Very frustrated. I keep hearing it both ways, and it's really confusing...

Well, it depends on how you, um..., react to them. If you fulfill the prophecy on the package label ("may have laxative effect") that means that the unchanged molecules are absorbing water in your intestines and causing loose stools (to put it mildly). Then your body won't have any effect from the sugar alcohols, since they never enter your bloodstream. In that case, I would count them as no effective carbs.

On the other hand, if you can eat them with no gastrointestinal effects (bloating, gas, the runs) then the molecules have been changed before they enter your intestines. In that case, I would count the carbs.

The structure of the specific sugar alcohol molecules makes them hygroscopic (they absorb water), and this is what happens in the first case. In the second case, they have been wholly or partially metabolized (thus entering your bloodstream where they could affect sugar/insulin levels) in the stomach and lose their hygroscopic properties before they get to the intestines.

Joan

Okay...that makes sense. But here is my problem -- I did notice this "laxative effect" once when I ate a decent amount of them, but just having one or two a day (which I have been lately) doesn't appear to have much of an effect on me. What does that mean?

~Sango

I'm the same way. If I eat the listed "serving size" I will suffer. (You will only eat more than the serving size once! ) But if I eat less than the serving size - for instance, only one of the mini Hershey's bars instead of the 5 (1 serving), I won't have the problem, other than maybe a little bit of gas.

So I think what's happening is that with a small "dose" there just aren't enough sugar alcohols in the gut to make the effect very noticable.

One nice thing about this type of reaction to the sugar alcohols is that they don't seem to cause my weight loss to "stall" like they do other people. I guess that without absorbing any of the molecules there's no effect on blood sugar levels. And they're much tastier than Metamucil for slowed plumbing!

If your weight loss slows down (other than the normal slowing around weeks 3-5) I wouldn't worry about them too much. You should keep track of the extra calories though, even if you don't count those carbs. Excess calories = excess pounds, even on Atkins. But if they do cause you to slow down, I would definitely count the entire amount of carbs in them.

Joan