Hi there ! I've been l-carbing for 6 months and have lost a lot of weight already. In the past couple of months I've really missed having something sweet after lunch and dinner and I usually end up having a Carbolite chocolate bar. At aroung 1 g net effective carbs it's hard to beat and it tastes delicious too. It doesn't seem to be stalling my weight loss and I have no unpleasant digestive side ffects, even though I'm having 1-2 bars almost everyday. My question is: Does anyone know if having that many low-carb candy bars can be harmful to one's health? As I see it, this seems too good to be true, I get to have my chocolate and eat it too??? There must be some hidden trap I'm missing...

Aside from the fact that they're full of unpronounceable chemicals? I don't think a lot of anything that's that processed is good for you.

If you're happy with your weight loss, go for it.

Most of us avoid sugar alcohols as they either stall us, or cause gastric distress. If you have neither effect, enjoy.

More information on sugar alcohols is available by clicking "The truth about low carb sweeteners" to your right.

HogarthNH/Kristine, That's very helpful, thanks !

Yep: the hidden trap is the 15 g of sugar alcohols. No one is 100% certain whether or not the body absorbs them, but in the US, the FDA went ahead and told companies it was okay to label them as "1 net carb", assuming that none of it gets absorbed. A pretty bold assumption, IMHO. In Canada, the diabetes association recommends counting half of the sugar alcohol grams as carbs. Many prudent LCers count the whole thing, because they can feel the blood sugar and/or more cravings.

Check the "truth about low carb sweeteners info" link over to the right, under "quick links", for more info.

(edit) heh - we all posted at the same time.

Read the ingredients, folks. If it's got hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated (the newest ingredient buzzword is "fractionated") anything in it, it is VERY detrimental to your health, and should not be consumed.

Hummm... I didn't find anything 'hydrogenated' or 'fractionated' in the Carbolite list of ingredients. There's maltitol, which I'm assuming is the sugar alcohol and a bunch of other ingredients that you usually find in processed food. There's also Sodium Caseinate and I really don't know what that is.
I know processed food is not good for you and all, but I was wondering if this kind of low-carb processed food poses more of a risk than say, a can of diet soda (which, again, does not stall me at all, despite the caffeine).
I wish I could live on unprocessed food only, as I wish I had never fed a jar of processed baby food to any of my babies, as I wish I had more time to play with my kids and to go surfing, but let's face it, life is more complicated than that...

If you really, really wanted to live on whole, unprocessed foods, then you would.

Well I have to admit, I eat more Chocolate now then before LC, But it still is a pretty small amount.( I've never eaten one bar at one go, it last me 3-4 days, just a chunk here and there.) but I'd hate to go without it :>)

I buy Ross's No sugar bars
Ross' Chocolates Manufactured in Canada( Chase b.c.) with Smooth BElguim Chocolate.
Here is what is in them:
Malitol, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass ? lecithin, vanilla.

Some also have almonds peanuts, coconuts, plain dark, and can have mint, orange, raspberry, cherry flavor.

I think the old saying "Moderation is the key" applies to these as well.

My impression is that those who eat 2 aday of these have not broken the sugar/sweet habit, just replaced it, therefore it can be a bit of a danger zone in the long run?? Just my 2 cents :>)

Cheers Kathy

OHGal1415,
Since you don't know me or my life I don't see how you can make an assumption like that and anyway, that's straying from the subject...

Kathy54, I really agree with you about not breaking the sweet habit. The thing is I went for 5 months without anything sweet at all. Now would be the time to re-introduce some, like berries. Unfortunately, we don't have berries where I live all the time, only during a few months and only strawberries... I believe in making this WOE liveable for the rest of my life and I could not live for the rest of my life without anything sweet at all. I guess I should consider switching to sugar-free Jell-O, but again, would that be all that better ? And again, it's not the weight-loss side of it that botters me. I'm losing fine, even with the occasional 2 Carbolite bars a day...

They can lable them as 1g effective or net carb, but they have to list the full amount of carbs. Some one sued the Atkins company for mislabling because they only put 1-2 carbs on thier bars.

If your happy with your weight loss, then I wouldn't worry on that end. Do I think having chocolate everyday is bad for health weather it is LC or not? Yes. It also inforces poor eating habits.

If it is not making you run for the bathroom and is not stalling you, I say "enjoy". As far as long term health affects, EVERYTHING causes cancer, etc. these days, who's to say they won't decide drinking too much water won't in a few years. Enjoy!

Kim, your're right ! Depending on the pollution, even breathing too much can cause cancer !

Just wanted to say the lowcarb candy bars never did cause me any real problem. I probably eat one about every other day. It takes care of my sweet tooth and probably keeps me from eating lord knows what. I do believe eating them in moderation probably is the best.