Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how the sugars on US nutrition labels are calculated by the manufacturers, and how inaccurate these tend to be? My personal trainer is trying to get me to radically increase my protein intake and up my carbs a bit as well, and she's given me several different protein bars, shakes, etc. to try. I looked at the carb counts on 'em and went "eek!", but she said I shouldn't worry as long as the sugar counts are low -- the rest is complex carbs, and that's what I need to be eating to get up to 75-80g.

To make a long story short, they've sent me straight to blood sugar hell -- energy rush, followed promptly by hunger, headaches, sweet cravings, and general blah-ness. So I went over the ingredients pretty thoroughly, and I'm really suspicious about the accuracy of the labels. The worst offenders are Parillo Bars, which claim 35g total, of which 3g is fiber and 3g is sugars -- but the first ingredient on them is brown rice syrup, which is 50% maltose! Detour Bars also did a number on me -- 25g total, 9g of sugars, but the chocolate coating's first ingredient is honest-to-God sugar. Is there any possible explanation for the low sugars, besides a flat lie?

I'm ditching the bars and shakes, because I felt less crappy eating too few carbs than I do eating these things. However, I'd still like to know what's up here, just so I can explain it to the trainer. She took away my strawberries and cottage cheese because of the fructose/lactose, replaced them with the stupid bars -- based on this experiment, I want them back!

I may be wrong but........


"Foods are hydrolyzed with 0.1 N HC1 and then with Rhozyme-S. After hydrolysis reducing sugars are determined by oxidation in alkaline ferricyanide. The amount of ferricyanide reduced can be determined spectrophotometrically or by titration. "

or maybe they just dip their finger in and taste it

OK, so there is a reasonably accurate scientific process to determine the sugar content. In that case, it looks like they're fudging the numbers, because there's no way a 65g bar whose main ingredient is brown rice syrup has only 3g of sugars.

However, I do think I've identified another blood sugar demon: maltodextrin. Technically, it's a complex carb, not a sugar, but it behaves just about the same, and is very quickly absorbed. So they don't have to count it in the sugars, but it's still making me feel awful. Can't believe I used to feel like this on a regular basis!

Hi Atlee:

I'm certainly no expert, but here are my thoughts. First, your trainer hasn't taken the glycemix index or glycemic load into consideration. One teaspoon of sugar is only 4 grams of carbs, but will raise blood sugars quicker than 4 grams of carbs from spinach, for example.

Also, your trainer is assuming that carbs-sugar = complex carbs. I don't think that is entirely accurate. Would white flour be counted as a sugar or a complex carb? I think it would be counted as a complex carb by your trainer's thinking. And we know that white flours dramatically raise blood sugars. The problem is that carbs are calculated by difference, which makes it a bit difficult to calculate high vs. low glycemic carbs, complex carbs, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber and sugars.

Lastly, are all your protein bars counting 1 bar/serving?

I'm sure someone else will be able to give a better explanation than mine. I may be totally wrong in my thinking and you probably know all of this info by now.

Hi Atlee:

Aha! Here's some info I found.

http://www.starch.dk/isi/starch/ricesyrup.htm


BUT, I also found this:
http://www.lundberg.com/faqs/syrup.html



It looks like there may be some labelling discrepancies.

Hi Wanda! Thanks for digging up that helpful info -- I'm pretty sure the label is wrong too, there's just no other explanation for it! Melinda's pretty LC-friendly in theory, very anti-refined carbs and sugars, but I think you're right about her idea of carbs/sugars/complex carbs and of GI/GL. Maybe she just didn't give the labels the full-on skeptic treatment like I have -- I want my strawberries and cottage cheese back!

I think she's probably right in theory, because the plain fact is that I need to eat a good bit more carbs, and I recognize that sugars are sugars, whether they come from fruit, dairy, or the sugar devil . That's why we're careful with fruit on Atkins, and I'll accept that maybe eating 30-40g more sugars isn't the best idea. But the bar/shake alternative doesn't seem to fit the theory, and it's emphatically not working for me -- I'm actually more tired, headachy, and hungry between workouts, and I'm still hitting that carb-depletion wall while lifting. Guess it's just because I'm coming from 8 months of strict LC living, and most of her clients come from the other direction.

Still, I'm really lost and frustrated with food for the first time since my newbie days, because I just don't know what in the devil I can eat that will increase my carbs without involving sugars of one kind or another, whether dairy, fruit, or legumes. I really loathe whole grains, plus I don't think they agree with me, so that's out. But I've got to eat more of something, because even 40-45g seems to be too low for this much lifting, and I just can't think of any good options. On top of everything else, I feel wretched, and it's from eating nasty protein bars, not even anything fun!

Can't believe I'm whining about not getting enough carbs, though. Going to quit feeling sorry for myself now, and go drink my Friday-night low-carb dry white wine and eat my fructose-filled ripe strawberries topped with homemade lactose-containing creme fraiche. Melinda can just kiss my steak . Thanks for listening to me gripe and moan!

Hi Atlee:

I hear ya! Nope, you aren't whining and groaning. I went through the same thing when I was increasing carbs. It just didn't seem like I could increase them that much. I'm afraid to eat too much fruit b/c I used fruit to replace my sugar addiction in the past. Then grains are very high in carbs and they induce sugar cravings. It left veggies and nuts.

I don't really understand why your cottage cheese and strawberries were removed. I'm with you on that. Go back to what you enjoy eating.

I'm not convinced that eating protein bars is such a healthy way of eating (I'm from the "whole foods" school), but I also realize that they are a convenient food for many. Problem is that you have to choose between sugar or sugar alcohols. Which is worse? I haven't decided yet, they both cause me grief. If you don't want to eat grains, then have you tried adding some starchy veggies like carrots, corn, squash, yams, or even potato skins. What about black soy beans? Do you hate all grains like barley and oats?

You might find Atkins For Life helpful for increasing your carbs. He has menu plans for 75 ECCs which will give you a great starting point. He takes glycemic index and glycemic load into account when increasing carbs.

For that matter, Schwarzbein might also be a great plan for you to look at for the same reasons. However, she does recommend grains (and her daily counts are total carbs, not net carbs).

Not sure if any of this helps since you probably already know this. But I just wanted to acknowledge that it certainly is hard to break away from a comfortable eating pattern.

Hopefully you start feeling better soon.