Our Real World Percentages on the Sugar Alcohol Debate

[yossi]

AS we all know, and as we have seen here many times, everyone wants to know about "hidden" carbs, and sugar alochols that "dont have an affect on blood sugar" according to the manufacturer. Id l ike to take a poll, and once and for all, establish some type of sense as to whether or not those sugar alcohols do or dont affect cravings, stall weight loss, and overall have a negative effect on a low carb diet.

It would be pretty interesting to see what would happen to the low carb food industry, if it was determined that for most people, sugar alchols DO affect blood sugar, and therefore stall the diet. So here we go, if you have ever eated foods that only had 1-4g of effective carbs, but 20-40g of sugar alochols, please post your your experience so we can gauge the majority reaction to this sugar.

I guess ill go first:
My body reacts almost equally to sugar alcohols as to regular carbs. My cravings jump, my weight loss stalls, and all of my high carb symptoms return.

So, for now, we are 1-0 for sugar alcohols having a very negative effect on low carb dieting,., what say you? post so we can keep score!

[Rosebud]

establish some type of sense as to whether or not those sugar alcohols do or dont affect cravings, stall weight loss, and overall have a negative effect on a low carb diet.
Hi Yossi, I don't think it's going to be quite as simple as that.

You see we are all different and therefore our reactions to things such as sugar alcohols vary. I've been on this board for over 12 months now, and this is one issue that seems to be strictly YMMV (your mileage may vary). Many people can eat low carb bars and chocs with no problem at all, and others like your good self find them to be a major problem.

For anyone reading this who is not sure what sugar alcohols are, have a look at "low Carb Tips" on the orange bar at the top of the screen where Doreen has written a great article on the subject.

Cheers.

:rose:Rosebud:rose:

[CarolynC]

Sugar alcohols have virtually no effect on my blood sugar. They have never caused me any other gastic problems either (although I do limit myself to only one serving at a time) and they have never caused cravings for more sweets. This is all very fortunate for me because I am a type 2 diabetic and regular sugar causes a tremendous increase in my blood sugar.

[IslandGirl]

but... as the Products Forum moderator, I'm not entirely sure it belongs here in the Products forum, maybe someday in Plateaus or Research? Health Conditions?

I think I'll be leaving it here, at least for a while, because it IS after all a popular discussion point here, or at least this is where many of the discussions start around sugar alcohols, triggered by the many products that contain them.

However, since Yossi's questions are more about what "our" statistics are rather than finally establishing the truth about sugar alcohols, something that RoseBud rightfully points out we simply cannot do, because there IS no one right answer, I have taken the liberty of rephrasing the poll questions and the subject line to more accurately reflect Yossi's direction in the poll questions.

By the way, I've always found it both interesting and irritating that most low carb food manufacturers and writers, while one the one hand clearly understanding that a large percentage of consumers DO have a sensitivity to sugar alcohols (30% or so is large statistically), "they" seem to have no qualms at all about heavily marketing products with the sugar alcohols almost ignored, and promoting the deduction of those carbs (yes, the ARE legally carbs) for 100% of their market... us. Evil, I say. :devil:

I'll stop boring y'all with the details now, and let you get on with the Poll. :D

[freydis]

At least they still put the full carb count on the package so that people who are sensitive can figure out their own carb-cost. I've not been affected by them, but my mother used to be. Toward the end, everything messed up her blood sugars.

[IslandGirl]

Ah, FreyDis, you sweet and optimistic one, MOST of the manufacturers (yes, including Atkins Nutritionals) blithely pre-deducted the sugar alcohol and glycerol counts from the Nutrition Facts label, until the FDA finally put the hammer down and threatened them legal action unless they complied with the law. This happened just last summer.

[barefoot1]

Yossi - Thank for for posting your message. I find it especially encouraging when a low carber wants to dig a little deeper into a particular topic- to discuss our various experiences and research, rather than just stopping at the standard issue response :)



barefoot!

[barefoot1]

oh I forgot!

my experience:

My body reacts to maltitol about the same as regular sugar.

My body reacts far less to erythritol and xylitol.

I have not tried any others.....


anxiously anticipating the results of others :)

barefoot

[BFranke]

I really don't know for sure. But, I have been afraid to try the Maltitols. I know years ago that Sorbitol made me miserable. It was in a low calories ice milk, and should have been named 'Gastric Distress'. I purchased the Maltitol line before Xmas, thinking to bake some with it, but never got around to it. Made the sugar things for family....and got lured into that for 3 weeks.
As far as the bars, I think they keep me from losing, but then it could be that I am just consuming more non-real food when I am using them. The Ross bars did not cause me to have cravings.
So, I don't really know, but will be watching this thread with interest.
Bette

[steph z]

I am a Type 1 diabetic and take up to 4 insulin shots per day (pending how many carbs I eat) and I check my blood sugar 5+ times a day.

I tried my own experiment - ate a Ross' Dark Supreme chocolate bar - 1 gram "effective carbs" and 14.3 grams maltitol. Yes, it was delicious.

I took my blood sugar before (6.2 - that is the Canadian measurement) and 1 hour after eating the bar - 8.2 which is negliable (could be my metabolism, not the carbs producing that slight increase).

It looks like the maltitol did not affect my blood sugar. Interesting.

Hope this helps.

Stephanie :wave:

[theresa113]

I have been reading the debate on sugar alcohols over the past month and a half on this forum. I got concern that maybe I would lose weight faster if I cut them completely out of my diet. I did so for a few weeks. What I found is that I started wanting much higher calorie food including cheese. So since I ate more of the dairy and higher caloric food, my weight loss did not increase but actually stalled during that almost three week period.

I have added back in bars for breakfast 3 to 4 times a week. Now I am back to losing a pound a week. I don't crave sweets throughout the day and stay within my carb count.

So, I thought there was and is validity that sugar alcohols cause problems. But this is definately a YMMV situation since I find that they do not have any effect on me. Sorry to disagree with you Yossi.

I personally like the Atkins products and I am glad for the convience and the taste. Sometimes, eggs and meat get a little boring... (Trust me though, I would rather have the protein and fat than going back to my old ways!)

:daze: Wish I could agree but I can't. :confused:

[IslandGirl]

Actually, Theresa113, I think this particular thread is more about the really high, proportionally speaking, 'candy' and chocolate bars made almost exclusively with maltitol (like Ross or Carbolite or Atkins Endulge) rather than the food bars such as the Atkins Advantage bars.

Though even the meal bars/food/protein bars have an effect on SOME people's blood sugar, up to 30% generally speaking, of folks have a blood sugar impact, many of them with almost anything sweet...

sig: Products Forum Moderator

[readingcop]

I use the candy bars, chocolate "cups" type and other products with maltitol and it hasn't stalled my loss, though I have to admit they cause some bathroom problems for me, but this is worth the price. I do keep it to one serving every day or two.

Also ate pop cycles made with Sorbitol and no stalls yet. I agree with others that it really depends on YOUR body and how it effects YOU.

Good Luck all!

[VickyRenee]

I havent quite figured out if those sugar alcohols affect me yet. I go three weeks with no weight loss and then all of a sudden am down 3 lbs. At first I thought, after 3 weeks and no weight loss, it was because of the sugar alcohols.....so I cut them out......still no weight loss. My weight loss is so sporatic its getting hard for me to tell exactly, if anything, causes the 3 weeks stalls....guess thats just how my body decides it wants to lose the weight.
I have decided to eat the sugar alcohols very minimally, I guess I am afraid it will stall me even more. And when I do eat them they do not make me have to go to the bathroom.
Is there an inexpensive way to check your own blood sugars to see just what it actually does to you? I have no knowledge of diabetic stuff and what it is that I would have to buy to actually check my blood sugar. I would guess it would be an expensive kit or something. If so, to me it would be worth it to know.

[steph z]

Hi - I am a type 1 diabetic and check my blood sugar all the time (too often, I can't feel my finger tips)

However, I don't produce any insulin. If you are not a diabetic, when you eat carbs, your blood sugar goes up, and you produce more insulin - which brings down your blood sugar.

That means testing your blood sugar is useless. Sorry! but look on the bright side - you're not poking yourself a dozen times a day (6+ in the finger and 4 times in the stomach)

[VickyRenee]

That is so true......thanks for the info :)

[DuPont]

I recently purchased "super papaya enzyme plus" which contains Mannitol and sorbitol, and one little pill sent me in to a carbohydrate craving frenzy. I had to try it on another day just to make sure, and the same thing happened.

I also chew gum with xylitol as the sweetener and it doesn't cause any cravings.

[Livvy]

I've had sugar cravings from day one on Atkins induction -- so I'm pretty sure they are all psychological cravings, so I don't dare answer about increased cravings. I don't have a lot of gastric effects unless I eat a dessert that I made with a lot of maltitol -- most choc bars, like Pure Delite don't bother my system. As far as weight loss, I don't seem to stall if I eat one dessert a day (either chocolate bar or cooking with maltitol -- I lose the same amount as I did for four months on strict induction before I succombed to the world of SF desserts). If I eat more than that I seem to stall, but I wish I could avoid them all together, because regardless of whether or not it affects my weight loss, it's just not the healthiest way to go. And just so people don't forget to check their labels, I was at my mother-in-law's house and she had low carb protein bars (wish I could remember the name, it was a familiar one) that had just as much sugar alcohol as many maltitol-sweetened chocolate bars (they varied 20 - 30 grams). So be careful!

[pepsi max]

i react to sugar alcohols the same as i would to sugar. they give me stomach cramps too.definately cause me cravings.wish i could have them though.
i count the entire carb content

[GaryW]

Lactitol wipes me out in all regards (ketosis-buster, digestive pain/gas).
Maltitol's almost (but not quite) as bad for me, and I've recently sworn it off.
However, the more newly-released Erythritol (Eridex) sugar alcohol is so far from a few prelim trials I've given it IS living up to its promise of less digestive complications. It's also less in calories per gram, about 1/10th that of Maltitol if memory serves. I realize it's not a cure all (it's not quite as sweet as the other sugar alcohols) and eating enough of it can cause all the problems of the other aforementioned baddies, but I'm going to cautiously continue to give it a try once in awhile. Note: my prelim trials are in the form of it being in Carbolite's new "At Last" chocolate bars. I'm hoping it lives up to its potential of not necessarily being The Next Big Thing, but at least an incremental improvement. Haven't seen much discussion of it on the low carb boards, but hope to read a few other confirmation/disproving field tests from others. I contacted Atkins Corporate and they said they're in the middle of verifying (or not) its claims of relatively not causing the insulin monster to awaken too much.

[argo2d]

well this is what i read:

if you get gas problems then you're not digesting them as carbs

if you dont get gas problems, then they're just being digested like regular carbs

either way, its not too great


but i personally have avoided ALL products with SAs

[amazin77]

Someone help,

I've lost so much weight, and am very proud. I've always maintained ketosis. But since my sister told me about these Endulge carmel nut chews. I tried a few an felt very guilty.

Today I only had time to eat one endulge and a cup of coffee. I had an inspection at my home so I had to eat something besides coffe. Since Im close to my goal. I've always check my ketosis about three times a day. These past two days since I ate two bars of endulge and a tuna with tomatoe no bread, I am completely out of ketosis for the first time in months since I started.

Does this mean I'm one of the 30% that the sugar alchohols bother me severly? Does that mean I shouldn't eat them anymore? My sister lives long distance and she eats them all the time and said she is always in deep purple.

This is the first time I've eaten anything synthetic while on atkins. I've always made my own food or sweets with splenda. or just plain jello.

Please advise....


Amazin77

[mariejoe]

well this is what i read:

if you get gas problems then you're not digesting them as carbs
if you dont get gas problems, then they're just being digested like regular carbs
either way, its not too great

but i personally have avoided ALL products with SAs

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, eh....Well, at least having gas from SAs has some benefit, I guess.
It's better than the gas I had from WAY TOOOOO MANY daily carbs, esp. highly refined wheat.
:clap:

[MikeS]

I eat Carb Sense Bars which contain 20 grams of Lactitol/Maltitol, which gives me no problem at all.

However I do find that a +50 gram dose can have pretty unpleasant consequences.

If you feel like trying products containing these substances I suggest that you try a small quantity first. If no probs you can up the dose bit by bit to establish your personal limit.

Mike