Undercover Carbs

Hidden Carbs Can Add Up

UPDATED: 7:19 PM EST February 5, 2004

http://www.nbc4.com/health/2820546/detail.html

In News for your health tonight: Losing weight.

Low-fat is so yesterday. Now, we're all cutting carbs, it seems.

But if your diet isn't working out the way you hoped, it might be the undercover carbs that are holding you back.

Terri and Jen Gerhartz are so serious about losing weight that they hired a nutritionist to help them shop for food. And - boy have they been surprised at how much they DIDN'T know about counting carbohydrates!

"Oh it had that much? But I didn't know juices had it, any of that stuff."

From South Beach to Atkins-- the low carb thing seems to be everywhere. It sounds like a dieter's dream: count your carbs, eat more protein, and watch the pounds melt away.

But, is it really that simple? Nutritionist Robyn Webb warns that undercover carbs can sabotage your best weight loss efforts.

"They add fillers which are carbohydrates, so you are looking at some foods that are mostly processed foods that typically you think are really not carbohydrates," said Webb.

Take dairy products. An 8-ounce glass of milk has 14 grams of carbohydrates. A cup of fat-free yogurt could have 30 carbs. The first phase of the Atkins diet only allows you 20 carb grams for the whole day!

A Protein-packed egg has 2 carb grams. But, switch to some processed egg substitutes and the carb count soars to 8-grams each!

Studies show the average American eats out four times a week, but restaurant food can be loaded with undercover carbs.

It's almost impossible to avoid all carbohydrates in your diet. A tiny carrot has one gram. This cup of black coffee has a gram and a half! It pays to read labels. But, even that can be confusing!

Total carbohydrate count breaks down into three categories: Fiber, sugar alcohols and net carbs. Your body quickly eliminates the first two, but those net carbs stick around in your body. However: eat too many total carbs and the pounds could pile on.

This low carb sandwich wrap has only 10 grams of NET carbs. Read carefully and you'll see a TOTAL carb count of 22 grams. Big difference! Nutritionist Claudia Morrison says beware of low-carb products that base their claim on just NET carbs.

"The thing is you want to have less of the refined carbohydrates or the processed carbs, the white flour, the white rice, that type of thing," said Morrison.

Carbohydrate labeling can also be inaccurate. The federal government doesn't regulate the claims about NET carbs.

NBC tested five random low-carb products-- and found three of them had NET carb counts that were wrong. The label on a S'more low-carb bar claimed 2.5 grams of net carbs. But the test result showed it was more like 18 grams!

For dieters like Teri and Jen Gerhartz, uncovering hidden carbs can really make a difference.

"You do have to take note of it, if you are choosing to be on a low-fat diet."

One last note: which has more carbs: a small box of Cherrios, a banana or a low-carb bar? The banana has the most with 25 grams, followed by the low-carb bar with 22 grams and the Cherrios come in with the fewest carbs at 19 grams.