Dreamsfields - is it a fraud???

[steph z]

I am a Type 1 diabetic that does not create ANY insulin. I have had a C-Peptide test in order to get on the islet cell waiting list, hence the test.

I heard about Dreamsfields and hoped it was not too good to be true, because I have a difficult time eating soy products. I cannot stand the taste, texture, and most of the time prefer to do without the product than eat soy.

I have repeatedly tried the Dreamsfields pasta, with the same results (5x to be sure). My blood sugar levels are stable 1 and 2 hours after I eat the pasta. However, overnight something strange is going on, and I wake up with an alarmingly high glucose level. Now, I tried the new Carbquik product recently as well with absolutely no blood sugar rises, 1-2 or even 8 hours after eating the product. However with Carbquik the Nutritional Facts show of the 10 net carbs total, 8 are Fibre and we can all agree that fibre has no impact on glucose levels, as our bodies don't digest/absorb it.

I wanted to do my research before discussing this on this site, and I looked up the research completed at the Dreamsfields site as well as that man who raves about it on his website (found in an earlier Dreamsfields thread).

The info. I discovered, is that although blood glucose levels remained consistent in the test subjects (who fasted for many hours before eating the product), I did not see any indication that tests were done after more than 2 hours aftering eating the product. Given my particular response to the product, I emailed both sites requesting info on the efficacy of the studies/tests; and specifically inquiring if glucose levels were measured at intervals greater than 2 hours. That was more than 1 week ago.

Yesterday, I received mail from Dreamsfields - several coupons for discounts on the products. I figured then, that I would not be getting an answer.

So, that is my experience. The product does taste terrific, no doubt about that, but I don't trust my glucose levels enough to believe the Dreamsfields carb claims. I believe they are dreaming those claims!!

Are there any other diabetics out there (esp. those who do not create any insulin) who have tested more than 2 hours after eating the product? :wave: :q:

[wils]

Did you see the post by Its the Wooo, entitled Dreamfields Pasta and its efficacy in the LC way of life, it explains this happens to some diabetics. check it out might be informative for you. At the moment it is a few posts below yours.

[steph z]

Yes I did - that is where I got enough info. to have some comfort level to actually try the product. As I am a Type 1 Diabetic and product NO insulin, I am not insulin resistent. So that is not the problem.

I am convinced there is some sort of delay in the conversion from the product to blood glucose levels - that takes place more than 2 hours after eating the product.

This does not happen with any other product. Plus, I am not entirely comfortable with the way they deal with the Nutritional Facts - the entire carb count is included and not the net carbs, which is done offside the Nutritional Facts Label.

I would be interested to hear from Type 1 Diabetics out there who have tested their blood glucose levels more than 2 hours after eating the product, to hear if they too are experiencing the same thing. :help:

[irinka]

Hi
I was thinking... was it possible that you took less insulin the night you were testing the pasta? When you have lower insulin levels in the blood the next morining and low blood sugar, as your liver turns to glycolysis to raise that blood sugar, the blood sugar would go up more, since there is almost no insulin in the blood. That is just my hypothesis because I ohh so want the Dreamfields claim to be true. I love eating their stuff.
Was this the case?

[steph z]

Good question, but no Irinka, I was into Ketosis at the time (trying to lose those last few lbs) so I had no glycogen in my liver. My main concern is that Dreamsfields won't reply to me.

But - check out this interesting article today. It validates my concerns: I enclose the link and the actual article. A good debate, and I will let my body's response to the product guide my assessment of it, rather than wishful thinking (too bad, because the pasta did taste too good to be true!)

http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm?cmi=522326&cid=6&code=75960

The Perfect Pasta... Or A Low-Carb Lie?

By Becky Billingsley
Special for eDiets

August 14, 2004

Is it a field of pasta dreams or an over-liberal use of terminology?

In recent months, one of the most hotly debated topics in low-carb chat rooms and on message boards is the new Dreamfields pasta, released this year by the DNA Dreamfields Company. Its makers claim that although one two-ounce serving of their pasta contains 42 grams of carbohydrate -- just like "regular" pasta -- and is made primarily of enriched semolina -- just like regular pasta -- they are able to control 37 grams so that only 5 grams carbohydrate are digested.

Even the term that Dreamfields coined for counting their carbs, "net digestible carbs," is new.

Dreamfields inventor Jon Anfinsen says he inserts the word digestible into the final carb calculation because he evaluates carb impact by its digestibility, which is tested by measuring blood glucose levels.

"Our product is unique from the standpoint that the product changes in digestibility as it goes through the system," he said in a recent phone interview. "The way our body processes foods is what determines [the final carb count]. The body processes it, then we measure it based on blood glucose. If [food] is not digested in the small intestine, it passes to the colon, ferments like fiber, then you get all the benefits of fiber."

Which means that this pasta, with its matrix fiber shield, should prevent blood glucose spikes, which would be wonderful news for diabetics.

This measure of blood glucose levels comes from in vivo (live people) studies. A quality control test, Anfinsen said, involved some 45 to 50 people who were screened as healthy people without any metabolic disorders. Those test subjects underwent a total of 300 to 400 test runs.

A separate study was conducted with 12 people, who were chosen randomly. They were observed in 32 tests. That test was done at AMK Research, Inc., and one of the researchers there, John Abernethy, M.D., is on the Dreamfields advisory board. Dreamfields released the results of that study, which shows that after two hours, the test subjects’ blood glucose indicated absorption of 5 grams of carbohydrate.

"I had a discussion with a number of colleagues about this, and we can’t figure out how it could work," said Dr. David A. Levitsky, a professor of nutrition science and psychology at Cornell University.

Many Dreamfields advocates think it tastes no different from regular pasta, and the company makes much of that. Other reduced-carbohydrate pastas use dilution to decrease the carb count, such as by adding soy fillers. Those pastas can feel gummy, especially if they aren’t allowed enough cooking time. Dreamfields cooks in the same amount of time as regular pasta -- about 8 to 10 minutes. That makes Dr. Levitsky skeptical.

"I agree if you coat the carbohydrate granules, it could block absorption," Levitsky said, "[but] it’s not going to act like a carbohydrate anymore. The property of starch, the chewy consistency, should be blocked. It should block its interaction with enzymes in the [gastro intestinal] tract, and it should take longer to cook. It should be quite different indeed if the starch granules are blocked.

"If what they’re doing is adding soluble fiber, it would have a beneficial effect for diabetics," he said. "It will slow down the rate at which the stomach dumps its contents and will decrease the rate of absorption. In terms of diabetics, yeah, that would probably be more beneficial than eating ordinary pasta.

"That’s what I’m very skeptical of. [The Dreamfields] fiber blend is all good soluble gums, which are known to decrease the rate of absorption. But it only affects the rate, not how much is absorbed. That’s what my colleagues and I highly doubt, but that’s without seeing the [testing] data."

The professor isn’t the only skeptic. Pat Vasconcellos, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, said while the concept is interesting, she would like to see more tests performed.

"Let’s have an independent testing," she said, "and have a website to go into, so we can go in and do our own assessing. And let’s test with diabetics and see how they do. I’m looking at this more medically, at those people sensitive to carbs."

Elaine Payne is president of Low-Carb Connoisseur, an online low-carb specialty store at www.low-carb.com. She refuses to sell Dreamfields.

"We have a message board on our site, and we found that diabetics had to test beyond their normal time period. There was a delayed spike going four to five hours… [Dreamfields] is obviously different, but you have to suspend your belief to think it’s down to five grams carbohydrate."

The product testing performed by AMK Research monitored blood glucose up to two hours after people ate the pasta. David Mendosa, a diabetic who maintains a website at www.medosa.com, performed glucose tests on himself after eating Dreamfields. His results, which show no appreciable blood glucose spikes, are often referred to on low-carb message boards as proof that the product does what it promises. But Mendosa’s data is only for one and two hours after eating.

Tonya Root is a diabetic and a journalist who lives in Myrtle Beach, SC. She is sensitive to glucose spikes after eating pasta, and she tried Dreamfields twice.

The first time she ate a two-ounce serving, plain. She started with a blood glucose level of 109 (80 to 120 is normal for people without diabetes). After one hour her blood glucose was 127, and after two hours it was 139.

"But four hours later," Root wrote in an email, "when my tummy started to rumble and I was searching for a snack, my blood sugar reading was 189."

Root said that was unusual, because normally that long after she eats her blood sugar is near normal again.

The second time she had a bit more than a suggested serving size, topped with Ragu light tomato and basil sauce, and one piece of bread. Before the meal her blood sugar was 112, after two hours it was 197 and after four hours it was 227.

"That may sound high, but it’s actually better than if I had regular pasta because then it would be at or very close to 300 and I would feel very sluggish. I never got that sluggish feeling I normally get when I’ve had too many carbs at once, so that was a good thing."

So, in anecdotal reporting, some people are experiencing delayed blood glucose elevations, which could be good news for diabetics. But skeptics are still undecided about the validity of the claim of a serving having 37 grams of controlled carbs, especially for people who are more concerned about reducing carb intake rather than monitoring blood sugar levels.

Are the carbs controlled so long they’re expelled from the body before they can be digested, or does the delayed blood sugar influence mask a slow carbohydrate absorption?

Only more testing will show that definitively.

"It raises a lot of questions," said Joy Short, Director of the Didactic Program in Dietetics in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Saint Louis University.

Short is concerned that, because the Food and Drug Administration has not yet issued definitions or guidelines for low-carbohydrate food labeling, Dreamfield’s "net digestible carbs" could be a marketing gimmick.

She points out that a serving of Dreamfields pasta has 190 calories, which is comparable to regular pasta. She likens this and other unsubstantiated low-carb claims to the low-fat craze of a decade ago that had some dieters convinced they could over-indulge in low-fat foods and disregard calorie intake.

"Until we come up with some definitions for these terms, it’s really just buyer beware," she said. "It sounds too good to be true, and it probably is."

We keep you informed of the best choices and best foods, as well as the latest trends in diet and nutrition, and whether or not they're worth your while.

Becky Billingsley is the editor of Coastal Carolina Dining and CEO of The Food Syndicate. Contact her at becky~thefoodsyndicate.com.

[SkinnySoon]

I don't believe all the hype about Dreamfield's either. I tried a box a while ago, although very skeptical, because I wanted to see what my body would think of it. No, I didn't do blood tests, but I have a sensitive gastrointestinal system for "bullshi* products"... like sugar alcohols and 'blocked carbs'.

Nobody else low-carbs with me, so I ate the whole box over a 4 day period spread among my meals. (I was not following Atkins strictly at the time) The first couple of hours were great... but afterwards, I felt as if I had just eaten a package of sugar alcohols laden candies. My stomach was bloated and cramping and I was very gassy. Lucky for me, I was alone for most of my experiment with it. The symptoms lasted for several hours once they began.

If my body reacted to this product this way... then there is definately something they are not telling us about what they are doing to "treat" the pasta to block, (really slow down), the absorbtion of the carbs.

I will NOT buy this again..... even though it tasted great.

[wcollier]

Oh shoot! I just bought this after reading all the positive posts about it here. What a good article. You should post it somewhere that more people will see it, like that main Dreamfields thread.

Well, I guess I'll try it but knowing how I react to sugar alcohols I'm not hopeful about it.

Wanda

[scott123]

Thanks for posting the article. I've been contending dreamfield's high carb impact for quite some time. There has been very little interest in the truth in this regard.

[susandendy]

I also contacted Dreamfields..and received no information that would explain their claims...to bad, it tastes really good!

[cococarby]

I still have to give a thumbs up for Dreamfield's Pasta. I have never had any negative side effects-- triggered cravings, headaches, bloating, gas, or weight gain-- Each meal has left me feeling incredibly satisfied and delighted that something like this can be incorporated into my eating plan. I only eat this pasta about two or three times a month so even if the "digestible carb" thing is B.S., and I'm technically cheating by eating it, I don't care!! Also, I understand that it is more complicated than all this, just my 2 cents. :)

[irinka]

I have not gone out of ketosis with it either, the same or the next day. And I find that it helps me eat less because of the fact it is so filling. I think that maybe some people have less tolerance to these stuff, same as with sugar alcohols. But hopefully the future test results will give us a clearer answer

[Nancy LC]

My own experience was that I felt hungry after eating dreamfields, like a couple hours later. Before I should have been, I think. Maybe I just didn't have enough protein wtih my dinner and it didn't stick to my ribs, but I'm a little bit suspicious.

Also, on the Dreamfield's web site they do say that some people respond to it more than others.

But it is interesting that you had such a delayed reaction to it! Unfortunately it takes 72 hours for you to process food, end to end, so I don't think you could get rid of it to avoid it breaking down, if it is getting digested.