Fri, Sep-28-01, 08:55
|
|
Senior Member
Posts: 11,512
|
|
Plan: IF +LC
Stats: 287/165/165
BF:
Progress: 100%
|
|
A hidden carb calculator is a tool that ferrets out carbs that are not listed on labels. Often labels (specially in the US) will say "0" carbs when in fact there can be as many as .9g per serving. US regulations permit manufacturers to list 0 carbs when the recommended serving contains less than 1g per. For example eggs can be listed as 0 when in fact they contain .6g. 4 eggs would give you 2.4 g carbs, not the 0 you'd be led to believe.
A hidden carb counter figures out if the nutritional data on a lable adds up; it does this based on the calories, fat grams, protein grams and fat grams. 1 gram of fat = 9 calories, 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories and 1 gram of protein = 4 grams. If something is listed as having 2 grams of carbs but contains sugar alcohols the actual carb count would be higher. This is because some claim that sugar alcohols do not have carbs, and can therefore be subracted from the total (similar to fiber, which is not absorebed by the body) To quote Doreen :
Quote:
"This statement is not entirely "false" but it is misleading. Sugar alcohols do have carbs, and approx. 1/2 to 3/4 the calories of regular sugar. They are more slowly and incompletely absorbed from the small intestine than sugar, thus producing a much smaller and slower rise in blood sugar ... and consequently insulin. But this is a YMMV thing. Some Type 1 diabetics have reported that they sense an immediate "sugar rush" from eating even a small amount. Others notice no change, and absolutely no effect on ketosis.
Sugar alcohols do have carb calories, and the body will use these as fuel, or store as fat, whether or not insulin is involved. You need to look at the total CALORIES for one serving of the product. Subtract from this total the number of calories from any protein in the product (prot = 4 cal. per gm), then subtract the calories from any FAT in the product (fat = 9 cal. per gm). What's left is the calories from carbohydrate ... divide this remainder by 4 (carbs = 4 cal. per gm). If the number you get is bigger than the number of carbs declared on the label, the product has hidden carbs, and it's most likely the polyol. Calories do not just disappear into thin air! "
|
That is what a hidden carb counter does for you (the math!).
Nat |