Active Low-Carber Forums - Info from FiberCon...please explain

Quote:

Originally posted by DCMark
Called back, dietary fiber is 0...so these are about 1 carb each.

To think I have been taking 8 g of carbs with just those :(

Impossible.

The pills weigh less than 1g each, so there's no way they could contain 9g sugar :) .. that's nearly 2 tsp worth. The pill would be eNORmous!

Perhaps she said milligrams, not grams? 8mg would be 0.008g.

The Fibercon website doesn't list the ingredients, but I did find this at an online drugstore that sells it ...

Quote:

Ingredients:
Active Ingredients: in each caplet: Calcium Polycarbophil (625 mg equivlaent to 500 mg polycarbophi)

Inactive Ingredients: Calcium Carbonate, Caramel, Crospovidone, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Magnesium Stearate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Mineral Oil, Povidone, Silica Gel, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

The only thing that's a digestible carb in there is caramel, and would be less than 1/10th of a gram per pill. The other celluloses etc are fibers.

The active ingredient, Poycarbophil is not a dietary fiber ... it's a synthetic fiber, made by chemically altering the cellulose fiber from plants/ vegetation so that it becomes resistant to being broken down by bacteria which normally live in our large intestines. It's similar in some ways to methylcellulose. Yes, it is a carbohydrate, just like any fiber .. but is not absorbed and therefore doesn't contribute any calories, nor does it affect blood sugar or insulin. It's sole function is to absorb water and swell up, thereby creating bulk and also helps to soften the stools .. as long as you drink PLENTY of water with it.

Be aware that bulk-forming fiber laxatives such as polycarbophil and psyllium can interfere with the absorption of some nutrients (calcium and iron especially) .. and prescription medicines, especially hormones (thyroid, BCP's etc). It's best to take any fiber supplement one hour before or two hours after you take other supplements and medications.

hth,

Doreen