How are you guys counting sugar alcohols in macros? I like Dr. Johns hard candies. 4 pieces count as 18 carbs, 16 of which are sugar alcohols.

Would you count 18 carbs.

would you count 2 carbs?

What’s your thoughts?

18 crabs, sadly a carb is a carb.

I count net carb so fiber and sugar alcohols are subtracted out.

Different plans have different "rules"

I don't consume sugar alcohols so there's no question for me. Good luck!

This topic has come up before, but net carbs are BS. It was created to sell product during the low carb craze. It's marketing, nothing more. Total carbs are what counts.

The difference is the effect on blood sugar levels and insulin response. Whether that is why you avoid carbs or not is a personal preference. But that is why I, and many plans, don't count them.

This is an article with plenty of peer reviewed scientific articles quoted, with the pubmed links included--

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sugar-alcohols-good-or-bad#section4

And here's a rather dense scientific peer reviewed article about the metabolic effects of xylitol-

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3128359/

Interestingly the scientists have also shown links to positive effects on gut bacteria, bone density and collagen production! So, the science community quoted in this article doesn't think it's BS, they aren't marketing anything.

Read, do research and make an informed decision. Or go by your surgical teams' plan... you trusted them to cut you open, trust their dietary advise over the advise of strangers on the internet.

Great read jess. Thank you.

The difference is the effect on blood sugar levels and insulin response. Whether that is why you avoid carbs or not is a personal preference. But that is why I, and many plans, don't count them. This is an article with plenty of peer reviewed scientific articles quoted, with the pubmed links included--https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sugar-alcohols-good-or-bad#section4And here's a rather dense scientific peer reviewed article about the metabolic effects of xylitol-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3128359/Interestingly the scientists have also shown links to positive effects on gut bacteria, bone density and collagen production! So, the science community quoted in this article doesn't think it's BS, they aren't marketing anything. Read, do research and make an informed decision. Or go by your surgical teams' plan... you trusted them to cut you open, trust their dietary advise over the advise of strangers on the internet.

I was not commenting on the effects of sugar alcohol, and xylitol. Also thank you for posting peer reviewed evidence as far too many people don't understand the importance of peer review. I always read real research ( peer reviewed), and never get sucked into the fitness woo( pseudoscience), and bro science. My advise also comes from my surgeons, and an outstanding registered dietitian, and not a nutritionist as nutritionist is not a professional title or actually certification. Net carbs does not have any actually scientific backing, and was created for marketing. There is no standard for how net carbs are counted on packaging or printed. All the current research does support the concept of net carbs. While xylitol for example has little effect on blood sugar, many packages use sugar alcohol as their reason to off set carbs in their net carbs calculation. That is very bad, and can be dangerous for some with diabetes. There is a reason net carbs don't appear on the nutrition labels. That's because it is not a regulated term by the FDA. It's a made up term by food manufacturers. It's also important to understand not all sugar alcohols are equal. Some do raise blood sugar. So how does the lay person know which raise blood sugar, and which don't? How do you calculate the net carbs not knowing if the sugar alcohol in that product has a higher glycemic index? You also need to be careful subtracting fiber in some products. Should someone subtract fiber to figure out net carbs? Well if they do that, and eat protein bars they need to be careful. Most protein bars use a form of fiber isomalto-oligosaccharides(IMO). IMO is highly processed and barely a fiber. On the glycemic index it is also equivalent to grapefruit or apple juice. I wouldn't call either of those low glycemic index. IMO also has 2 calories per gram. That counts for something. The point of my post is you need to be very careful with net carbs. You seem informed, and as such my post was directed at you, but it was for people who may just think net carbs printed on packages are what they can go by. It's much safer to count all carbs, and more important calories.

I calculate my own net carbs, I don't use what the label says.

Here is another peer reviewed article that explains how I personally compute my net carbs.... because for me it's not about the calories, it's about the effect of carbs on blood sugar, weight and fat burning--

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/net-carbs#section3

It talks about and has links to articles that discuss IMO's.

I think understanding what is meant by "net carbs" is important and knowing if you are counting carbs for calorie reasons or for other reasons.

And if you don't have time to research.... trust your surgical team, your dietician, the experts in your surgery. Don't trust advertising or strangers on the internet.

In Europe Net Carbs are the standard, but they are usually subtracting fiber.

@Dabearo The bigger concern than the net carbs or sugar alcohol is how your body reacts to it. I can't handle sugar alcohol. It gives me terrible painful gas and makes me feel overall weird.

Net carbs or not, those candies don't really seem worth it. Why not drink water with some flavored water drops instead.

Edited October 6, 20178 yr by OutsideMatchInside

I calculate my own net carbs, I don't use what the label says.

Here is another peer reviewed article that explains how I personally compute my net carbs.... because for me it's not about the calories, it's about the effect of carbs on blood sugar, weight and fat burning--

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/net-carbs#section3

It talks about and has links to articles that discuss IMO's.

Thanks for posting. That's a good article, but what journal was it published in. The link doesn't looks like a peer reviewed article.

Thanks for posting. That's a good article, but what journal was it published in. The link doesn't looks like a peer reviewed article.

Sorry, wrote in a hurry... what I meant is everything in it is based on peer reviewed articles and there are in text links to the works cited. See the numbers in parenthesis? Each number links to a peer reviewed article.

Also to clarify, for me personally I don't waste any calories on candies. The sugar alcohols I consume are in protein bars or things like that. I wouldn't waste 72 calories on four pieces of candy.