Maltodextrin Question
 

I decided that drinking green tea would be good for me so I purchased Carb Options Green Tea Orange & Passionfruit. It says 0g Carbs, 0 Sugars, etc. on it. I've been drinking it for three days now and noticed that my sugar readings are high and I can't get them down through diet and exercise like normal. I think drinking this product is causing the high readings. I noticed that the first ingredient is maltodextrin and I didn't know what that was so I looked it up. From what I have read it appears to be a high GI carbohydrate. How can that be? How can this product say 0g carbs and the first ingredient be a high GI carb? Please help me figure this out.

In Dr Bernstein's book he warns about maltodextrin and its effect on blood sugar. It is in a lot of things that are called "sugar free" . I find that I have to read the label on everything now. Even vitamins and supplements can have dextrose added.

CeCeGal, your hunch is right on the money. I'd suggest dumping that drink and brewing your own green tea. Maltodextrin is known to raise blood sugars or at least make blood sugar control difficult in many people.
Something you could try in place of the Carb Options brand is Arizona brand; they make a green tea pre-made by the gallon that does not contain maltodextrin and would probably agree with your blood sugars much better.
Not sure if it's available in your area but look for Arizona No Carb green tea. I tried it once because I happened to come across it on sale (cranberry apple flavor), but I'm not that huge of a fan of cold green tea so didn't get it again.

Thanks for the advice. The rest of that tea is in the trash. I think I've seen Arizona brand at a convenience store around here so I'll keep my eyes out for it. It amazes me that something made of carbs could be called 0g carb on the label.

I agree with Lisa - brew your own and if you want it sweet, try stevia. That has no effect at all on my blood sugar. It's available in the supplement section of health food stores.

Squid