Hi Everyone. Dr. Katz contributes to Oprah Magazine and in the new issue, he writes the following. What do you think regarding his statement about effective carbs?

Dear Dr. Katz:
I've seen health bars claiming to have very low "effective carb" counts, say, 2 or 3 grams per serving. Does this mean the body doesn't absorb the other 20 to 30 grams of carbs in these bars?

Response:
No, it's a marketing ploy. Effective carbohydrate is not a scientific phrase; it's the food industry's attempt to tap into the prevailing interest in carbohydrate restriction as a means of losing weight.

The term indicates how much carbohydrate is converted into glucose (blood sugar) most readily, contributing to a rise in insulin, which is associated with weight gain. But the notion is misleading. The only kind of carbohydrate not absorbed by the body is fiber; the rest is converted into glucose, albeit at different rates of speed. Complex carbohydrates, for example, require several metabolic steps to be broken down into glucose, so the process is slower.

The kind of health bar you mention typically has at most 6 grams of fiber and 10 to 20 grams of complex carbs, which eventually become blood sugar. For overall health, what's really effective is to focus on the fundamentals of good eating.

Dr. David L. Katz, M.D.

ljm