I don't eat them very often, but once in a while one of these bars can be a quick pick me up when I don't have time to grab a bite. This moning for example. I had one of these bars and it says on the lable that their are 2.6 gms of carb. I just read in another post that there are actually 20gms of hidden carbs in them. Is this true?? Have I already consumed all of my carbs for the day?? If it is true, how does one know when there are hidden carbs in certain foods?

Rosie

Rosie, at the top of every page there is a link to Low Carb Tools. The second item on that page is the Hidden Carb Counter. You can punch the numbers from your wrapper in and find out just how many carbs there were in your bar. You might also want to take a look at the article under "Low Carb Tips" on Sugar Alcohols (by Doreen)

Nat

Did I use the Hidden carb finder correctly? Could one Atkins bar really have 70gm of carbs?? If so, how can it be called ATKINS? The label only says 2.6 grams!! Help.

Rosi

70g seems a little high, Rosie. If memory serves I think Atkins Advantage Bars are between 18 and 22g per.

Nat

It appears Atkins does not include some carb bearing ingredients as they do not get absourbed by the body in the same way as true carbohydrates. (such as Glycerine)

This is an blurb from the Advntage Bar:

** Glycerine, while included in the "calories" count, has been omitted from the "Total Carb" count, as it has only a negligible impact on blood sugar/insulin level.

Here is a site on sweetners which you may find interesting specifically about Sugar Alcohol. These are what I beleive may be some of the hidden carbs.
Sweetners

Sugar Alcohol
This family of compounds, also called polyols, which contain neither sugar or alcohol, is a boon to dieters. The reason: they affect blood glucose and insulin levels much less than real sugar or not at all.

Yes, they effect everyone differently, much like atrificial sweetners. The article on this site, under Low Carb Tips called, strangly enough, Sugar Alcohols explains that after eating something made with SA, diabetics will often register a rise in blood glucose similar to that when the real thing is ingested.

Nat

I'm new to all of this, but I have made the Atkins bars a major part of my low carb diet. It does seem to be working for me. Basically I'm having an Atkins breakfast bar for breakfast, one of the other Advantage bars for a lunch/snack mid-day, and then having a low carb dinner (usually a steak and veggies). I'm seen a significant improvement in my weight, and I'm dropping weight at a rate I wouldn't have previously thought possible.

I definitely don’t have the kind of experience with the details of these things that some of the people who responded do, but I believe some of their posts may be a bit misleading... They're making reference to sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners as a reason to discourage someone from using the Atkins bars. Unless I'm wrong, these don’t have a lot to do with the issue.

Carbohydrates are anything aside from Fat and Protein that make up the actual weight of the food. A 60g Atkins bar has 19g of Protein and 12g of Fat. That leaves 29g of remaining content, which would usually be attributed to Carbohydrates. BUT... of these carbohydrates, all but 3.5g are Polydextrose and Glycerin... And 2g of the 3.5g are Dietary fiber. So you're actually left with 1.5g of carbohydrates that have an impact on your diet.

As best I can tell, glycerin isn't an artificial sweetener. (If you've tasted an Atkins bar you'd realize that, they definitely don't taste all that great.) It's a bulking agent... included to increase the size of the product without impacting the carbs we're concerned about. Glycerin is the stuff many soap products are made of (usually a vegetable product).

In the limited research I've done, it seems that Polydextrose is the equivalent of dietary fiber... also very much a bulking agent.

The Atkins bar package doesn't say what percent of the 29g of unaccounted for carbs are glycerin (which I definitely feel won't have any impact on your blood sugar) and what percent of it is Polydextrose (which I'm less sure about), but if my research is correct I doubt ingesting Polydextrose is anything to be concerned about... (Unless it turns out to be a carcinogen.)

Either way... I know it's working for me. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily following the Atkins diet per say, as my diet doesn't really follow all of the specific guidelines that Atkins puts forth. For example: I haven't cut out artificial sweeteners IN THE LEAST, or caffeine. I drink about 5 Diet Mountain Dews a day. That's a hell of a lot of artificial sweetener and caffeine. Also, I don't go out of my way to achieve a certain amount of caloric intake per day and I don’t try to drink tons of pure water… actually I usually don’t drink much if any. This may not be the best approach, but it seems to be getting the job done in a way that works for me.

--Victor

Firstly, the point being made is that while the glycerin may not have an effect on YOUR blood sugar, Victor, it definitely does have an affect on the blood sugar of many others. Therein lies the danger of such a general statement (and messing with the Nutrition Facts label within the labelling regulations). One size does NOT fit all and that's why there ARE regulations.

Secondly, there is another safety involved that will give the true effective carbohydrate count, the Calories. Because whatever the illegally altered Nutrition Facts label might say about legal carbohydrates, the Calorie count (if the manufacturer has done its job correctly) includes the correct amount of calories, including the 1 Cal per Gram for polydextrose, or the 4.36 Cals per Gram for glycerol. The Hidden Carb calculations are designed to unearth just this information, the true Effective Carbohydrate count.

Let me make a disclaimer here. I'm not trying to give anyone advice on how to move forward with their diet. I'm just saying what has worked for me, and was trying to provide some clarification on a couple of issues based on the limited research I've done.

Firstly, my deciding to post a response to this message was in part to see if any of my impressions of how to read the Nutrition Facts on the bars were incorrect. As best I can tell, they aren't. If someone provides information otherwise, so be it. If I'm wrong I definitely want to know...

You seem to be making an assertion that Glycerin could impact a persons blood sugar level? For all I know, you're right. If you actually have evidence along these lines please let me know.

The information you provided stating 1 calorie per polydextrose and 4.36 per glycerol is helpful... but I wanna ask... is glycerol and glycerin the same thing? Regardless, we still don't have enough information to definitively determine what part of the 110 calories or unspecified origin are glycerin and which are polydextrose... And at this point, I'm still not sure that I'm concerned either way.

--Victor

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood.... you said this, though, so I did get the idea you were being severely skeptical:


An earlier post in this very thread: would make a good read for you. Articles here are researched and supported by references and experience, so this may be more useful for you. Also, have a good rummage through the Diabetes forum. It's all there for you to read at your leisure so I won't repeat it here. There are many many discussions ranging back over the last year where people will individually testify (and these folks use blood glucose monitors, much of the time) as to their own responses to sugar alcohols, polyols and other manufactured "semi-carbs". More reading for you.

The point is, it depends on the individual's metabolism, so accurate information on the label without any built-in assumptions or generalities is VERY important.


Yes. Glycerol / Glycerine / Glycerin are minor variations



Well, since you asked and despite your concern (or not), it simply doesn't matter unless you're allergic or it's a carcinogen, as you say... calculating effective carbohydrate count from unaccounted-for calories gives one as close to a true (blood sugars* affecting) count as possible given the information.

* note I don't say blood GLUCOSE here.... there is research out there that infers (and no, I can't remember where I read it right now) that glycolisation, damage caused by glucose, is not the only 'sugars oxidation' that occurs, but is the only one that is tested for...

Your observation that I was displaying skeptecism was correct, at least in part. I was unclear as to why information about sugar alchohols was being sited in relation to the Atkins bars. As far as I could determine, polydextrose (a sugar polymer) and glycerin didn't fall into that catagory.

It does seem I had misconceptions about glycerin. I did a search in the forums and read a few messages, one with a detailed break-down of its potential effects. It does sound like some people will react to it. I guess the only thing one can do, if they care to partake of these substances, is to do some testing using their own body.

As I mentioned in the original post, I don't seem to be suffering as a result of consuming them. I couldn't be happier with the amount of weight I've lost, and how quickly I've lost it. The bars make up two of my three meals in any given day. Though I'm not really following a specific dieting plan (such as Atkins). To sum up my regime: take in as little carbs as possible. (And I'd say I'm keeping it under 20g a day which falls into the Atkins induction.) Also, the amount of food I'm eating, overall, is probably less than most people would find comfortable. So it's possible that my low calorie intake alone could be the factor in my weight loss, regardless of the carbs in the bars, but I find that hard to believe (given the rapid nature of the weight loss.)

By the way, thank you for the reading suggestions. I'll definitely look into the sources of information you mentioned.

--Victor

These "hidden" carbs do effect me. If you are in the early stages of a LC program, I recommend that you stay clear of these until your system is "flushed". My first LC experience was that I needed to strickly limit my carbs for 6 weeks before my system and metabolism GAVE IN, as I call it. After that point, the protein bars were a welcome snack.

Other things that my cause you to stall are foods and drinks that contain citric acid (diet sprite, Koolaid, jello). This was another item I had to cut out during my first 6 week.


Happy Loosing!

Julie