Carb Savvy

Robin Edelman, MS, RD, CDE

Demystifying a new generation of diet foods and their artful labels

Yes, there is a Low Carb Heaven—modestly tucked into Manchester, New Hampshire’s Maple Tree Mall and owned by a 36-year-old entrepreneurial housewife named Barbara Trono.

Three years ago, Trono was advised by her doctor to cut the carbs after she had failed to lose weight on traditional low-calorie diets. Challenged to find low-carbohydrate versions of her favorite foods, Trono conceived the idea for her retail store. By searching the Internet and sampling countless carbohydrate-reduced products, she built up an inventory of 1,200 items: breads, breakfast cereals, syrups, pastas, chips and crackers, including 40 varieties of high-protein bars, 50 different flavors of cookies and 129 assorted chocolate candies.

“If I feel deprived I can’t stick to a diet,” Trono says, “and I need special foods to keep things interesting.” Apparently she is not alone. The National Marketing Institute’s latest Health and Wellness Trends Report claims that 21 percent of all U.S. households increased their use of these alternative foods last year. “I can barely keep up with the demand,” Trono reports. Sold under brand names like Carbolite, Keto and Cheeters, these myriad new products have up to two-thirds less carbohydrate and triple the protein content of their higher-carb counterparts. How is this possible?

In many products, grains are replaced by soy protein isolate, a versatile substitute that is 90 percent protein—leaving little room for carbohydrate. Others contain carbohydrate in less-absorbable forms like bulk-producing dietary fibers (unprocessed wheat bran, polydextrose) and sweet-tasting sugar alcohols (sorbitol, xylitol, maltilol). Less absorption means fewer calories deposited in the body and less elevation of blood sugar. The fibers do not raise blood sugar at all and are calorie-free. The sugar alcohols raise blood sugar two-thirds less than the absorbable carbs and contribute half the calories. Glycerine is another common ingredient that is used to add moisture and improve texture. It is fully absorbed, contributing as many calories as sugar or starch, but hardly raises blood-sugar levels.

Manufacturers subtract the glycerine, sugar alcohols and fiber from the total carbohydrate on the Nutrition Facts label for “Effective Carb Count” or “Net Carbs.” These bogus terms underestimate the effects of glycerine and the sugar alcohols. To calculate a more meaningful net amount of carbohydrate, subtract only the grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate. For example, a Chocolate Decadence Atkins Advantage bar with 25 grams of total carbohydrate and 11 grams of dietary fiber contains 14 grams of carbohydrates that should be counted, not 2 as the label touts.

Label games aside, the use of processed low-carb products comes down to matters of taste and cost. Compared to their traditional counterparts, lower carb products are costly—often twice the price. As for taste, EatingWell staff opinions were mixed, with more nays than yeas, when sampling an array of low-carb packaged foods. Some failed miserably.