OMG! Chocolate I can eat!

[DCaplinger]

I can't believe it! I finally found a chocolate I can eat!!!

I was walking through the diet section today, and found a Hershey's bar made with Erythritol. It's the first product I've found in the US that's made with erythritol as the sweetener.

For those who don't know about erythritol, it's a sugar alcohol. However, it's one of the few sugar alcohol's that DOES NOT metabolize as a sugar, so almost 100% of it passes through the body. It does not effect BGLs! It also tastes pretty good.

Anyway, the product is Hershey's 1gram Sugar Carb chocolate candy with almonds. Here's the breakdown:

Calories: 140
From Fat: 110

Total Carbs: 16g
FIBER!: 7g
Sugars: <1g
Sugar Alcohols: 8g

NET EFFECTIVE CARBS: 0 (actually, it's -6, but hey, who's counting?)

Of course, it's not "as good" as regular sugar made chocolate, but it was tasty none the less. I ate it with a can of Shasta Diet Root Beer (made with Sucralose and Ace K). Total effective carb intake for the entire snack... 0g. 7g fiber and 2g protein.

Regards,

Darian

[DCaplinger]

How unfair is this! I have come to find that Hershey's is discontinuing this product. Some stores are already selling them at reduced prices to get them off the shelves. I'm going to stock up and freeze 'em.

Regards,

[princesslinda]

According to dietfacts.com, 9 regular hershey kisses with almonds have only 21 gms carbs......eat 5 of them and you'll be around 10-11 carbs...and your craving should be taken care of as well.

I can eat the regular chocolates IN MODERATION and my blood sugars are the same as if I eat the low-carb ones....you might want to try it yourself and see how your results are.

Sometimes sugar free is not much difference carb-wise than "regular." However, your blood sugar may respond better to one than the other, so check often until you see how it affects you.

[lewsterr]

I know exactly how you feel, Darian. It's very unfair. It kinda reminds me of a Dunkin Donuts opening up right near my home last year 1 week after I was diagnosed. It's a conspiracy!

[Alice]

There are too many "real" good chocolates with few carbs (if you only eat one or two)...so I don't mess with the sugar alcohol garbage.

This Xmas, I enjoyed the Lindt (spelling?) chocolate truffles. If you divide the serving size (3) carbs by 3, each truffle is only about 5-6 carbs. They are heavenly.

I also keep Gharadelli (spelling?) squares that are only about 10-11 carbs each.

Dark chocolates tend to contain less sugar.

[Jill-O]

I really like candy bars from Ross. They are really, REALLY good!

Ross chocolates as low as $1.33/bar and free shipping available. Belgian sugar free and low carb chocolate bars for diabetics and low carb diets. Carb friendly Ross chocolates are available in 10 different flavors to satisfy 10 different tastes. One (http://www.rossdirect.com/)

[DCaplinger]

I know exactly how you feel, Darian. It's very unfair. It kinda reminds me of a Dunkin Donuts opening up right near my home last year 1 week after I was diagnosed. It's a conspiracy!

Lou:

As a cop, I truly feel for you on that one. ;)

Regards,

[DCaplinger]

There are too many "real" good chocolates with few carbs (if you only eat one or two)...so I don't mess with the sugar alcohol garbage.

Actually, I've done a ton of research on the subject already. Erythritol is one of the few sugar alcohols that has a GI of ZERO. It's also not one of those sugar alcohols that causes a laxitive effect. Not all sweeteners are the same, so you shouldn't paint them all with the same brush.

I can't touch sugar. Period. No matter how much I crave it, I can't have a single bite. I am having enough problems getting my BGL's to stay below 200 as it is. I have had to totally cut out all sugar or sweets (except for those flavored with sucralose, Ace K or erythritol), and nearly all breads (I will eat whole grain breads with extra fiber in very small amounts).

Things to avoid: maltitol (very high Glycemic Index) and Maltodextrin. The latter one is of specific concern. Maltodextrin is in a lot of sugar free foods. This totally surprises me, because maltodextrin has the same GI and absorbtion rate as sucrose (table sugar). Maltodextrin isn't a sugar substitute... IT IS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SUGAR! It's just as bad as the real thing.

As I've said before, I will control this monster, not the other way around. If I can eat a food that tastes just as good, but has none of the negative effects, I will do it. It may not be as convenient as the real thing, but at least I know it won't spike my sugars or cause me potential issues down the road.

Regards,

[Evermont]

I dose up with Dove dark chocolate squares now and then. I'm thinking about getting some pure cocoa and making my own chocolate with agave nectar, raw honey, or maple sugar instead of sugar. Nutritionally this will only be slightly better than sugar but I can be more confident in the flavanol content and I can make it slightly lower glycemic index that way too. I do like bitter sweet (dark) chocolate so the idea is to add just enough sweet for my own taste and no more.

I may also experiment with other fats than cocoa butter to see what I can come up with. Still thinking about that one.