Net Effective Carbs?

[doctordun]

I've noticed that Sorbee and others use "net effective carbs" to advertise that their products are carbohydrate free.
An example would be a chocolate bar that has a total of 25 carbs coming from sugar alcohol and fiber. They then subtract the alcohol and fiber and say it's zero carbs per serving or about 3 carbs.

Is this real or just creative advertising? I thought that sugar alcohols and fiber, unless it's dietary fiber, are carbs non the less, and just takes longer to metabolize.

In reality, the chocolate bars have the same carbs as their normal counterparts, just from different sources?

[wiseguy]

Net carbs are a reality. Carbs from fiber can be subtracted from the total carbs. Sugar alcohols are another story. They affect different people in different ways. In theory, since they are not digested like other sugars, they do not raise blood glucose levels. Many people find that this is not the case. Also, the sugar alcohols cause diarrhea in a good percentage of people.

[morrisma]

I can definitely agree with the intestinal effects of sugar alcohols! Not for everyone for sure.
Mike

[volleyball]

I think the sugar alcohol is a product where too much of a good thing can be bad. small amounts seem to be good but you should limit. Kinda of like those potato chips of a few years ago that caused big issues for those who thought it meant you could now eat the whole bag.

[mark-TN]

I’ve been on a low carb diet for almost 5 years now and I have never bought or eaten any food labeled as “low carb” (my diet consists of only real food, ie fresh low starch fruits and veggies, meat, cheese, eggs, etc.). I adamantly avoid anything that has the phrase “net effective carbs:” on the label. The Adkins diet allows you to subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from total carbs and coined the phrase “net effective carbs” and in my opinion this has definitely led to a lot of “creative advertising” by many food manufacturers, including Atkins Nutritionals. I have never purchased anything from Adkins Nutritionals for this reason. I follow Bernstein’s protocol that sugar alcohols have an effect on blood sugar and I only consume them very, very sparingly (ie a few sticks of sugar free gum in a day). Most sugar alcohols are not as sweet as regular sugar so the manufacturer ends up using more sugar alcohol to achieve the same level of sweetness than they would if they had used regular sugar and the effect is a product that contains more carbs (in some cases twice as much or more). FDA labeling laws allow manufactures to label products “Sugar Free” as long they do not contain sugar, even though the products can be loaded with sugar alcohols. Apart from the gastrointestinal problems they cause, in my opinion the use of sugar alcohols should be heavily scrutinized by any diabetic, and especially by those following a carb restricted diet/life style just for the impact they can have on blood sugar levels.

Mark