Hmm ... sugar alcohols don't give me gas or act as a laxative (except one time when I was starving and used some SA bars as a meal replacement ... NOT a good idea). But then, I've always been much more prone to constipation than diarrhea.

I also haven't noticed a stall with them, but then, I don't eat them every day; they're too expensive for that.

Thanks for this article. My husband was diagnosed with diabetis about 2 yrs ago and we immediately began to examine the sugar alcohols in chocolates and all sorts of other "sugar-free" items with suspicion. It's been difficult to find info. One source advises to count 1/3 the amount of sugar alcohol grams as carbs until more is known. Understanding how the s.a.'s work and how to determine the hidden carbs in foods will be of great help to us (he's lost 45 lbs and finds that going low-carb helps when he needs to work to maintain this loss).

It is a hit or miss situation for me. Some brands will cause bloat, crampy and generally a yucky feeling for the rest of the day. Others don't seem to bother me at all. They do tend to send me into sugar cravings and hunger more that other treats. If you are looking for treats that have little or no sugar alcohols but LOTS of creamy, luscious flavor..check out Low Carb Living and Low Carb Energy magazines. I have a recipe for a 4 g of carb grasshopper pie that is wonderful. The recipe is simple enough to substitute ingredients to make other flavors, ie peanut butter, chocolate, berry, etc. I use those recipes when I have a serious sweet craving to avoid the LC chocolates. In addition to the sugar alcohols many of them also have hydrogenated oils which are demons of their own.

[QUOTE=dodg4kat] I have a recipe for a 4 g of carb grasshopper pie that is wonderful. The recipe is simple enough to substitute ingredients to make other flavors, ie peanut butter, chocolate, berry, etc.

Are you willing to share this recipe? One of the things that has really worked for my husband is that I work to have fluffy yummy things for him to feel he can splurge on at least once a week. "simple enough" sounds good to me. thanks for the advice on where to look for good recipes!

Tummy upset. Only can eat the erythritol in moderation. The others no way. They also stall me. And they aren't nearly as satisfying as sugar.

I am more than happy to share. I LOVE this recipe (have been known to even have it for breakfast!) but a quick warning..it in nowhere near low cal or low fat.

GRASSHOPPER PIE

Chocolate crust:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup plus 2 tbsp Carb Solutions chocolate shake mix
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch pie pan with pan spray. In a bowl, cream butter and shake mix thoroughly. Press dough evenly on bottom and up sides of pie pan. Spray hands if needed to keep dough from sticking. Bake for 12 minutes and cool in pan on a wire rack.

Grasshopper filling:
2 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp sugar free JellO instant white chocolate pudding mix
1/4 cup Splenda sweetener
1 teaspoon mint extract
6 drops of green food color (optional)
In a medium bowl whip all filling ingredients with an electric mixer until stiff (think stiff peaks like merangue). Scrape into cooled crust and spread evenly. Top with chocolate sauce and refridgerate at least two hours. Makes 8 servings

Chocolate sauce:
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 of 1 oz. square unsweetened baking chocolate
1/4 teaspoon liquid Sweet n Low
3/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp plus on teaspoon Splenda sweetener
pinch of salt
In a small saucepan warm cream over low heat. While cream is heating, melt chocolate in the microwave for one minute, stopping at 30 secs to stir. If still not melted, continue in the microwave for 15 sec intervals. Whisk chocolate and remaining ingredients into warm cream until well combined. Cook over low heat 15 mins, stirring frequently. Chill until consistency of frosting. Place a small sandwich bag into a juice glass with one end pointing down and fold the rest over the glass edge. Spoon chocolate sauce into baggie, aiming for the corner. Twist the bag just above the level of the chocolate to make a mini decorating bag. Cut a tiny bit off the corner of the bag and drizzle chocolate sauce over the top of grasshopper filling using a back and forth motion, then again to make criss cross pattern.

Here are the stats per serving:
Crust--9 g carb, 8 g fiber (1 net g)/8 g protein/13 g fat/42 cals
Filling--2 g carb, 0 g fiber(2 net g)/3 g protein/22 g fat/225 cals
Sauce--1 g carb, 0 g fiber(1 net g)/1 g protein/12 g fat/108 cals

I hope you enjoy. As you can see from the simplicity of the fillling, you can easily make cheesecake, pumpkin, peanut butter, or other flavors by modifying just a little. Drop by my journal and let me know what you think!

Thanks for the recipe! Wow, I don't think I can do the heavy cream. Will it ruin the recipe to use nonfat milk, do you think? I've made use of the sugar-free puddings and jellos to make low-carb AND lowfat desserts like cheesecake and what I call Raspberry Heroine (becasue my husband makes me feel heroic when I have something sweet and fluffy that he can enjoy). I've never tried the Carb Solutions products, but I see them in recipes here.
I'm a new member and I've been pretty quiet so far, browsing and listening. It's very encouraging to hear the support, and also to see people who's stats show they've actually gone beyond their goals. I've been hypo-thyroid since age 16 (but didn't know it for a long time) and my goal weight has been set pretty high. Maybe, maybe I'm one of those who could meet a more normal goal through low-carb eating.

South Beach is supposed to be low in addition to LC, right? I don't know if nonfat milk milk would work or not. I does add to the carb count significantly though. You might be able to go half heavy cream and half nonfat milk. It would still have a lot of fat. In terms of general cooking, heavy cream is used in the recipe to get the fluff for the recipe (ie; whipping it to make whipped cream) You might be able to substitute already whipped light or nonfat cream from an aerosol can but I would have no idea how much to use. As a rule any time a recipe takes out fat it adds carbs (usually some kind of sugar) to add flavor and texture. Sorry I can't be more help!

I avoid maltitol like the plague, but I'm OK with the occasional Z-Carb bar with erythritol. Plus I'm eagerly awaiting the MiniCarb chocolate bars from CarbSense, with Splenda and no sugar alcohols. In moderation, of course.

I have been suffering after breakfast and didn't know why until I read about sugar alcohol. Thank you all. No more SF Cary syrup for me.

What surprised me the most was that a lot of vitamins and supplements are made using sugar alcohol such as sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, erythritol, isomalt, lactitol, maltitol syrup (found in over the counter cough medicine).

Nikki