"sugar alcohols removed"

Cardio4Cupcakes

Hello all, I was just at the store replenishing my snack drawer at work and ended up in the candy aisle. Little bags of Russell Stovers were on sale, so I grabbed 2.

I just went to grab a serving size (3 pieces) and realized they were sugar free. Oh well.

So I pull up MFP and punch in the name and there's a bunch of options with things like "Sugar Alcohols Removed". Then I find a normal one.

I input them both and the entry with Sugar Alcohols Added has only 2 carbs, where as the package says a serving size is 28G. The package also says 26G for "Sugar Alcohol", so I'm assuming the 2G carb is that...but how can they suddenly be "removed" Which one is correct?

Can someone explain this? Feel free to look at my journal under the Snacks section if this doesn't make any sense.

shadow2soul

A lot of entries in the data base are user inputs. What is on a nutritional label will very from country to country since there are different labeling laws and in some cases different ingredients are used. Some users even input things with "net carbs" instead of the full carb amount listed on the package.

If you can't find an exact match, then make your own entry for the product. You don't even have to share your entry with the public (not sharing prevents someone from changing it when it doesn't match their product label).

Cardio4Cupcakes

I understand that part, I just don't understand how entries can have "Sugar Alcohols Removed" and only have 2G of Carbs. I've seen this on other sugar free candies digging around on this site. What I don't understand is if the package says something has 28G of carbs, and 26G for sugar alcohol, it's like they are just subtracting it and only counting for 2 carbs.

Is this like a keto secret or what?

Cardio4Cupcakes

I did a little Googling and found this

"In calculating net carbs, most manufacturers take the total number of carbohydrates a product contains and subtract fiber and sugar alcohols because these types of carbohydrates are thought to have a minimal impact on blood sugar levels.

For example, the label on PowerBar's new double chocolate flavor "ProteinPlus Carb Select" bar says it has "2 grams of impact carbohydrates." The Nutrition Facts label on the product says it has 30 grams of total carbohydrates.

Just below the nutrition facts box, the "impact carb facts" box provided by the manufacturer explains, "Fiber and sugar alcohols have a minimal effect on blood sugar. For those watching their carb intake, count 2 grams." That's 30 grams minus the bar's 27 grams of sugar alcohols and 1 gram of fiber.

whovian67

Just know those little innocent Russell Stover candies sugar free have an extreme laxative effect....

Illini_Jim

Sugar alcohols are not readily absorbed by the body, so most people don’t count the carbs from them. That is why you see the “sugar alcohols removed” listing on some foods. Atkins bars are loaded with them.

Be careful of eating too much of them, as they can have a hardcore laxative effect.

Cardio4Cupcakes

Seriously??! Well shoot (*kitten* may be more fitting in about 5 hours)

scottkjar

Some carbs (such as simple sugar) have large glycemic effects and other carbs (such as fiber) don't. People on low-net-carb diets often subtract out the carbs that do not affect glycemic levels. In your case, someone who eats that product and is on some low-net-carb diet has input an entry that removes the sugar alcohols because that person only wants to count carbs that have a glycemic effect.

So the sugar alcohols were not removed from the product. They were merely removed from the MFP entry by a person who wants to see the glycemic effect rather than see the total carb count.

_Waffle_

Just know those little innocent Russell Stover candies sugar free have an extreme laxative effect....

Yep. Sugar alcohols aren't fully absorbed so if you have too many of them you'll get a bit of a laxative effect. It varies from person to person how many are needed to notice this.

As to the OP's question, sugar alcohols have between 0.3 and 3.0 calories per gram while typical sugars (Carbs) have about 6 calories per gram. Most likely the other one was one someone made up to account for the fact that while it has 28 grams of carbs, not all of them count towards your calorie goal and MFP doesn't make a distinction between sugars and sugar alcohols.

Look at the calorie statement on the package and use that as a basis to judge if this was done correctly.

Cardio4Cupcakes

This is all very interesting (and almost deceptive!)

So as someone who is NOT on a low-carb diet, I would count all 28G of carbs then, right? That would be best?

17ChargerGirl17

If you have ever done a low carb diet, such as Adkins, you subtract alcohol sugars and fiber from your carbs to get your net carbs for that specific item.
There are a lot of surgar free candies that have no carbs after subtracting the alcohol sugars.
I really don't understand how it works, lol, so sorry that didn't answer your question.
I just know how it works because I am a low carber. LOL

_Waffle_

This is all very interesting (and almost deceptive!)

So as someone who is NOT on a low-carb diet, I would count all 28G of carbs then, right? That would be best?

They're both listed as being 160 calories so it honestly doesn't matter much from your point of view. Just pick the normal one in my opinion.

Mataafa05

When I look at labeling, I look frst at the amount of total carbs listed per serving. I then subtract any fiber carbs. If there are Sugar Alcohols listed, I will subtract them as well.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this approach. You are still accounting for the complex carbs which don't hit your system as fast as the simple carbs do, and therefore reduce that "spike" in glucose levels.

Yes, sugar alcohols can indeed produce a laxative effect which can be a real pain. Another thing I have learned is that you need to be aware of the fact that when a manufacturer removes something, like sugar, they add something else, like fat. (Kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul)

Look at a jar of peanut butter and compare the "regular" to the reduced fat version. The fat is reduced, but the carbs are increased. Atkin's bars have little if any carbs, but look at the fat content. It can be significant.