Subject: carbohydrate content of low carb bars

Since "low-carb" gained popularity, the protein/meal replacement bar issue has been a persistent source of concern and bewilderment among health conscientious individuals. One person wrote asking:

I have a question about maltitol. I have this chocolate bar that is 0 carbs but has the listing as 26 carbs minus 6 fiber minus 20 maltitol? Does this mean I can eat it? Is it really zero carbs?

Yes you can eat it, but it's not really zero carbs. The anonymous questioner wrote back saying, "Thanks for the response. If it's not 0 carbs, then how do I calculate the amount of carbs that I'm taking in?"

REPLY: We don't know precisely because there’s maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, erythritol, xylitol - to name a few of the sugar alcohols, which among other varieties of sugar substitutes, form the basis of a flourishing industry aimed at catering to low carb needs. The downside is that proliferation of reduced carbohydrate sweeteners has obfuscated the issue of how many carbs you are actually getting. Sugar alcohols yield sugar, but at a variable rate. For example, 3 grams of a given sugar alcohol may yield 1 gram of sugar while another type may yield .5. I suspect in many cases it’s much higher. You could describe the problem as a labeling law loophole, and I sympathize with your frustration. I don’t eat those bars very often; when I do I try to minimize the amount of “non-accounted for” (counted as neither carb nor fiber on the label) matter I’m taking in and count all “non-accounted for” matter as carbohydrate.

A few weeks later fireman Greg Chaloner from Vacaville, CA wrote in requesting more specific advice about low-carb/meal replacement bars.

Do you have an opinion on what protein/meal replacement bar is the best. I need to find a product that will work as a quick snack for firefighters. I work for a smaller department with limited resources, and often times the guys that are on scene initially at a fire have to work continuously for an extended period of time with only short breaks. I am looking for something that is individually packaged and can be kept on an engine or truck. Any input would be great.


Subject to the qualification that I have not tasted or researched all the bars on the market, I find the new Greens Plus chocolate bar to be outstanding in terms of micronutrition - vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients - and taste (taste is subjective and I didn’t like the taste as much before they came out with the chocolate version). Regarding macronutrients (protein, carb, fat) it’s a bit higher in carb and lower in protein than is ideal on a regular basis for NHEers, but on an occasional basis it’s a tasty way to supplement plant-derived nutrients not readily available in our degraded food supply. I eat them as carb-load dessert component and occasionally as meal replacement. At nearly $3 per bar they’re not inexpensive but no more overpriced than other meal replacement bars, and you’ve got to figure that plant extracts are much more expensive than glycerol, sorbitol, and corn syrup (items that either cause stomach upset, is convertible to sugar, or is itself sugar).

The low-carb bars containing the least of the stuff causing stomach upset or convertible to sugar are the ones containing fiber. Fiber, in addition to its benefits in connection with blood lipids and digestive health, is truly zero carb – so one would suppose a low-carb bar would contain an appreciable amount of fiber. I believe some do; I know most don’t. Advantage bars have 5 grams of fiber. (If you come across another low-carb bar with a similar amount of fiber please pass the information along to me and I’ll post it.) Advantage bars list 2 grams of “sugar alcohol,” a fraction of what you’ll find in many of the newer low-carb bars.

 

Another criterion for differentiating protein bars is micronutrition content. It is an elementary principle of nutrition that optimal assimilation of macronutrients depends on micronutrients. Specifically, protein is best utilized in the company of B vitamins. Another fact worthy of accounting is potassium/sodium ratio. Unfortunately, this information (particularly potassium content) is frequently not represented on the label – an unacceptable flaw in current labeling law because the potassium/sodium ratio tells much about the general nature (extent of processing) of the edibles you’re being asked to eat.
 

. . . optimal assimilation of macronutrients depends on micronutrients. Specifically, protein is best utilized in the company of B vitamins.

Seeing the direction Atkins Nutraceuticals (producers of the Advantage bar) has gone in since the good doctor’s demise, I wouldn’t vouch for anything they sell. But assuming Advantage bar labels still truthfully reflect its contents even while its corporate manufacturer distorts the premises upon which its namesake founded the company, it’s plainly superior nutrition-wise to most other low-carb bars. Taste-wise, Advantage bars are unexceptional with a personal exception made for the “Chocolate Decadence” bar, which I like a lot. Where good taste is the main objective, I recommend the Pure Protein brand “Peanut Marshmallow Eclipse” bar, which is delicious, or any number of non-low-carb bars.
 

Seeing the direction Atkins Nutraceuticals . . . has gone in . . .  I wouldn’t vouch for anything they sell.

 
   
It is instructive that fundamental differences exist between the Advantage bar and those produced by most other manufacturers. It demonstrates a crucial fact obscured by million-dollar advertising campaigns: in the supplement industry there are few innovators and a plentitude of copycats vying for market share. Most people who run supplement companies are, first and foremost, savvy businessmen whose goal is to make available in-demand products.


We assume that the “newest and latest” is the necessarily the best, when in many cases it’s merely a cheaper knock-off of the real thing. The advances in low-carb food manufacturing technology since 2003 have been predominately directed toward improving taste and “mouth feel” and lowering production costs – the factors with greatest impact on sales/profit. Atkins didn’t have to cut costs to compete, but it’s a different low-carb market now, with different players and a lot more of them.
 

The advances in low-carb food manufacturing technology since 2003 have been predominately directed toward improving taste and “mouth feel” and lowering production costs – the factors with greatest impact on sales/profit.

 

If you write enough books you’re bound to be mistaken about this or that, and for years I’ve voiced my disagreements (and agreements) with Atkins on the subject of diet. But Atkins also was an earnest practitioner of alternative medicine and a studious authority on nutritional supplementation - and when you compare the ingredients Atkins put in his bar with the ingredients found in today’s low-carb bars, this becomes apparent. Folks need to wise-up about who they take nutritional advice from if they’re serious about improving their quality of life and avoiding the disease, debility, and costly pharmaceuticals that are regularly recalled after proving harmful or lethal. Nobody deserves the death penalty for getting sick.