to say: "Only two of the sugar alcohols have a GI of zero, according to Livesey’s research. These are mannitol and erythritol. Several others have a very low GI, but two maltitol syrups have a GI greater than 50. This is a higher GI value than that of spaghetti, orange juice, or carrots."

I found this very interesting and thought I'd share so you can make a more informed decision.

This doesn't really answer your question, but the website I quoted has very good information and has helped me learn about sugar alcohols. Hope this helps.

[ButtrShots]

Guess in a way I'm lucky. I can't tolerate any of the sugar alcohols that I've tried so far, so if I can't use them I don't have to worry about counting them.

Kathy

[sadie147]

this just reminded me of a funny sugar alcohol story: I had a box of Russell stover dark chocolates that have been tempting me in my cupboard (but i've been good!)..I decided to finally have one with my tea last weekend. When I opened the box I found the mice (which i've been struggling to get rid of!) had been into them.

So not only did that obviously stop me from eating the chocolates, which would have caused me grief anyway, but i'm now picturing these little mice..lying on their sides clutching their bellies with the horrible pain of the sugar alcohol cramps! LOL

(ok..so actually part of me is wishing the sa's would actually make them explode LOL) If they don't explode i can at least hope they'll move on to a non-atkins home?

Finally..a good use for sugar alcohols!

[lisaaw]

I read the Mendosa web site with interest since it contradicted some of the previous information I had read from other sources. Maltitol being the main one in question. In some research I did several months ago (for a diabetic friend), maltitol was cited as having the least impact on blood sugar by raising blood sugar much slower than the rest of the sugar alcohols. According to Mendosa, maltitol has the highest glycemic index. I've printed out this information to pass on to my friend.

As for my own personal knowlege, I was just concerned with how we should count the carbs in these products containing sugar alcohols but it appears that this area is not all black and white. Fortunately, I haven't incorporated any of these products into my WOE yet and before I do, I obviously need to be better informed than I am in which sugar alcohols are counterproductive to weight loss.

I've heard many here on this board say that glycerin stalled their weight loss so I had already made up my mind that I wouldn't go down that road myself because I know my body isn't going to be an exception.

Lisa

[lisaaw]

sadie - I love your imaginative mind! If you're a doodler and like to draw, you should do a cartoon depicting the little mouse in "sugar alcohol agony" after getting into your candy stash. That would be a hoot!

Lisa

[2big4mysize]

LOL actually Herseys drew a lot of flack and "wind" shall I say for their original foray into low carb candy as lactitol was their sweetner of choice and it is the most volital in its intestinal reactions.

If you look now they use a blend of several sugar alcohols to improve the sweetnes with less potty running by the eator