Net carbs!

[Intensity]

These days, there is a lot of products with the "net carbs" mention on the label. For exemple, some protein bars have 33g of carbs but only 7g of net carbs... i would like to have your opinion on this...

Personnaly, i would stick with clean complex carbs sources as oatmeal, brown rice, vegetables, etc. but are those low net carbs product what they claim to be?

EX:
Total Carbohydrates: 33g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 3 g
Glycerine: 9 g
(Only 7 Net Impact Carbs)

So what is the problem with them?

- Carbs in those products are simple carbs? i'd say yes...
- No vitamins? also yes...
- Associated with high fat? yes...
- We cant conclude that we'll only absorb the net carbs mentionned on the label? huuum.... this is the main question...

Mo

[Tim Wescott]

A carb is a carb in my opinion,unless it`s a negative calorie carb such as in a salad.

Sometimes I`ll buy some sugar-free mints when dieting that contain net carbs..................not too often.

Always a new catch phrase.......when I started out all there was just simple carbs, and complex carbs........now it`s net carbs,high GI carbs,low GI carbs..........

Another one that pisses me off is people who say they train their "core"..........funny,we used to call it working lower back and abs!!! #a037#

[Tim Wescott]

Much of the labeling about so-called net carbs in various low carb foods is designed, of course, to sell more products. But is it scientifically accurate? Does it give the right information to consumers who are looking to avoid processed carbohydrates? Many of these foods, like protein bars and sweets, claim "1 gram of net carbs," and yet they taste surprisingly sweet. How do they accomplish that without using carbohydrates?
The answer is that they are using carbohydrates -- they're just not carbohydrates that have the same glycemic index effect on blood sugar. For example, they're not using refined carbohydrates, added sugars, or high-fructose corn syrup. Instead, they're typically using sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, xylitol, and manitol.

The problem with these sugar alcohols is that they aren't necessarily the healthiest thing you can put in your body if you're doing it in large quantities. Because these sugar alcohols are not absorbed and digested in the same way that sugar is, they can cause digestive disorders. Many people report diarrhea or flatulence from consuming these alcohols. They may also experience stomach cramps.

The fact is, there's no such thing as a sugar ingredient, even if it's a sugar alcohol, that doesn't have some sort of effect on your system. Even these low glycemic index sugar alcohols are still molecularly similar to sugar, and they are still processed food ingredients. I know I have recommended some products in the past based on xylitol, but only those that are designed to be used in small quantities, such as xylitol chewing gum.

I've been horrified to see the quantity of low carb foods that are being consumed by people following the Atkins diet and other low carb diets. Instead of purchasing and consuming natural low carb foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, they are instead purchasing large quantities of processed low carb foods, such as low carb protein bars and low carb mixes or drinks.

If you're going to eat low carb, what you should really be doing is getting away from all processed foods, including low carb processed foods. You should be turning to food sources from nature, such as nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy oils. Or, if you want food that tastes sweet, use a natural herbal sweetener like stevia that won't upset your stomach and digestive system. And remember, the net carbs claims on low carb food product labels may be good marketing, but they're not necessarily good descriptions of what's actually contained in these food products.

[Tim Wescott]

Low-carb diets are here to stay. There is no question that they can be very effective for fat loss when done properly. But low-carb diets aren't easy for those who are use to eating a lot of carbohydrates. You must strictly limit the amount of carbohydrates that you eat in order to get results. It's not unusual for a low-carb dieter to be found gazing longingly at a piece of bread or cake!

But here comes nutrition and supplement science to the rescue in the form of non-impact carbs, net carbs and effective carbs with the promise of low-carb foods wrapped up in traditionally high-carb packages! It sounds like a dream come true to low-carb dieters who crave the taste of carb-containing foods but still want the results of a low-carb diet.

These terms are the latest buzz words in the weight loss industry but are people getting more than they bargained for with foods and supplements that are based on net, non-impact and effective carbs? Could these designer-foods be slowing or even stopping your progress on a low-carb diet?


Nutrition 101


Let's start with a little Nutrition 101. A carbohydrate is a nutrient that is used by your body for energy. It contains 4 kilocalories of energy per gram (kilocalorie is the formal name for calorie).



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Your body converts the carbs that you eat into glucose/blood sugar for use in a wide variety of metabolic processes. This conversion can happen rapidly or slowly depending on the type of carbohydrate food eaten. This rate is known as the Glycemic Index.

For a more detailed look at the Glycemic Index, check out More Articles On GI Index.

A higher number means the food is rapidly converted into glucose - a lower number means the food is more slowly converted into glucose. For example, table sugar has a high glycemic index while beans have a low glycemic index.

Generally speaking, slower conversion of carbs into blood sugar is better. Here's why:


The faster food is converted into blood sugar, the faster your blood sugar levels rise.
When blood sugar levels are high, your body secretes insulin, its primary storage hormone.
When insulin is present in the bloodstream, energy nutrients such as fat or carbohydrates are far more likely to be stored rather than burned.
In terms of fat loss, this means fat is not readily mobilized from fat cells and fat burning slows or even stops.
By controlling insulin secretion, you can effectively improve your body's ability to mobilize fat from fat cells. Once mobilized from the fat cells, they are more readily burned for energy, i.e. you lose fat. This is the basic premise that most low-carb diets are based on (there are exceptions, i.e. ketogenic diets, which I will get into later in the article).


Non-Impact Carbs


Non-Impact carbs, in a nutshell, are carbs that have very little effect on blood sugar levels when they are eaten. Since they don't have an impact on blood sugar levels, they are technically "allowed" on most low-carb diets.

Examples of non-impact carbs that you'll see in low-carb foods and supplements include fiber, sorbitol, maltitol, and glycerol. Fiber is completely indigestible by the body and passes through unused. Sorbitol, maltitol and glycerol are what are known as "sugar alcohols." They are digested by the body but have little to no effect on blood sugar levels.


Effective Carbs


The Effective Carb is the opposite of the Non-Impact Carb. They are carbs that will have an effect on blood sugar levels. In most low-carb diets, the idea is to place a limit on Effective Carbs to keep blood sugar and, therefore, insulin levels under control. On a strict, low-carb diet, this number can be as low as 20 grams of effective carbs per day.

Effective Carbs can be divided into two basic groups: simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs are rapidly converted into glucose by the body while complex carbs (which, as the name implies, are more complex in structure) generally take longer to convert to glucose.


Net Carbs


The Net Carb count is basically the same as the Effective Carb count. It's the total number of carbs in the food minus the non-impact carbs. These terms can really be used interchangeably, which can be a source of confusion in consumers.

For example, if a food contains 30 grams of carbs and 10 of those carbs are fiber, the food contains 20 grams of net carbs. It's basically what's left over after you subtract everything else.

The term "Net Carb" was coined by supplement makers after glycerol (the non-impact sugar alcohol discussed above) was reclassified by the FDA as a carbohydrate. Previously, it had not been classified as either a carb or a fat and supplement makers were able to use it as a sweetener without adding to the carbohydrate count of a protein bar.

When this reclassification took place, the carb counts of low-carb protein bars increased dramatically! The term "Net Carb" is a result of manufacturers wishing to keep their carb counts down while still using glycerol in the manufacturing process.

The "Up" Side:


Non-impact carbs are very effective at reducing the insulin response you get from eating foods made with them. This means insulin levels will stay more even throughout the day, which will definitely improve the body's ability to burn fat.


Non-impact carbs help low-carb dieters stick to their diets. There is no denying that sometimes you just want to eat a cookie. By eating a low-carb cookie, you get the enjoyment of the cookie while still keeping your insulin levels under control.

Low-carbs foods are actually being used by people who aren't on strict low-carb diets but who just want to lower their carb intake. Non-impact carbs are very effective for this purpose.
The Downside:


While non-impact carbs don't affect blood sugar levels, they still contain calories (except fiber, which is not digestible). A person who eats a lot of non-impact, carb-containing foods is still getting all the calories of an equivalent amount of regular carbohydrates! This fact is never highlighted in advertising for non-impact carb foods. Total caloric intake still matters on low-carb diets. If your body is getting too many calories, it won't need to burn bodyfat.

If you eat large amounts (or in some people, even small amounts) of sugar alcohols, you could experience what could tactfully be called the "green apple quicksteps," i.e. diarrhea. Sugar alchols are not normally found in large quantities in natural foods and the body can have a hard time digesting them. What the body has trouble digesting, it tends to get rid of as quickly as possible (if you're familiar with the results of eating Olestra, the fake fat, you will understand what I'm talking about).

If you're on a low-carb diet that is designed to put the body into ketosis (a state where the body burns ketones for energy instead of blood glucose), you may find eating non-impact carbs puts the body out of ketosis by providing carbohydrate-like calories. In this case, the non-impact carb basically defeats the whole purpose of the low-carb diet. If you're on a ketogenic diet, stay away from from foods that have non-impact carbs as they will have an impact on your diet.

The FDA has not formally defined the terms "Low-Carb," "Non-Impact Carbs" and "Net Carbs" as it has done with terms relating to fat content in food. That will surely come, but in the meantime many foods that are not particularly low-carb can get away with labeling themselves low-carb. As always, reading the nutritional information on the package and noting serving sizes is your best protection.

Conclusion


Is the recent flood of low-carb foods to the marketplace here to stay? Big food manufacturers are banking on it as evidenced by a recent Low-Carb Summit in Denver attended by many major companies such as Con-Agra and WalMart.

In my opinion, however, the burning question when it comes to low-carb foods is: are we getting away from the real point of the low-carb diet? Processed foods are what got us into the obesity epidemic that we're in today.

Is substituting one type of processed and manufactured food for another type of processed and manufactured food (albeit a "healthier" one) the way to go or would we be better off focusing on foods that are less processed and naturally low-carb?

The answer lies in how you choose to approach your low-carb dieting. Foods that contain "non-impact carbs" can certainly be useful on an occasional basis but I don't believe it's wise to rely on them for a significant portion of your food intake. If you rely too much non-impact carb foods, you could easily find yourself not losing or even gaining weight on your diet!

[RUBICON19]

Tim are you like me when it comes to carbs? When I diet it seems as though the fat just doesnt move as quick as my liking unless the carbs are LOW. I mean like 30 grams or less. UNLIKE OUR FRIEND MO!!!!!!! Isnt it weird?

[Tim Wescott]

Weird??/

It downright sucks!! #k035#

I used to be able to eat tons of junk or carbs when I was younger, and would stay ripped no matter what.

I couldn`t put on weight if I wanted to.

Now,I`m so carb sensitive,they stick to me like velcro.

If I`m gonna` make my show on April 1st.,I`m gonna` have to go extremely low for days until I can refuel by carbing up a day or two in a row........then the high days still can`t be too high!!

It`s tough getting old!!

I hate Mo for getting so ripped eating all those carbs!! #thumbsdownsmileyanim#

#smileytoetapfingsnap0wh# lol

[RUBICON19]

admin said:

Weird??/

It downright sucks!! #k035#

I used to be able to eat tons of junk or carbs when I was younger, and would stay ripped no matter what.

I couldn`t put on weight if I wanted to.

Now,I`m so carb sensitive,they stick to me like velcro.

If I`m gonna` make my show on April 1st.,I`m gonna` have to go extremely low for days until I can refuel by carbing up a day or two in a row........then the high days still can`t be too high!!

It`s tough getting old!!

I hate Mo for getting so ripped eating all those carbs!! #thumbsdownsmileyanim#

#smileytoetapfingsnap0wh# lol

#smileyiagree1dz#

[Intensity]

Thanks a lot Tim, this is a more complete answer than i would have hoped! I appreciate the fact that you took the time to find this precious informations! This is an other exemple of why you are a reference! #rockon#

And guys, you wont need to hate me anymore… i think that my luck is over… i'll have to be very low in carbs and i'll have to do cardio for my contest prep this year!

[Mrbig7]

intensity said:

Thanks a lot Tim, this is a more complete answer than i would have hoped! I appreciate the fact that you took the time to find this precious informations! This is an other exemple of why you are a reference! #rockon#

And guys, you wont need to hate me anymore… i think that my luck is over… i'll have to be very low in carbs and i'll have to do cardio for my contest prep this year!

Mo, I feel REALLY bad about this. That's PART of the price of getting old, though.. LOL I know you'll do what you have to do, even if it is TAN, low carbs AND CARDIO.. I can't wait to see the final result! Be a MACHINE and do what needs to be done, my friend! Maybe you, Tim & I can share that box of Little Debbie Swiss cake rolls when it's all done, sit on the couch, and watch some TV.... For now, back to this-

[RUBICON19]

intensity said:

Thanks a lot Tim, this is a more complete answer than i would have hoped! I appreciate the fact that you took the time to find this precious informations! This is an other exemple of why you are a reference! #rockon#

And guys, you wont need to hate me anymore… i think that my luck is over… i'll have to be very low in carbs and i'll have to do cardio for my contest prep this year!

But, Mo. How low are you thinking?

[Intensity]

" But, Mo. How low are you thinking?"

How long you wont need to hate me? How long i'll be low in carbs and how long i'll do cardio? Oooh i guess it's all the same answer ;D

"Maybe you, Tim & I can share that box of Little Debbie Swiss cake rolls when it's all done, sit on the couch, and watch some TV...."

Wow Terry, you just described the paradise ;D

[RUBICON19]

intensity said:

" But, Mo. How low are you thinking?"

How long you wont need to hate me? How long i'll be low in carbs and how long i'll do cardio? Oooh i guess it's all the same answer ;D

"Maybe you, Tim & I can share that box of Little Debbie Swiss cake rolls when it's all done, sit on the couch, and watch some TV...."

Wow Terry, you just described the paradise ;D

HUH??? How low will your carbs be?

[Intensity]

rubicon19 said:

intensity said:

HUH??? How low will your carbs be?

I'm not sure, but i would say somewhere between 80g and 100g… versus a weekly average of 110g-120g at my lowest last year! Exciting!