Total Carbs

A CBS 2 Special Assignment

Feb 5, 2004 4:59 pm US/Pacific
LOS ANGELES (KCBS) Low carbs -- it's the rage in Hollywood and all over the country. And the food industry hasn't missed a beat, making a big business out of low-carb diets. But are all of those low-carb products and menu items as healthy as they claim?

CBS 2's Special Assignment decided to test some of the "low-carb" foods seen on restaurant menus and in grocery stores. And the results might explain why Americans aren't losing weight.

We'll get to the results in just a minute, but first meet dieter Brent Gustin.

"I've been on the diet before and now I'm trying what they're saying is low in carbs and nothings happening."

Brent watched his dollars wane while his weight stayed the same.

"It didn't benefit me at all to spend that much money and not have the results for it."

But Brent isn't the only frustrated dieter looking for an easy answer.

"When you have an obesity epidemic, anything that promises a quick fix is going to be a huge business," says Dr. Dean Ornish, who heads up a nutritional clinic. He says there are big bucks to be made with low-carb products.

"It's always easy to prey on weaknesses by telling people what they want to hear."

So are the manufacturers of the foods we tested just telling people what they want to hear, or will their carb claims turn out to be the truth when we put them to the test?

CBS 2 went to Associated Labs to test food from Subway, TGIF, Carl's Jr. and Burger King, and other foods you would buy in a grocery store. All of these foods are suppose to be low in carbohydrates.

At Subway we tested the Turkey Bacon Melt Wrap. Subway claims that it has 22 grams of carbs, while our lab results showed it at 28 grams.

They sent us a statement saying "they continually test products and are currently in the process of having our suppliers confirm that the items they produce adhere to specifications."

At Carl's Jr., we tested the low-carb Six Dollar Burger, which the company claims has six grams of carbohydrates. Our lab results: 9 grams.

Carl's Jr. says that they tested the burgers by testing 12 burgers, and that we only randomly tested one burger.

We tested the Atkins Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar. Atkins claims it has 17 grams of carbs. Our lab found the same.

We tested TGIF's Sizzling New York Strip with Blue Cheese. TGIF claims 6 net carbs and 11 total carbs. Our lab found 20 total carbs.

In their response, TGIF said, "It appears that human error occurred in this one restaurant, however, telling us it appeared without access to the test we can only speculate."

So what are net carbs? Even the FDA says the term is confusing. Net carbs are the total carbs minus the indigestible carbs. But experts say if you're counting carbs, even the good carbs count. So you see, even labels can be confusing. And not only to consumers.

"Net carbs, that's really interesting, because there are a lot of people, even trained nutritionists who don't know what net carbs are," says trainer Chris Patterson.

Patterson trains Brent and others trying to get into shape. He says his clients' morale is destroyed after what he calls being mislead by food manufacturers.

"They're being lied to, they're just flat out being lied to."

Meanwhile, back at the checkout counter, we tested the Odyssey Protein Bar. They claim 29 carbs; our lab found 31, which falls within the margin of error allowed by the FDA.

Darielle Low-Carb Pasta claims their product has 18 grams of carbs. Our lab came very close, also within the margin of error.

Low-Carb Emporium claims 15 grams of carbs per bagel. Our lab found triple the carbs -- 55. Low-carb Emporium says they just re-did the formulas and will be getting lab reports on new formulas soon.

Fans of Burger King's low-carb burger will be happy to hear that the carb count on the label was actually higher than what appeared in the burger, according to our lab results.

The FDA says they are looking at the issue of net carbs very carefully and are in the process of determining whether it is a fraudulent term.


(MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc., All Rights Reserved.)

I have gotten pretty good at estimating real food, and my taste buds are pretty good at detecting sugar in stuff I wouldn't expect, like a sauce on vegetables.
So eating out, I can pretty much tell what I'm getting and what it would be.
But when it comes to bagels, bars, and the like, I wouldn't really know. But I did consume an EAS lemon cheesecake bar, and got ragingly hungry. (It also tasted awful.) So I'm not getting one of those again!

If people read one of the many LC program books, they would see that technically you shouldn't be eating these things anyways. So to me it is the food manufacturers and the individual person choosing to eat these "faux" foods own fault, it is not that the WOE is not working for this person, but the person is not following the plan correctly.

Wee

I try to stay away from that stuff, but there are times it's nice to be able to eat something on the run. I think people who make it the focus of their diet are doomed to fail -- low carb or low fat.

Related article:

Low-Carb Claims Put To Test

NBC5 Finds Discrepancies In Random Samples

Low-carb diets have become about as popular as breathing, and food manufacturers are scrambling to meet the growing demand for reduced carbohydrate food. A recent study, however, showed some product labels understate the genuine carbohydrate gram counts of the products.

NBC5 tested some popular "low-carb" items readily available at grocery stores, restaurants and fast-food outlets. Results on the products showed various discrepancies between the carb content listed on the labels and findings at food testing laboratory certified by the Food and Drug Administration.

The NBC5 team bought a loaf of bread, labeled "Lower In Carbs," from Central Market. The label listed "5 total carbohydrates." The loaf was sent to Kappa Laboratories Inc., based in Miami, where tests concluded the bread contained 6 carbohydrates.


"People are very, very particular when they're on these programs," Michael Cox, a Central Market representative, said. "They only have so many grams they can have a day, so we take it very seriously when a consumer's concerned about that.

"Cox said that since the test showed a 1-carb difference, grocery chain officials would review all store-brand recipes to ensure label accuracy. The company also plans to have the recipes tested and verified by the American Institute of Baking Review.

A peanut butter "sport cookie" from Protosource, a Carrollton, Texas, food manufacturer, was next on the list. The product's label claimed 14 total carbohydrates, but Kappa Labs test revealed 31 total carbs, more than double.

Billy Whitecloud, owner of Protosource voiced concern about the finding. "We will retest the 'Nutty Peanut Butter' and find out where we are," he said.

Whitecloud produced a printout from his own test lab, which showed tests conducted during 2000 indicated 14 total carbohydrates. He questioned whether suppliers had altered ingredients without his knowledge.

NBC5's sister station in Miami also used Kappa Labs to test a chicken bacon ranch wrap from Subway. The fast-food chain said the sandwich contained 19 total, 8 net carbohydrates. The test showed 26 total carbs and 17 net.

Dr. Peter Kmierk, who conducted the tests at Kappa Labs, said the discrepancies could be attributed to the way the sandwich was put together and how much of each ingredient was used.

A statement from Subway headquarters read, "Sandwiches with nutritional claims are prepared using standard formulas that incorporate tested items and predetermined weights. Any variation to that formula, such as size or quantity of an ingredient, can alter the carbohydrate counts."

One tested item came in at fewer carbohydrates than listed on the menu. A tuna salad wrap from TGI Friday's restaurant claimed 14 net carbs. The test showed 10 net carbohydrates.

"Low-carb" claims could be in the eye of the beholder. The FDA has no clear definition of what content level constitutes "low-carb" like it does for "low-fat."

The administration is working on a formula to determine "net carbs," and expects to release guidelines soon.
Copyright 2004 by nbc5i.com.

Interesting thread. When I tried the subway wrap, I felt like it had more carbs than advertised, so it's nice to see it confirmed. As with anything that is made by others we need to assume the carb count won't be as exact as stated and leave some room throughout the rest of our day to compensate for it.

I've always been content to get my Subway Melt Salad (though I get looks when I ask for all that fat on a SALAD ), and the wraps they're advertising now just don't seem worth it, so I've never tried them. I mean, sure it would be convenient to be able to pick up and eat my food in a wrap, but at least with the salad I know exactly (aside from the dressing, I suppose) what I'm getting.

what is this???? I've never heard of this! What exactly is it????