Net Carbs Debate
 

I saw a website that is selling all low carb foods. They are using NET Carb values. This is (carbs-fiber=Net Carbs).

Instinctively this didn't sound right to me. I read some articles from a Dr. Ellis discrediting the Net Carb theory.

I am wondering what anyone else thought about this. If you had to limit your carbs would you trust Net Carbs or go by the real carbs?

Thank you!!
Aussie

Hi Aussie99,

I don't know anything about "net" carbs and based on numerous consults with dieticians I would go by as you call it "real" carbs. If the Dr. Ellis of which you mention discrediting the net carb theory is the one from TCOYD, I would definitely trust his take on it. I have met him personally on a few occasions and talked with him. He knows his stuff. The Dr. Ellis I know is also personally knowledgeable about diabetes, not just as a physician, as he has lived with it almost his entire life.

For me, I will use real carbs as my guideline for my diabetes control.

Hi Hopeless,
Thank you for the confirmation. There is a website here in Oz with mostly USA products and it's all labeled in net carbs. And they go on to explain that we must minus the fiber from the actual carbs to get the true reading of the products carbs. They sell slim pasta and Dreamtime pasta for a Premium. I think it's just misleading consumers and I just wanted to get another opinion.

Thank you!
Aussie

Ok, here's one...
Here's another...
And yet another that says essentially the same things, but also includes something interesting I had not seen/read before...
An alcohol sugar that increases blood sugars? Well, that explains why they make my feet all buzzy! :eek:

Looking for verification, I found...
I don't know if it was the first factoid that caused me to previously miss/gloss over that second little tidbit or what, but apparently I did. :o

Fortunately (I spoze) I listen to my body over what I see/hear/read, so I've been avoiding the alcohols anyway. It's nice to know it's not some kind of anomaly though... :p

FWIW, I found the above by goggling: debunking "net carbs". More can be found searching "net carbs" scam and similar.

Doc

Wow! Your good at sniffing out scams. I am also having problems with sugar alcohols. They also give me terrible stomach cramps.

I just had to reorder a bunch of vitamins today because there is Sorbitol in my B12 and R Lipoic acid I take them twice a day and they were making things worse even at that small amount. I made a list of 'other ingredients in vitamins'. I have to goggle them to see what the heck they are. Never had to get that granular before with ingredients. :mad:

Sugar alcohols are laxative. Some people are very sensitive to this effect. Sorbitol is actually used medically for constipation.
Some people get loose on just sugarless gum! Look for words ending in ---ol as most of the sugar alcohols end in --ol

Some products will include a disclaimer on the package. But I have only seen that once, on a nutrition bar box. (may cause laxative effects). Mostly these are hidden and never mentioned in the ingredients as laxative. Hershey's is good at this.
They put sorbitol in some of their chocolates (the non-diabetic products) to improve texture and moistness. Russell Stover and Whitman's also have it in their regular chocolates. I would guess maybe the falling consumer use of the latter may be contributing to their selling off their company recently? (I sometimes buy the holiday tins on the after holiday sale tables, to use for my art supplies and brushes). Their tins are wonderful for this purpose...beautiful and artistic. But in the past 2 yrs the candy itself made me ill! When I read the fine print on the tins' ingredients= sorbitol was there.

Hershey's has also a new emulsifier added instead of cocoa butter, called PRPG which is also laxative for me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygly...olyricinoleate
I don't trust this ingredient at all!

Hi, I have always been told to go by net carbs and also you can subtract sugar alcohols, but the fibers and sugar alcoh just take longer to digext, keping your blood levels stable, but those other carbs are still there.

Hi NormaAnn,

First of all, Welcome to our friendly, caring Community, we have a lot of knowledgeable Members here across the Forums willing to share experiences. Check out our Peripheral Neuropathy and Arthritis Forums for support for your particular issues - as well as this Forum for your Diabetes. If someone could pop up the links, I'm not set up to do it today, thank you.

As for nett carbs, I am still learning here and in the Real World how my Diabetes affects me, and how everything works, but having read this Thread and looked elsewhere, nett carbs do seem like 'smoke and mirrors' to me. I will definitely stick to 'real carbs' counting on my calorie controlled and Diabetic diet. Just my opinion.

You could always make up a meal and count the Real Carb content, then note your bloods, then next day count Nett Carbs to the same value in a similar meal and compare test results.

Dave.

Welcome NormaAnn. :Wave-Hello: