'Sugar-free' products

[Hayley23]

Hi all,

I am just wondering about sugar free products like chocolate. Even though it is sugar free chocolate, should I still have carbs with my meal before eating it? Or do I not need to worry about the carbs? There are more and more sugar free treats becoming available and I'm just not exactly sure of the correct way to fit them into the maintenance guidlines.

Thanks,

Hayley.

[KimN]

Hi Hayley

The thing I get confused about with 'sugar free' products is that most are ladden with aspartamine or sodium saccharide, the same thing in diet soft drinks I think (and equal), and even though I use them more now on Cohens, I have never liked to use them in the past, even on other diets I have tried. I have a frightening inkling they are doing my body and organs more harm than good. So even though sugar free chocky sounds tempting, I would need to know more about the ingredients, etc.

Have you received any other feedback on your questions as yet?

Cheers
Kim

[carrieanne_c]

sometimes sugarfree stuff can give you the runs

[Tantravaya]

I have never eaten sugar free foods that have been sweetened with chemical sweeteners until I started chewing sugar free gum when I started my refeed. I was feeling hungry and thought the chewing would help. What a disaster.

The sweet taste, even though sugar free, had me craving "sweet" in no time. I gave up the gum after a week and it took me another week to stop wanting it and wanting sweet foods.

[Hayley23]

Hey guys, thanks for your replies. I was thinking along the lines of sugar free chocolate etc but only very occassionally. I know most sugar-free products are still loaded with processed crap. Hahaha Carrieanne I know what you are saying - excessive gum chewing is often accompanied by excessive use of toilet paper - preferablly the 3 ply kind...

[hope_ful]

hey hayley lady
how are u????

lately ive been having a treat of the "sugarless" brand of sugar free choc, i only have a few squares, they have maltitol and artificial vanilla flavour in them (as well as cocoa paste and powder and the rest is ok kind of) and i have them without carbs with no ill effects, in fact last wk i had some and lost weight the next day so i know my body doesnt hang onto it. it also says on the pack that u can minus approx 20% of energy from the choc as maltitol isnt fully digestable and therefore your body wont absorb all the calories..

its not the best choc to eat cos of the ingredients, but its better than eating milk choc for me!! i alternate between that and loving earth raw dark choc once or twice a wk, no sugar (agave syrup instead) and only 10g carbs per serve..


hope you're well!!! xxx

[ConnieK..]

Info on malitol:

What is Maltitol?

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.

So it is pretty close to real sugar, just slightly less carby

Connie

[ConnieK..]

Hope_ful,

Be careful with agave syrup .. it is almost 90% fructose, 10% glucose, the low glucose gives it low GI but the fructose is the most convertable of all sugars and is converted very very easily into fat by the body and has very pronounced effects on blood sugar. Also it is what they make tequila from .... agave syrup ferments to tequila .... hehehe I looooove tequila

Connie

[Hayley23]

Thanks Hopeful & Connie,

I had a look at that chocolate online, and it doesnt look as evil as many of the others around. Of course, we cannot get that in NZ anyway because we have jack sh*t here as far as variety goes. WE can't even get turkey breast where I live - *ahem* hick town...

Very interesting info on maltitol indeed. Its funny because a couple of years ago, on one of my hopeless attempts at losing weight, I bought the Atkins book and tried to start the diet (lasted 3 days). Dr Atkins seems to think that maltitol doesnt affect blood glucose levels and a lot of his snack bars contain it - I had my suspicions about it of course...

I actually had some low carb chocolate the other day called 'cadbury lite' - don't know if anyone's heard of it but it does have maltitol in it (along with other foreign crap). Yes, I did eat more then I should have and shot up 700g by morning - not at all surprised! What I have come to learn from all my experimentation thus far, is that my body really doesnt like anything processed. Not very profoud, I know, but that about sums it up. I've decided to stick with my after dinner apple from now on hehe.

[carrieanne_c]

i'll stick to dark chocolate-the 70% stuff

[fornight]

Originally Posted by carrieanne_c

i'll stick to dark chocolate-the 70% stuff

Me too when I am in maintenance.

[hope_ful]

thanks connie
i dont really use agave often, but i do have it at home for the rare nights i feel like sweet potato.. i drizzle some on and roast it, but its very rarely used.. the less sweet stuff i eat the less i crave which is fine by me!

i also threw out the rest of my sugarfree choco after reading about maltitol!

i have the sorest throat today and whilst sucking on a "sugarfree" herbal lozenge i read that is has maltitol and sorbitol in it.. oh well, it will only be for a few days i guess but i feel bloated and extra crappy today and i think its from that!!

the best dark choc is nestle club extra fine 70% dark and also loving earth raw dark choc, 72% and comes in diff flavours.. peppermint is delish.. has peppermint oil in it, and agave syrup instead of sugar so even though its agave, there's only 5g of sugars per serve (10g carbs per serve).. its a treat and its true that after a square of two u dont want more as its not more-ish because its not sickly sweet like milk choc..

i have an un-opened box sitting in my drawer.. not even tempted though, cos its dark and not in the mood for it hehe

xxx

[Hayley23]

Hopeful,

Don't worry if you ever have to take things like lozenges if you are sick, sometimes I take certain medication that is sugar coated. Truth of the matter is, its life! We can't avoid it all. I guess we had to be particularely careful while losing weight on the program, but on maintenance I havent really cared about those little bits n pieces.

xx