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6 carbs, but ZERO CALORIES???

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  • 6 carbs, but ZERO CALORIES???

    The SoBe Lifewaters have a product line that boasts "zero calories", but on the nutritional label, it shows 6 Total Carbs. OK, this is impossible, so I called their customer service line to find out WTH this was.

    Turns out, anything with less than 5 calories per serving can legally be called "zero calories", and this has 2.5. However, that's not what blew me away.
    There is a new sweetener called Erythritol that is a naturally occuring sugar alcohol, that is about half as sweet as sugar, and does NOT have the traditional caloric content of other carbs.

    from Wiki:
    Erythritol ((2R,3S)-butane-1,2,3,4-tetraol) is a natural sugar alcohol (a type of sugar substitute) which has been approved for use in the United States[1] and throughout much of the world. It occurs naturally in fruits and fermented foods [2]. At the industrial level, it is produced from glucose by fermentation with a yeast, Moniliella pollinis[1]. It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2 calories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates), though nutritional labelling varies from country to country—some countries like Japan label it as zero-calorie, while European Union regulations currently label it and all other sugar alcohols at 2.4 kcal/g.

    As Popeye says, "Well, blow me down!"

  • #2
    Re: 6 carbs, but ZERO CALORIES???

    Another possibility for a food or drink to have 6 carbs and zero calories would be if those carbs were all fiber.

    forbey



    Move Yer Bloomin Arse Challenge
    Entering the Nuclear Arms Race,
    One Rep at a Time!


    Max Weight - Feb 2009 - 354
    (Pre-Atkins weight loss 64 lbs, stalled in Dec 2009)
    Re-started Atkins: Feb 2010 * 290 lbs

    Get blood sugars to normal and under control. April 18, 2010 (1st time EVER w/o the help of Insulin!)
    Next Goal: 280!

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    • #3
      Re: 6 carbs, but ZERO CALORIES???

      Yeah labelling is funny. And we have to be sceptical. The same is true for the products that list 0 carb. Turns out that they have things like sugars and syrups and starches in them.
      Startdate: November 18, 2007. Female 5'2"

      May Challenges 2010
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      2 Years on Atkins.................. President Challenge Medals earned

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      • #4
        Re: 6 carbs, but ZERO CALORIES???

        I'm not sure if the dietary geniouses of the world are just ignorant or if they actually are dishonest.

        The simple fact is "Carbohydrates" are ALL sugars. Call them what you like it doesn't matter. The only saving grace we have is that some of those sugars, like cellulose (one form of fiber) cannont be adequately digested by us one-compartmentalized-stomach digesters (humans in particular.)

        After all a cow spends all day working on a stomach full of fiber so it can make sugar for its own use and to create lastose (milk sugar).

        So when they tell us it doesn't have sugars, they tend to be referring to single molecule sugars like glucose and short chain sugars like sucrose and fructose. But, when they get to the long chain sugars, the maltodextroses, and the REALLY long chain sugars, they forget to include them as sugars. (Just a mistake or a deception?)

        So, we as carbaholics, carballergics, insulin resistants, etc., we have to pay closer attention to not only the nutritional counts, but the ingredient lists as well. If it doesn't list the carb count, the sugar count and/or the ingredients (part or all) then the best course of action is to walk away and find something you know is safe.

        forbey



        Move Yer Bloomin Arse Challenge
        Entering the Nuclear Arms Race,
        One Rep at a Time!


        Max Weight - Feb 2009 - 354
        (Pre-Atkins weight loss 64 lbs, stalled in Dec 2009)
        Re-started Atkins: Feb 2010 * 290 lbs

        Get blood sugars to normal and under control. April 18, 2010 (1st time EVER w/o the help of Insulin!)
        Next Goal: 280!

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: 6 carbs, but ZERO CALORIES???

          Originally posted by forbey View Post
          Another possibility for a food or drink to have 6 carbs and zero calories would be if those carbs were all fiber.

          forbey
          That's what I was hoping, since it was delicious....but no.

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