Hi everyone, I'm recent to the Atkins diet, but it seems to be working reasonably well.

I have been reading quite a bit and understand from the Atkins site that the suger-alcohols such as maltitol etc can be ignored. My question is, are there other reasons besides the "net carb" count to be cautious with eating foods that contain these nutrients.

An example is:

I found a diabetic chocolate bar that had 5.65 g of carbs per 10g of bar and also had 5.65 g of maltitol. Those were the only carbs other than splenda. When you multiplied the sucralose amount to include the whole bar it amounted to slightly above 12mg (the same amount contained in a single package of splenda)

So my calculations would say that this bar has only the sucralose to count, and since Atkins suggests 1 g of carbs per splenda package, then it looks like this bar would have only one carb.

It seems a little too good to be true, and when that happens, I get a little concerned that I have misinterpretted something. Can anyone out there shed some more light on this for me.

Thanks.

Tim

Sugar alcohols stall lots of people. They don't bother me. The only way to tell if they'll bother you, really, is to try them and see.

Sugar alcohols are laxatives. Do not eat more than one serving, and the first time you try a particular one (maltitol, sorbitol, etc.), it should be at a time when you don't have to go anywhere or impress anyone.

Here's a good article about sugar alcohols.

http://www.ketofoods.com/sugaralcoh...ol_article.html

Sugar alcohols, although allowed (the carbs) to be deducted from net carbs...I still think they count to some degree because since stopping foods containing the alcohols...I am losing at a much faster rate and although I would get tummy distress when I ate too much alcohols...a little did not make me have any problems

Here is more good info on sugar alcohols and Net carbs. I found it very informative:
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/products.htm

Wow!

Great reaction! Thanks everyone for the info! I'll go do some more reading and see what I can find.

Thanks again.

Tim

Thanks for the link, StarOrchid!

I found this part VERY interesting--

Thank you StarOrchid. This article is particularly enlightening. It looks like at most we should consider these items on the "beware " list. At worst, it looks like they should be avoided.

I was a little skeptical, and now have a better understanding.

According to Atkins...

Sugar alcohols: Also known as Polyols, sugar alcohols are sugar molecules with hydroxy, or alcohol, groups attached. Sugar alcohols have many of the characteristics of Carbohydrates such as bulking and sweetening, but provide fewer Calories, and do not impact blood glucose as Sugar does.

According to Atkins...

Glycerine: Also known as Glycerol or glycerin, this sugar alcohol is a thick liquid used by food manufacturers to improve taste, add moisture and impart sweetness. Glycerine is classed as a Carbohydrate, but does not impact on Blood sugar levels the way such carbohydrates as cane sugar do. Consequently, it can be used as a replacement for cane sugar; glycerine is 0.6 times as sweet as Cane sugar. Chemically, it is a 3-carbon molecule with three hydroxyl groups, and is one of the most common alcohols found in human metabolism. It is also found naturally in animal and plant products and is the backbone of Triglycerides (Fats) and phospholipids.

That depends on the person. For some people sugar alcohols will have just as much impact on thier blood sugar as the regular sugar would. The bulking agents used can also effect carb count and blood sugars.

This page has an interesting table looking at the different calorie amounts in sugar alcohols http://www11.netrition.com/lowcarbs...ritol_page.html

For me even a small amount of malitol causes extreamly bad gas, bloating, and occasional diareah. I don't go near it for the most part. Occasionaly I'll get that wonderful amnesia and decide to have an Atkins icecream bar or a piece of sugar free candy. I pay for it too.

I noticed this also Rose. In my mind, I would be more likely to believe the article that wasn't supporting a product sale. Unfortunately marketing tends to be a major source of misinformation.