hi all-

will someone PLEASE tell me how to figure out net carbs? what exactly do you subtract from the total carb count to get the net carbs thank you in advance!!

hey there! Im sure that you subtract the grams of fiber from the carb count but, someone else will have to tell you about the sugar alcohols that is when I get confused, so I would love some info also!
becky

hey strohrl

thanks for the reply!! it helps me alot

But Becky is right, the sugar alcohols are another one. In the candies and chocolates out there that use sugar alcohols (Maltitol, lactitol, sorbitol, and a few other "tols") you can subtract the sugar alcohols, if they are listed, to get your net carbs. Most of them already have this on the label.

However be aware that all artificial sweeteners can spike insulin levels in large quantities. In the past a standard amount of sugar alcohols in a food product might have been 7-10 grams whereas now we have all these candies etc. using them they are anywhere from 20 -50 grams per serving and that's a HEAP! Some people are more sensitive than others though, so if you are eating lots of these little treats and you find yourself stalled, try cutting back on them and see if that does the trick.

nope...i haven't had 1 sweet treat. i've been kinda leary of those because you don't know whats ok and what has hidden bad stuff.

plus, i guess my main reason is i HATE chocolate, which is good because it seems like its a hard thing to give up. i like an occasional snickers bar, or things of that sort, but its mainly because there are so many other flavors in there that i hardly taste the chocolate. but since i like them once in a blue moon, i can leave them alone all together w/o missing them. i appreciate the feedback on my 'net carbs' question...it helps alot!!

have a great day!!

I specifically read (somewhere - I'm trying to remember exactly where) that Splenda does NOT affect insulin output, contrary to NutraSweet, Sweet 'n Low, and other artificial sweeteners.

I would be interested in hearing anyone's experiences with Splenda. Also, has anyone tried SomerSweet? If so, how does it compare with Equal and/or Splenda?

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...threadid=102722

And check out the article called "the truth about low carb sweeeteners info" in the Quick Links listed under the yellow bar on the right of this screen.

My only experience with Somersweet is the little packets that came with my Creme Brulee set I got from Suzanne's site. The somersweet was HORRIBLY bitter as a caramel. Then I read that her caramel recipe is horribly bitter too, but that somewhere or other there is a fix posted for that and that her jarred topping is wonderful. I have never found the fix or ordered her topping. For some reason the search thingy on her site won't work on my puter.

It seems like quite a few artificial sweeteners are bitter sometimes, especially when you cook with them. You cannot cook with saccharine because it changes, chemically, when you heat it and loses it's sweetning qualities completely! I've read that if you blend one sweetener with another, adding just a little of a different one, you can usually solve that problem. I know it's true with Stevia, as my Hi Lo cereal tastes a hint bitter to me but if I add one packet of Splenda to the bowl it's fine. Supposedly that's why so many ingredeint lists have a little of several sweeteners. Somersweet actually has three sweeteners in it, I think. Sunnet (Ace K), maltodextrin and Fructose? I'm going from memory here.

I'm going to make the second packet of creme brulees I have with Splenda on top and see how that works. The pudding was to die for! And certainly the chocolate truffles from her site are FANTASTIC!!! Nothing bitter there at all.

Also, I understand that many artificial sweeteners case ice creams to freeze hard and dry. Splenda sure does, thought he ice cream was yummy enough. I got a bag of crystaline fructose to use in my next batch because someone said it solves that problem. Too much Fructose can spike insulin (the same sugar that's in fruit) for sure, so I'll be careful to be frugal with my servings.

I just can't afford to use much Somersweet. If she ever manages to get it into grocery stores perhaps the price will come down, but as it is Sucralose is pricey enough! I just picked up a couple of Stevia packets free from my health food store to try. I have no idea how it cooks though. Sommersweet and Splenda are supposedly the two best ones for cooking.

i was foolish enough to order a box of the somersweet, (spent about $20 for 100 packets after paying for shipping/handling) , but it tastes really good to me. though, i haven't tried cooking w/ it yet, thank goodness. (thanks mamabeek for the heads up).

i haven't tried any other ones yet....maybe i'll buy some splenda or somthin'.....not sure. where do you get stevia from? i don't think i've seen it in any grocery stores.

Looks really pricey too, but they were giving away free samples. At least I hope they were because there was an open box sitting there with half the packets gone.

Crystaline Fructose was in the bulk section at the same store for 99 cents per pound! No wonder many people go that route, it's such a stunner to see something cheap for a change. And gee, it IS the main ingredient in Somersweet, isn't it?

Neither of the two stores I shop at regularly have Splenda, which is a pain. I have to go to a regular grocery store for that. One thing I really hate is shopping at 6 different stores to get all the stuff I need. Grrr... At least as Lowcarbing becomes more and more in vogue the stuff is getting easier and easier to find. Now if it would only get cheaper too!

mamabeek-five finger discounting!!! lol....just jokin'.

is crystaline fructose good by itself, or does it need that other stuff to make it edible? probably a stupid question, cause i doubt if they would sell it by itself, if you had to go home and mix it w/ something else...

well, we don't have many health food stores here (some but not very large ones), but i think i'll see if i can find some of that stuff.

see ya!!

But Mom, EVERYONE was doing it! LOL!

I've never seen a recipe with Fructose as the sweetener, so I don't know, but I think it measures and cooks 1:1 like sugar. I have a friend who uses that exclusively for his sweetener, so I'll ask him. I think diabetic sites might tell you more about cooking with it too. If you find it then maybe do a web search on "cooking with fructose" or something like that. Mine is still sitting on the counter waiting for me to be ready to make ice cream again. I just made a loaf of bread which is "almost" level one, so no new treats until that one is gone, not even totally legal ones by gosh!

I tried Stevia a while back, paid an outlandish price for it at the GNC Health Food Store. Well, guess what! I didn't like it. It had a strange off-taste that I cannot even describe (because I've never tasted anything similar to compare it to).

I gave some of the packets to two friends of mine who were SS'ing (in fact, they were the ones who introduced me to this WOE), and they didn't like it either.

I ended up throwing away the remainder of the box. I wish now that I had hung on to it, I would happily send it to anyone on this board who wanted to try it.

Splenda is going to be my next "try" because I have read in a couple of places (including on page 170 in the "Fast and Easy" book) that Splenda will not spike insulin (unlike aspartame, saccharine and other artificial sweeteners).

More good news about Splenda - the other day when I was at Costco, I noticed that they have now started carrying it! I have always bought my Equal there, but had never seen Splenda there before. I compared the prices of the two boxes of Equal and Splenda, and they were virtually identical (for the same amount of packets).

I didn't buy it right then and there because I still have a LOT of Equal left from my previous purchase, and rationalized that I should not buy the Splenda until I am running low on Equal. Now I wish I had just gone ahead and bought it, and to hell with the added expense.

But I think I'll first buy a small box of Splenda at my regular grocery store just to make sure I do like it and have no bad reaction to it. If it checks out OK, then I'll be making a trip back to Costco real soon.

I am afflicted with extreeeeeeeme "sweetoothitis" and I find that I use a LOT of Equal throughout the course of a day. From what I've been reading about aspartame lately, it does cause insulin to rise (which is exactly what we are trying to AVOID).

So I'll be very anxious to see how the Splenda works out for me.

There are some people who are concerned with the Chlorine in Splenda (it's made by substituting Chlorine molecules for three of the Hydroxide molecues on Sucrose) and if it is bad for you cumulatively the way chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides (ex. DDT) build up in fatty tissues. On the other hand, we drink chlorinated water all the time and have no similar problem, so which is it most like? I have heard that there are no long term studies being done, something to do with the way the FDA has labeled it. I am not too worried about it, but I do rotate with aspartame etc just to keep from overloading on one. Like you I do go heavy on my sweets...

I've heard some people say Stevia has a licorice like flavor. In my HiLo cereal it just leaves a bit of a bitter aftertaste for me, which I cut with Splenda. It's interesting how different people taste different things in the same product.

LIKE RUTABAGAS for example!!!

Hi, Mamabeek - I did check out that link you suggested: "The truth about low-carb sweeteners", and was interested to see that, according to that source, none of the artificial sweeteners cause insulin to rise. However, that contradicts with other sources that admit that NutraSweet (and possibly others) do raise insulin levels. So, I don't know what to believe any more.

On page 170 of Suzanne Somers' new book ("Fast and Easy"), she explicitly says that Sucralose (Splenda) does NOT raise insulin. Of course, I don't know where she is getting this "information," since she has no medical training. Maybe her doctor told her so, but she does not say. I also find it interesting that she does not mention "NutraSweet", "Equal" or "aspartame" anywhere at all in that book (that I can find).

Interestingly, in her first couple of books, she advocates the use of NutraSweet-Equal-aspartame, and several recipes specifically call for it by name, but ever since she came out with her own sweetener, her later books really knock aspartame!

I know I would be better off if I could give up artificial sweeteners entirely, but I'm just not there yet.

I just gave up worrying about whether these sweeteners are going to make a blip in my insulin levels or not. I have been losing steadily, if slowly, using all of them. (lost another pound yesterday for a total of 21!) Perhaps I could lose faster without, but like you I'm not ready to give them up. Heck, I don't know that I ever will be. I chose this WOE because it is one I think I can maintain realistically for life. I know for a fact that THIS child is not going to go the rest of her life without sweets, no matter how they are sweetened. So I figure moderation is the key and be realistic!

I try not to take anyone, especially myself, too seriously. Had a REAL sugar milkshake yesterday because I was travelling and lost a pound anyway. HA!