This was posted on the UK facebook page recently, makes interesting reading, hope its ok to do this!
Do NOT eat Atkins Bars - the reasons why
by Cheryl Duerden on Wednesday, 21 September 2011 at 13:44
Maltitol is a sugar alcohol, an ingredient commonly used in low-carb or “sugar-free” products such as candy and nutrition bars. It is used so much because of its similarity to sugar in terms of taste, mouth feel, and interaction with other ingredients. Products which use maltitol and other sugar alcohols as sweeteners can be called “sugar free.” Although claims are often made that maltitol has little impact on blood sugar, this turns out not to be the case.
Maltitol Has Carbs
Maltitol is a carbohydrate. Although our bodies do not absorb all the calories in maltitol, this substance does provide us with 2 to 3 calories per gram, compared to the 4 calories per gram of sugar. (For what its worth, I have noticed that the claim of 2 calories per gram usually comes from literature provided by the manufacturer or the low calorie food industry whereas other analyses tend to be closer to 3 calories.) Since maltitol is a carbohydrate, and since it provides calories, you would expect it to impact blood glucose. You would be correct.
Maltitol Has a Relatively High Glycemic Index
In particular, maltitol syrup has a glycemic index of 52, which approaches that of table sugar at 60. The powdered form has a glycemic index of 36, which is still higher than most other sugar alcohols and all artificial sweeteners.
Maltitol is Not as Sweet As Sugar
Estimates run from 75% to 90% of the sweetness of sugar. Again, the information provided by industry groups tends to give the 90% figure, while other sources say 75%. So, if maltitol has � of the sweetness of sugar, � the calories of sugar, and � the glycemic index of sugar, it isn’t a far leap to the conclusion that you need � more maltitol to get the same effect of sugar, which will give you close to the same effect in most other ways (except for dental cavities). You are basically getting expensive sugar. And…a bonus:
Maltitol can Cause Intestinal Discomfort
Usually this takes the form of intestinal gas and cramping, but some people may find themselves with diarrhea. If you decide to eat products with maltitol, you’d be wise to start with a small amount and judge the reaction — as well whether you’ll be in a crowded room a few hours later.
Alternatives to Maltitol
The best alternatives to products with maltitol are usually made with erythritol, often in combination with artificial sweeteners such as sucralose (Splenda). But almost any other sugar alcohol is at least a little better than maltitol (see chart at the bottom of this article about sugar alcohols.
Beware of "Net Carbs"!
Every drugstore, supermarket, and department store in U.S. is filled with snack products that claim to be perfect for low carb diet. The labels on these products may list 24 grams of carbs but assure you that you only have to count 2 or 3 of these grams in your daily carb allotment. They may call these carbs "low impact carbs" or "net carbs" and display them prominently on the front of the product, but the carb count on the nutritional label—the only one that the FDAregulates will list a far higher carb count.
If these disappearing "net carbs" make you suspicious, you may prefer to buy products that list only a gram or two of carbs in their nutritional information. But a look at their ingredient list may show that mysterious substances like maltitol, glycerine or polydextrose are major ingredients of these bars, too—exact same substances reported on labels of bars that claim "3 grams of Net Carbs" on the front of the package and list 20-something grams of carbs in their nutritional information panel.
What’s Going on Here?
Most of these "low carb" products are sweetened with substances called "sugar alcohols." Maltitol, lacitol, and sorbitol are some of names of these sweeteners. Despite the name, these aren’t sugars or alcohols. They are hydrogenated starch molecules which are a byproduct of grain processing.
These sugar alcohols are manufactured by the three large agribusiness companies: SPI Polyols, Roquette America, Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland. Having saturated world with high fructose corn syrup, these giant corn-producing companies have now turned to hydrogenated corn starch molecules as yet another way to wring profits out of surplus corn.
Despite wrapper claims, these sugar alcohols are metabolized. Each gram of a sugar alcohol turns into anywhere from less than 1 to as much as 3 calories. Erythritol comes in lowest, delivering less than one calorie per gram. Maltitol—the sugar alcohol found in most "low carb" foods is the highest, delivering 3 calories per gram. That is only a bit less than 4 calories you find in regular sugar and starch.
It is because these sugar alcohols can be metabolized as carbohydrates that US law requires that they be reported as carbohydrates on nutritional labels and why their calories are included in calorie counts.
Several years ago, after the FDA fined Atkins Nutritionals for ignoring the 20+ grams of glycerin found in their product in the nutritional panel of their Advantage Bars, the company invented the "Net Carbs" designation that it now places on the front of wrappers—but not on the nutritional panel. This ruse was so successful, they went on to license the use of this phrase and the Atkins "A" to other companies so that they too could continue deluding customers about the carb content of their foods.
Small print on back of these label explains that fiber and sugar alcohols have a "negligible effect on blood sugar". This, they suggest means that you can ignore them, and magically converts foods that have 24 grams of carbs—and the associated calories—into foods with a diet-friendly 3 grams.
If it were true that these foods did not raise blood sugar, it would make them ideal for the low carb diet. However, it is not always true. Some lucky people can eat these low carb treats and still lose weight on a low carb diet. But hundreds of people who have stopped by the alt.support.diet.low-carb news group to ask why their weight loss has stopped cold, discover that it is these sugar alcohol-laden low carb junk foods that have caused their long-term stalls.
Lying Labels?
The reason for this, is quite simply, that sugar alcohols, particularly Maltitol, the one that is most common in these products, can have a very significant impact on blood sugar. This isn’t speculation. It’s a fact. Many people with diabetes, who track any rise in their blood sugar with a blood sugar meter, find that these products cause a significant rise in their blood sugar, contrary to the label claims.
I’m one of them. My blood sugar rises almost as high when I eat a maltitol-sweetened Russell Stover "No Sugar" candy as it does if I eat a regular Russell Stover candy of same size. The only difference is that it takes two hours for the blood sugar rise to occur when I eat the "no sugar" candy compared to the one hour that it takes when I eat regular candy. So much for "truth in labeling."
I am not only person who has found this to be true. Fran McCullough warns readers of the very high blood sugar spikes reported by diabetics after eating glycerine-containing Atkins bars in her book, Living Low Carb.
A comprehensive review published by the Canadian Journal of Diabetes gives a very good overview of the scientific research into how sugar alcohols affect both normal people and people with diabetes.
Sugar Alcohols and Diabetes: A Review.
Note the finding, on Page 5, that research shows that chocolate bars sweetened with maltitol raised the blood sugar of normal people as high as did chocolate bars sweetened with sucrose—table sugar.
However, there are other people with diabetes who report that they don’t see a blood sugar rise when they eat foods containing these sugar alcohols. They find these products give them a way to incorporate legitimate treats into their diets and are grateful that they are now so plentiful.
There are also a number of successful low carbers who report in diet newsgroup that they have been able to lose significant amounts of weight while including these "low carb" treats in their food plans on a daily basis. You will often find them railing against "puritanism" of those who warn new dieters against them.
So, clearly these products do not affect everyone in same way. For some people they are a godsend. For others, they turn out to be "Stall in a Box."
Why Do Sugar Alcohols Only Affect Some People?
Since it seems that only a subset of the population metabolizes sugar alcohols as sugar, it is quite possible that some people lack some enzyme(s) needed to digest them and turn them into blood sugar. Since those people’s bodies can’t turn these sugar alcohols into glucose, they do not experience a blood sugar rise when they eat them.
Lending some support to this idea is fact that some of the people who report that they did not experience a blood sugar rise when they ate a product with a sugar alcohol in it, add that they experienced intense diarrhea or gas later on. These are classic symptoms of what happens when starches pass undigested into lower gut where they may be fermented by bacteria (causing gas) or suck water out of cells lining the colon (causing diarrhea).
Many of us who do get blood sugar rise do not experience this diarrhea. Our digestive enzymes appear to be able to break down these hydrogenated starches into glucose—though given the time lag, this happens slowly.
Diabetes expert David Mendosa has a very interesting web page athttp://www.mendosa.com/netcarbs.htm that points out "If the sugar alcohols had no impact on our blood glucose, they would have a glycemic index of zero.
With the the December 2003 publication of Geoffrey Livesey’s amazing review of sugar alcohols, we now know a lot more about them than ever before. Mendosa cites the article, "Health potential of polyols as sugar replacers, with emphasis on low glycemic properties in Nutrition Research Reviews 2003;16:163-91.
Mendosa goes on to say,
Only two of the sugar alcohols have a GI of zero, according to Livesey’s research. These are mannitol and erythritol. Several others have a very low GI, but two maltitol syrups have a GI greater than 50. This is a higher GI value than that of spaghetti, orange juice, or carrots.
Don’t Forget the Extra Calories
Even if you can eat snack products containing sugar alcohols without experiencing blood sugar spikes or hunger cravings, it’s worth giving some thought to the question of how good an idea it is to fill your diet up with calorie-dense low carb junk food.
Though the best selling diet book authors make it sound as if low carbing somehow magically "melts fat away" this is not true. Low carbing evens out blood sugar which eliminates hunger and makes it very easy to eat a lot less food. But to achieve long term weight loss you must eat less than you burn each day.
As you get closer to your weight goal, this becomes more and more evident. The smaller you are, the less food your body burns. As a result, most people find they cannot get last the 20 pounds off without watching their calories closely and eating only 9 – 10 times their body weight in calories. (i.e. if you weigh 140 lbs you may find you have to eat as little as 1269 to 1400 calories a day to lose, depending on speed of your metabolism and your activity level.)
With that in mind, you can see why, independent of the blood sugar issue, that snack bar with its 240 calories that you eat every day between meals may have serious repercussions for your diet—it is adding 1,680 calories a week—enough calories to create 1/2 pounds of fat—besides replacing more nutritious foods like the high fiber, low carb vegetables that are an important part of the diet of long-term successful low carb dieters.
