Body Language | 'Net carbs,' he says, means one thing: Net weight gain

Posted on Mon, Mar. 22, 2004


Discounting "sugar alcohol" carbs on food packaging, says a nutrition author, misleadingly ignores their real calories.

By Art Carey

Inquirer Columnist

In case you haven't noticed, Americans are losing the Battle of the Bulge big time. A major reason: We are suckers for shortcuts and quick fixes that promise instant results without effort or discipline.

Once again, let me remind you: It's the calories, stupid.

In the diet wars, the bogeyman was once fat. Now, the menace is carbs, those gastronomic terrorists supposedly responsible for the epidemic of obesity.

But while carbs can be reduced, they can't be eliminated. Imagine life without fudge, popcorn and pizza. As the eminent nutritionist and bon vivant Robert Redford once observed: "Health food may be good for the conscience, but Oreos taste a hell of a lot better!"

So anti-carb fanatics have taken to classifying carbs: good vs. bad; impact vs. non-impact. This, in turn, has led to "the Net Carb Scam."

That's the term used by Greg Ellis, who is hopping mad about what he calls "a deliberate attempt by food manufacturers to mislead the public."

"It's totally deceptive," he sputters. "And they're not losing a wink of sleep over it as their wallets fill."

Ellis, 56, who lives in Glen Mills, Delaware County, has a doctorate in physiology from Temple and bills himself as a "certified nutrition specialist." He is the author of several self-published books that expound his theories about health and fitness, diet and exercise.

His best advertisement: his body. He is one manly stud. He brims with vigor and vitality. His physique is ripped and shredded. (And he's not shy about flaunting it. In promotional photos, his torso is clad only in suspenders, showcasing his ample pecs.)

His secret? Ellis devours plenty of red meat and is an advocate of a high-fat, low-carb diet.

"A low-carb diet will reduce your caloric intake by helping you eat less," he says. "Fat stays in your blood and feeds your tissue. Carbs are converted to body fat that is stored and no longer available for energy."

So what's this about the Net Carb Scam?

In a nutshell, Ellis argues, food producers are making carb calories disappear using marketing sleight of hand.

The other day, I did some field research, biking over to my neighborhood Genuardi's. In the pastry department, I found a cart loaded with luscious goodies. On the front of several packages was an "A" for Atkins and an official-looking seal bragging about "net carbs."

A serving of Entenmann's "Fabulous Fudge Nut Brownies" delivers only 8 grams of "net carbs." On the nutrition-facts box on the back, however, it lists total carbs as 20 grams.

What happened to the other 12 grams? The facts box says 4 grams are fiber, 8 are sugar alcohol.

Sugar alcohol?

It's neither sugar nor alcohol, Ellis says. It's a sweetener and "bulking agent" used to add taste and texture. Though it furnishes fewer calories than sugar, it's still a carbohydrate. Ergo, it still turns into glucose, and it can still make you fat.

Since sugar alcohol is absorbed by the small intestine slowly and incompletely, it causes little or no spike in blood sugar, hence little or no squirt of insulin.

Which is the rationale offered by food-makers. On pastry boxes I surveyed, there was a brief, small-print explanation: Dietary fiber and sugar alcohol were subtracted from the total-carb tally because they have "a minimal impact on blood sugar."

Deducting fiber is legit; it just passes through the body. But Ellis delivers a succinct response to the claim about sugar alcohol: bull.

"The spike in glucose and insulin has little to do with how the body disposes of a particular source of calories or fuel. It's the total amount of carbs that determines the body's ability to burn fat or store carbs as fat.

"It takes only a small increase in insulin to keep fat cells from releasing fat. Any carbs above this threshold, whether 'good' or 'bad,' will simply go to your belly or thighs."

What really galls Ellis is the notion that these "non-impact" carbs simply vanish. It's like filling up your car, he says. You either burn the gas driving, or it remains in the tank. It doesn't evaporate because you decide to call it something different.

Yes, the Food and Drug Administration is aware of this, a spokeswoman says. As part of a new assault on obesity, the agency will be drafting guidelines for such carb-related claims as "low," "reduced," "carb-free" and "net." The FDA pays attention to labels, she says, and wants to make sure they're not misleading.

And what saith the folks behind the big red A?

"Through independent testing, the Atkins products have consistently measured as marketed for net or impact carbohydrates," says Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council and an orthopedic surgeon at Pennsylvania Hospital.

The net-carb label, Trager says, is "a valuable tool that enables people to appreciate the difference between total carbs and those that impact their blood sugar, which allows people to make better choices."

What does Ellis advise? Avoid packaged foods bearing claims about net carbs. "That's the only way you can be sure you're not consuming too many carbs.

"If you want to go on a low-carb diet, cut out the carbs. If you want to lose weight, cut down your calories."

"Body Language" appears Mondays in The Inquirer. Contact staff writer Art Carey at 215-854-4588 or acarey~phillynews.com.


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