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Monday, September 24, 2007
It's Drive-By Low-Carb Blogging Time Again!
Continuing with the theme I started yesterday of catching up on some much-needed blogging that I haven't had time to do lately, here are a few more items of interest for fans of livin' la vida low-carb!
READER SHARES HIS UNPLEASANT ENCOUNTER WITH MALTITOL
Ever since I first started warning people about the sugar alcohol maltitol found in so many sugar-free, low-carb products, there have been some wang dang doozy stories that are both hilarious and horrendous all at the same time. Remember "Farting" Fred and "Sharted" Sarah. Now we have "Maltitol Macaroon" Mike. ENJOY!
I have a maltitol story to share with you that I'll never forget. I was driving out of town one day and I happened by a health food store. So I stopped in to see what they had. There was a package of little macaroon cookies with all kinds of good numbers, low fat, low sugar, etc. What could be wrong with that? Especially since I LOVE macaroons.
So I bought a bag and headed off to my appointment, snacking on the little macaroons as I drove. Before you knew it, I had eaten the whole package. The next day, I found out the principal adverse effect of maltitol--tropical strength diarrhea. I figured I simply had a bad reaction because I ate too much, so later I tried two pieces of candy made with maltitol, and that also gave me diarrhea.
Take if from me, DON'T EVER EAT ANYTHING WITH MALTITOL IN IT.
GOOD ADVICE, Mike! That why I shared in this recent YouTube video that people should avoid it if they possibly can. It's just not worth the trouble (or pain), is it?
HOOD'S CALORIE COUNTDOWN LOW-CARB MILK BEING DISCONTINUED?
Low-carbers who want an excellent milk substitute have been pleased to use a product called Calorie Countdown from a company named Hood. The milk comes in chocolate (my personal FAVE!) and white and contains just 4g net carbs per serving. This product used to be called Carb Countdown and had the Atkins logo on it before they changed the name to appease the health-conscious consumer last year.
Well, it appears this lone low-carb milk may be on its way out, but I'm still trying to confirm that with Hood. However, one of my readers said she visited her local grocery store to pick up a carton and was told by the manager that Hood Calorie Countdown was being discontinued. If I hear back from Hood about this, then I'll let you know what they say. We may be back to using cream again for milk.
READER DROPS 74 POUNDS IN 2007 AFTER FINDING MY BLOG
You know, when I started this blog I had no idea the impact it was going to have on the lives of real people who were just like me nearly four years ago looking for a glimmer of hope in this weight loss journey. But they're out there watching, reading, learning, and changing their lives forever for the better! I never get tired of hearing stories of low-carb weight loss success like this:
Jimmy,
You've inspired me to lose over 70 pounds in 9 months! I woke up at 41 weighing 270+. I got the "wake-up" call while tying to keep up with my two grade school aged boys. I got on a bicycle and tried to keep up with my nine-year-old and six-year-old. They cleaned my clock! I was so winded I felt as though I'd just ran 10 miles.
I took a long look in the mirror and said to myself, "Man, you're one fat, out-of-shape piece of *^&%!". Well, I decided to do something about it. I did all the stuff the "experts" advise. I went on that dreadful low-fat, low-calorie diet and started to exercise. Well, I had some marginal success, but the hunger was unbearable.
One day I remembered how I used to get to weight during my high school wrestling days. The coach would tell us to avoid all the "White Stuff". He gave us permission to eat two pieces of fruit a day with all the meat, cheese, & garden veggies (excluding potatoes) we wanted, but bread, rice, corn, & sugar were "no nos."
I pulled out an old photo and saw just how lean I was (talkin' about a six-pack!). I contemplated going back on the diet, but was worried about the health risks. I was obviously brainwashed by what I was being told on TV and by my Doctor.
I then started doing a little research to find out how I could do the old diet without the problems. I then stumbled upon your "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. You had it all laid out! I read the stuff you posted and checked out the studies for myself.
I got Dr. Atkins' book and started my journey. Since January I've went from about 272 pounds down to 198 pounds. I was wearing size 46" waist pants in January and now I'm wearing 34". I'm the thinnest I've been since I got out of the Army 19 years ago. My bodyfat level is now at 14% and I haven't felt this good in years!
Keep up the good work! I appreciate your efforts--way to go!
Man, I NEVER get tired of these kinds of stories. Feel free to share how this blog has motivated you in your low-carb journey by e-mailing me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
NUTRITION ANSWERS WEB SITE GIVE CARB COUNTS, GLYCEMIC INDEX OF FOODS
There's a brand new tool that I'm thrilled to be able to share with you for people who are confused about how many carbohydrates are in various foods. Or perhaps you are following the low-glycemic index diet (GI) and want to know what the numbers are for the foods you are eating. Let me introduce you to Nutrition Answers which was created by an Australian Type 1 diabetic named Derek Miller. This program is still in beta, but I happen to think it is absolutely FANTASTIC! When you get to the web site, click on "Sample Questions" and you will see a list of invaluable links to give you the answers to the carb counts for your low-carb lifestyle. Use this tool early and often to stay on track with your healthy low-carb food choices.
ONCE YOU LOW-CARB FOR A WHILE, DO CARBS ACT CRAZY IN YOUR BODY?
I've heard all kinds of stories from people about what has happened to them since they started livin' la vida low-carb and most of the time it is good. There is an occasional strange symptom or two like what this person shared right after I started this blog. We're all different and not everything is tied to our low-carb diet. With that said, though, there may be a connection sometimes like in the case of this woman who wrote to me:
Hi, Jimmy –
I started the low-carb lifestyle this past summer, on July 4, and am happy to report that I’ve already lost 35 pounds and am down 3 or 4 dress sizes! And I feel absolutely great. In fact, I used to have heartburn fairly regularly on my old “normal American” diet, with the sugar and starches – and had to take a Zantac or Tums or two almost every night – but a week or so after starting low-carbing, the heartburn simply went away and never came back!
I never want to go off this way of eating. I was not pre-diabetic and there’s no history of diabetes in my family – but I had read Dr. Atkins’ books and Protein Power by the Drs. Eades and it all made good sense to me. And I’m so glad I tried it and have taken up the low-carb way of life!
But I have a question for you – on the very rare occasions when I have “slipped” in the past few months and eaten something high-carb (like a couple of mini-Milky Way bars…arrgh, pure sugar! Don’t ask me why I did it – I just did it once!) or some bread-y thing (once or twice, just to be “polite” when it was served) my body has had a bad reaction. Not long after eating the sugar and/or starch, I feel my heart start to pound, sometimes my head will start to ache, and I just overall feel quite bad.
My question is – is this the way I was feeling all the time before I started low-carbing, and I just never noticed it?? Or is my ability to handle carbs somehow weaker than it was? Or has my body just adjusted itself to the low-carb way of life, and now it’s just warning me not to go back? What exactly is that shaky, achy, lousy feeling I get when I, rarely, eat sugar or starch? Is that normal to have that happen?
At any rate, it is a truly effective deterrent. I don’t want to feel lousy again; therefore when I want something sweet, I stick to Splenda or maybe some sugar-free Jello or a few berries.
Thanks so much; love your blog!
It's always interesting to hear how people respond when they reintroduce carbs after they started livin' la vida low-carb. It's an great object lesson to remind us that we are making a LIFESTYLE CHANGE that is permanently altering the way we eat forever. That's something I attempted to convey in my response:
THANKS for writing and congrats on your success.
Think about sugar/carbs like you would crack cocaine. It is addictive and your body goes through withdrawals when you try to stop consuming it. When you get "clean" from the addiction and try to reintroduce it to your body, it is TOXIC and the body rejects it.
That's what happens with carbs after you have been livin' la vida low-carb for a while. Your body no longer relies on them and treats them as foreign entities when they are consumed. You've learned your lesson and won't be doing that again soon. :D
THANK YOU again for your e-mail!
Something tells me she'll be on strict low-carb for a while. As she should.
That's all the time I have for now, but I'm happy to be catching up on some much-needed blogging! More coming soon! In the meantime, Celebrate Gary Taubes Week!
9-26-07 UPDATE: After one of my readers was concerned the Hood Calorie Countdown low-carb milk was being discontinued, I contacted them to find out the scoop. According to a customer service representative, it's still available:
"We appreciate your interest in Calorie Countdown Dairy Beverages. In answer to your question, we have not discontinued these. If you are unable to locate a particular product, we suggest you speak with the store or dairy manager and ask if it can be ordered in."
So, if it's not on your grocer's shelf, ASK FOR IT!!! And be sure to let Hood know how much you appreciate their products that cater to your low-carb lifestyle by sharing your product experience.
In our eagerness to pump out another video in our new "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" series, Christine and I went a bit long with Episode 4. It's not so much that we don't want to do longer videos, but YouTube limits the length to NO MORE THAN 10 MINUTES.
I found out this little factoid the hard way last night when I was up until 2AM trying to whittle this thing down to size so we didn't have to record it over again! UGH!
We had recorded a new video yesterday afternoon on artificial sweeteners and what a low-carb dieter can do to get something sweet in their diet. It was the usual fun video and I even started off serenading Christine with my own unique rendition of "Sugar, Awww Honey Honey." Plus, at the end, we gave a BIG shout out to all the wonderful people at my new "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum.
Unfortunately, the raw feed went 13 1/2 minutes long and that didn't even count the intro and outro! BOO HOO! Oh well, so I had to chop off the front and the back and leave the primary meat of the video as the totality of the content. It's just a lesson learned for future videos to keep a closer eye on the clock.
So, with that perspective in mind, now you'll understand why it seems the video abruptly begins and ends. Sorry about that, we'll do better next time. Check it out as we talk about Splenda, aspartame, xylitol, maltitol, oligofructose, and erythritol as well products that contain these sweeteners:
Yes, I know about stevia and even included several minutes of the original video talking about this all-natural supplement that's a popular sweetening agent that low-carbers use, but it was part of the chopping block. Perhaps I could do an entire video just on the subject of stevia since it is becoming more and more popular.
Leave a comment for Episode 4 and be sure to rate it and favorite it if you enjoyed what was presented. :) If not, then I'd still love to know what you thought about it.
Just in case you missed any of our previous YouTube videos, here they are:
- Promo video--A half-minute promotion of the new video series - Episode 1--Introduction of Jimmy & Christine Moore - Episode 2--What kind of fruits can you have on a low-carb diet? - Episode 3--What kind of veggies can you have on a low-carb diet?
Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube videos so you'll never miss an episode! THANK YOU so much to everyone who has supported us by watching and commenting on our videos. Please send your suggestions for future YouTube video topics to me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Sugar-Free Mentos snags another victim of dubious side effects
There oughta be a big bold WARNING label placed on any sugar-free product that purports to be "sweetened with Splenda" if sucralose is not the top sweetener. You know what I'm talking about--while the Splenda logo appears prominently on the front of the packaging of many low-carb, sugar-free products, the truth is there's something else making that product sweet.
That something else is sugar alcohols usually, most notably and notoriously the one called maltitol. Just as sugar-free doesn't mean the product is necessarily low-carb, neither does having the Splenda emblem on the packaging mean it is the primary sweetener. In fact, many times it comes in dead last in the ingredients.
If this is happening, then why does maltitol show up as the #1 ingredient, hmmm? Sounds like a bait and switch scam to me! I've warned about the negative impact this sugar alcohol can have on your stomach many times and even had this humorous story from a reader named Fred Scuttle who found out the hard way what the sugar alcohol maltitol can do to you.
Now I've got another horror story to share with you from Sarah who thought she would get away with downing some Sugar-Free Mentos without a hitch. HA!
Here's what happened to her:
My experience with maltitol happened just today at my restaurant job.
I bought some Sugar-Free Mentos just the other day and was relieved to see the Splenda emblem proudly displayed on the package...I have had problems with other artificial sweeteners, so I thought I was safe.
Wrong!
So, while I was busy serving food on a busy lunch shift, I snacked on the box of candy. Mind you, this was a small package---maybe 15 pieces or so.
Well, an hour into my shift, my stomach started to do that dreaded gurgle and roll and I knew immediately I was in trouble.
I literally had to run to the bathroom, lest I "sharted" in my pants. It was totally awful. It felt disgusting having explosive diarrhea while serving food to customers and the gas and bloating were so terrible I had to go to the bathroom to undo my pants.
Upon closer inspection of the box, in all capital letters I noticed (too late), this disclaimer: EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION MAY CAUSE A LAXATIVE EFFECT!
That's nice. Glad to know that candy now has the ability to make me shit my pants."
Some lessons can only be learned through experience. This will certainly make Sarah read food labels carefully from now on, don't ya think?
By the way, that's the first and last time you'll ever see the word "sharted" at my blog. TMI and EWWWW!
One of the most common questions I get is about a chocolate bar product called Z-Carb. When I was losing my weight in 2004, a co-worker of mine who was livin' la vida low-carb introduced me to these delicious sugar-free low-carb bars made with erythritol and Splenda. What a find this was and I was immediately hooked!
With only negligible carb counts (less than a half gram of carbohydrate per serving), these chocolate bars which came in flavors like peanut butter, crisps, and almonds were a lifesaver for my sweet tooth while losing weight. I sometimes ate as much as a POUND of this stuff a day! Yep, a POUND! Mmmmm.
Unfortunately, as has happened many times over the past few years, some of my favorite low-carb foods have been discontinued and gone out of business. That's economics for you, like it or not. But it really stinks when this happens because you get used to having certain products in your low-carb lifestyle to help you along.
Although I spent hundreds of dollars on Z-Carb bars which were readily available in Wal-Mart, the corner convenience store, the drug store chains...EVERYWHERE!...they couldn't make enough money to keep manufacturing them. They had to bring Z-Carb bars to an end in the Fall of 2005 right about the same time my book was being published. Bummer.
So what do you do?
Well, I could have thrown a hissy fit and gone around grumbling about how unfair life is now that Z-Carb bars are gone. Instead, I went out and found something to take its place because I had to have my dark chocolate. I wanted to find an alternative that tasted as good or better than the Z-Carb bars, made with erythritol and NO maltitol, and low enough in carbs to eat on a regular basis.
Thanks to low-carb retailers Michael and Marilyn Kirtley from Low-Carb Central in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (I was there for a book signing in January 2006), they introduced me to what would become my new favorite low-carb chocolate bar that quite literally blew me away by how incredible they were.
Fellow blogger "Melting Mama" Beth Badore agrees with me that ChocoPerfection low-carb chocolate bars are the bomb, baby! Plus, they're high in fiber and contain absolutely ZERO maltitol. Yeah! No nuclear bombs in my tummy!
That's so rare these days, so we need to support those companies who get it. Read my interview with company founder and president Mary Jo Kringas, a low-carb weight loss success story who lost lots of weight eating at least two ChocoPerfection bars a day (and still does!). Amazing!
Nowadays, I couldn't go very long at all without having my ChocoPerfection fix. Melted, broken and sprinkled, or straight out of the package, this chocolate will hit the spot. Although Z-Carb bars are no longer available and completely gone from store shelves now, ChocoPerfection stepped in to fill the void.
Now, ChocoPerfection better not go anywhere! :D
If you'd like to see products like ChocoPerfection bars in stores like Wal-Mart, grocery stores, drug stores, and convenience stores, then recommend it to your local store and write their corporate office an e-mail. If they hear enough people requesting a product, then they may bring it in.
THANKS to everyone who e-mailed me about Z-Carb bars. Hopefully this answers your questions about why you can't find them anymore despite my glowing comments about them in my book. Welcome to one of the challenges of livin' la vida low-carb.
Jigsaw energy bars are worth a second look from low-carbers
There's a relatively new company out there making products for people desiring to live a better, healthier life. They are Jigsaw Health and you may have heard their radio ads for Jigsaw Magnesium on "The Neal Boortz Show" or "The Mike Gallagher Show." I even highlighted company founder Pat Sullivan in this recent blog post.
Of all the products that Jigsaw Health manufactures, one stood out from the rest as something that people who are livin' la vida low-carb could fit into their healthy low-carb lifestyle--Jigsaw Bars. These brownie-like bars are absolutely loaded with wholesome and nutritious ingredients, including a whopping 12g protein, omega-3 fatty acids, cocoa powder (which we learned today has been found in this new study to be good for brain health), vitamin C, pantothenic acid, vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid, biotin, and so much more!
These Jigsaw Bars SHOULD taste good since they are the result of 23 different test phases. Yep, they wanted to create the best possible energy bar for people to try and they think they have the "perfect" one now. People with celiac disease will appreciate that these bars are gluten-free and low-carbers will be pleased to know there is absolutely ZERO sugar in these bars.
However, there are 8g net carbs in these bars, so they should be consumed by those in the later phases of livin' la vida low-carb. Of course, if you want to get creative and cut the Jigsaw Bar in half, even those who are losing weight in the early stages of their low-carb journey can have a healthy and tasty treat with only 4g net carbs and 6g protein. EXCELLENT!
Jigsaw Bars come in two distinct flavors--Chocolate and Almond Coconut. Chocolate is one of my favorite flavors, but coconut doesn't thrill me very much. Therefore, my expectations for each were predicated on this before I even had a chance to eat them. When the time came to bite into a Jigsaw Bar for the very first time, I have to be honest: I HATED IT!
Yep, my intial experience eating one of the Chocolate Jigsaw Bars was a bit disappointing. It wasn't the taste so much as it was the texture--a bit gritty like there was sand mixed in with it. After reading the ingredients label, I realized what that was. They used whey protein crisps that were kinda like Rice Krispies in the center of the bar. Well, that explains the crunchiness.
The next time I tried the Jigsaw Bar, I will admit it was MUCH better than the first time because I didn't notice as much grit this time. I especially liked the fact that it was a high-protein bar that actually tasted somewhat like real food for a change. If you've ever bitten into a typical protein bar that's loaded with sugar, then you know what I'm talking about. Jigsaw Bars are different and thankfully so.
On a whim, I decided to play around with the Chocolate Jigsaw Bar by microwaving it for about 20 seconds. WOW, that was REALLY good! Then I spread a little bit of Sugar-Free Smucker's Raspberry Jam and a dollop of whipped cream on top for a dessert one night. Holy cow, this tastes JUST like a brownie now and the texture is WAY better! These bars are so versatile that they can be consumed hot or right out of the package (although hot is better to me!).
How about that Coconut flavor? Well, it should come as no surprise that it just wasn't my cup of tea. But I'm sure coconut lovers will appreciate it a lot more than I did. I just don't like the texture of coconut...never have, never will!
I do want to make you aware of one thing that the Jigsaw people are actually working on right now. These Jigsaw Bars have the sugar alcohol maltitol in them. GASP! But, but, but...I know, let me stop you before you even ask. Yes, this is the ingredient that I encourage people on low-carb to avoid if at all possible because of the stomach-busting properties it can cause in higher quantities.
But you will be pleased to know that maltitol is not the top ingredient which means it is not as heavily infused in these bars as some of the other products you have tried. In fact, Jigsaw supplements the maltitol with another more pleasant sugar alcohol called Xylitol for a sweet blend of sugar alternatives that substitute well for sugar. After eating one of these bars, I was bracing to have the typical gas and stomach cramps that come from maltitol consumption. It didn't happen and I was happy about that!
Wanna try these Jigsaw Bars for yourself? They have a special BUY ONE GET ONE FREE offer right now and a 100% full-refund satisfaction guarantee. In other words, there's NO risk to try these bars for yourself and see if you agree they are a great-tasting way to supplement your diet with healthy vitamins and minerals as well as hunger-busting protein. Let me know what you think!
Finally, we have a topic that my fellow Atkins weight loss success story Kent Altena and I actually disagree about. I'm not saying he's wrong or I'm right necessarily about this subject, but it is quite controversial among many active low-carbers. It's the issue of "net carbs."
Most people only vaguely understand what that phrase means and Kent seems to think it's nothing more than a marketing gimmick to sell products. I agree that companies exploit this "net carbs" or "digestible carbs" claim to peddle their products, but that's an intelligent way to educate your customers to convince them they need to buy your low-carb food product.
The way I explain it to most people is you don't have to count the carbohydrates in dietary fiber or sugar alcohols. So, if a product has 15g total carbohydrates with 5g fiber and 9g sugar alcohols, then the product is said to have 1 "net carb." I have used this simple subtraction method from the very beginning of my low-carb lifestyle and it has served me well.
But Kent disagrees as he explains in his latest Atkins video:
NET CARBS VS. NET EFFECTIVE CARBS - MARKETING HYPE
Back in 2004 when I was losing the majority of my weight, I can't tell you what a lifesaver having low-carb chocolates and other sweet products available to me as I transitioned from eating sugary snacks to sugar-free ones. As Kent alluded to in his video, we do need stricter standards regarding the labeling of what constitutes a "low-carb" product because people are being duped by the hype. Furthermore, sugar-free, low-carb candy companies need a wake-up call to start using better ingredients in their products rather than settling for the cheapest, worst possible sweeteners they can find (do I need to mention the "m" word again?!).
Kent isn't buying any of the hype about sugar alcohols and only subtracts the fiber in his carb counts. There's certainly nothing wrong with doing that, but it was not necessary for me when I was losing weight and even now. For the record, Kent believes sugar alcohols should count anywhere between 25-75 percent of what the same amount of sugar carbs would be. He says the body reacts to the sugar alcohol in the same way as it does sugar by releasing insulin into the body. As a result, some people experience stalls in their weight loss while eating low-carb foods containing sugar alcohols.
This has not been my experience, but we are all very different as I have said before. If you notice the scale stops moving downward, then stop eating the low-carb chocolates for a week to see if it makes a difference. Perhaps your body is ultrasensative to the sugar alcohols and adjustments should be made in the amount of these products you consume. For others, it's a non-issue. Don't just assume it either is or is not a problem. Monitor it closely for YOU and act accordingly.
There are some invaluable links to other articles about this subject if you are interested in pursuing it further by visiting Kent's blog. Be sure to leave Kent a comment while you are there thanking him for his hard work and dedication to making these videos about how to do the Atkins diet.
Well, one company has taken me up on my challenge and is offering chocolate that is 100% maltitol-free. YEAH! They are Maine Cottage Foods with their new premium low-carb chocolate bars. This company is fully committed to using the very best ingredients possible, including the more expensive sweeteners like erythritol and oligofructose, to provide their customers with a quality chocolate bar that they won't regret having eaten it hours later.
The fine folks at Maine Cottage Foods are committed to helping the low-carb community as well as diabetics enjoy the tasty goodness of chocolate without all the carbohydrates and sugars that dominate the ingredients in most chocolate bars nowadays.
So if it doesn't have any sugar or maltitol, Jimmy, then what's it sweetened with and what else is in it that makes it so special? GREAT QUESTION! In addition to erythritol and oligofructose, these chocolate bars from Maine Cottage Foods also have the ever-popular ACE-K and Splenda in them to bring out the sweetness of the chocolate liquor, real cocoa butter, and milk fat.
Mmmm...the taste of these bars is simply magnificent! Of course, I love my chocolate and always appreciate being able to try some new ones. I'm still a big dark chocolate fan, so that one appealed to me the most. The crisp bar really tasted like a Nestle Crunch bar. Too bad Nestle can't get a clue and make a sugar-free version of their famous bar! The mint bar was a refreshingly cool after dinner treat.
Our friends at LO-CARB U have made the Maine Cottage low-carb chocolates available to you. Click here if you would like to place an order to try them for yourself.
Have you heard of Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (PGPR) before?
Ever since I started livin' la vida low-carb, I have become like a hawk reading nutritional labels and ingredients of foods that are supposed to be acceptable for people who are following the low-carb way of life. Anytime I see something strange that I've never heard of before, then I know it's time to do some research and find out what it is really all about.
One such ingredient is something known as PGPR, or Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate. This is something that you will find in the ingredients list for Dove Sugar-Free Chocolates made by Mars, Inc. I personally LOVE Dove chocolates and was thrilled to learn they made a sugar-free version which I was hoping to add to my low-carb lifestyle. But if the whopping 17g of the nasty sugar alcohol maltitol they use to sweeten each bag didn't turn me off, then the PGPR did!
My food science source informs me that PGPR is an emulsifier used in chocolate and is made from castor bean oil. It is used primarily to improve the viscosity of the chocolate so it will melt in your mouth better. The lower the viscosity, the better the texture feels inside of your mouth. Products like chocolate chips and Hershey's kisses which are thicker chocolates have much higher viscosity so they will keep their shape.
The only other approved emulsifier used in the United States besides PGPR is lecithin while European chocolates can also contain YN (ammonium phosphatide) and CITREM (citric acid esters of mono- and di-glycerides).
Why do manufacturers use PGPR? Cost-cutting, of course. Our society relies so heavily on mass-marketed products that businesses will do whatever they can to cut corners in production to bring what they believe is an acceptable end product to the consumer at the lowest possible cost.
Sounds like a smart business strategy, right? After all, why else would all these companies be pouring stomach-busting maltitol and lactitol in their products? It's cheap and the consumer backlash is minimal, that's why.
Using PGPR enables the chocolate company to actually cut down on the amount of cacao butter they add to their product which is much more expensive than sugar. But the problem comes in when you attempt to make the chocolate sugar-free since sugar alternatives are quite a bit more expensive than sugar is. The varying levels of PGPR allows companies to change the taste, texture, and other such properties of the chocolate.
Although there are no specific safety concerns with PGPR and it can work well for creating a decent chocolate product, the sticking point for me is the fact that it could be used to cut corners which produces nothing more than an inferior product. In other words, did the Mars company use PGPR to purposefully make their Dover Sugar-Free Chocolates as cheaply made as possible? That's not doing the consumer any favors and I'm here to call them on it.
STOP USING THE MALTITOL AND PGPR IN YOUR PRODUCTS!!!
If you are looking for some high-quality sugar-free, low-carb chocolates, then you may want to visit LowCarbChocolates.com. They have the very best selection of chocolates available for people who are diabetic or enjoying the benefits of livin' la vida low-carb. No PGPR shows up in these chocolates.
Be on the lookout for this new mysterious ingredient called PGPR so you will know which chocolate companies are cutting corners to sell you an inferior product. Refuse to just settle for this and demand the very best. If you are going to indulge, then make it the highest-quality possible, right?
Need some comic relief on this mid-September day? Then allow me to introduce you to a very funny and talented writer named Fred Scuttle who has a promising new blog that was birthed on Wednesday called (get this!) Low-Carb/Blow-Carb!
Now some may look at that blog name and think Mr. Scuttle is an opponent of low-carb. But it seems he's actually learning a few of the lessons that come with this lifestyle change--the HARD way!
He read my recent review of a new maltitol-free product available from the online low-carb retailer LO-CARB U called Lean-Up Chocolate Bars that was reposted on CommonVoice.com and decided to comment with his and his wife's own experience eating the dastardly sugar alcohol known as maltitol.
Like so many people new to livin' la vida low-carb, Scuttle neglected to read the fine print on a package of maltitol-sweetened chocolates he purchased that warned about overconsumption and the possible side effects of doing so. I'm gonna let him tell you the story about what happened next because his vivid and descriptive play-by-play recollection is one for the ages. ENJOY!
See if this sounds familiar to anyone...
"Hoo Boy! That explains it! I bought some great low-carb chocolate from Trader Joe's and noted that the whole bar supposedly contained 2 net carbs. Naturally, my wife and I daintily took one little piece each and congratulated ourselves on our restraint, and nibbled a tiny bit off a corner while making little bunny-like nose-squinchy giggles and shrugs at our naughtiness.
The next thing I knew the chocolate bar was gone in a brownish blur, there were pieces of wrapper in our teeth and strewn about the floor and our faces and furniture were smeared with grubby chocolatey finger-smudges. Ah, how we giggled yet again at our own weakness and utter humanity, and promised to make the next one last a little longer than 1.3 seconds.
Skip to three hours later. The rock-shivering cacaphony reverberating in our living room can best be described as sounding like an orchestral tuba section warming up, a dirigible rupturing and the earthy bla-a-atting tones of a fleet of diesel semis throwing on the 'jake brakes' on a long downhill stretch, with the odd bassoon glissando thrown in to provide color, and flutey, schoolgirl-ish 'skirt-lifter' flourishes blupping periodically from my soulmate.
I have never had gas so bad in my life. Not even close, and in my family 'pull my finger' is considered a cooing utterance of affection, followed by the inevitable sound of a watermelon breaking in half.
The cramps alone were excruciating, much less the sore stomach muscles from simultaneously moaning in pain and laughing (which caused an odd 'putt-putt' style nether-zephyr to emerge in staccato trumpet-blasts from our hindquarters, eliciting further torture to our already weakened respiratory systems). We were on all fours, barking from both ends. Not a pretty sight.
Or smell. You'll just have to imagine that, for words can only fail to deliver an account of such a horrendous assault on the olfactory organs, save to those who work in sewage treatment facilities or overcrowded South American prisons. If you need a prompt for a realistic simulation to catalog in your own mental flatulence-file, hold a teenager's wet sneaker up to one nostril and a freshly-opened bag of pork rinds to the other in a kitchen where cabbage is being overcooked. Then you might BEGIN to suggest a vague guess as to the essence.
Until I read this review and understood the magical hurricane-producing properties of maltitol on the digestive system, I had no idea why we had spontaneously erupted like a wind section in a John Cage score. We thought we had somehow insulted the Aztec gods of the bean harvest or something. Now that we know, we will avoid the detestable sugar-fraud in favor of something kinder to our poor abused starfish and easier on our laundry bill."
ROTFL!!! This Fred Scuttle guy is a trip, I'm telling you. If future posts on his new blog are anything like this one, then he's gonna be one to check out early and often. I don't have an e-mail address for him yet, but you can post an encouraging comment for Fred Scuttle at his first blog post. Send the love of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" his way!
By the way, Fred, you'll be happy to know that there are a whole host of new low-carb chocolate products coming down the line in the coming months that do NOT contain maltitol in them, but rather the much more acceptable erithrytol, oligofructose, and other "better" sweeteners. I will be reviewing them here soon.
One of the funniest questions I get from people who first discover that I'm on the low-carb lifestyle is "What do you eat?" My smart alleck response that is only said in my mind is, "Food, ya idiot!" But I'm much more civilized than that and generally respond with a sampling of what I have eaten for that day.
So, with my 6 1/2 pound weight loss last week on this new twist on low-carb living from Regina Wilshire, people are asking what I did differently to lose so much in one week. As a service to you and to possibly help you get some ideas about what to eat on your low-carb lifestyle, I will list a sample one-week menu that I ate last week to lose the weight.
Before I get into the foods I ate, here are my supplements:
3 teaspoons of liquid multivitamin (no iron) 1 brick men's multivitamin (no iron) 200mg Co Q-10 200mcg Chromium Picolinate 250mg Acetyl L-Carnitine 1 brick B Complex Vitamins 6 tablets Shaklee Super Calcium Magnesium Plus 2 caplets Fibercon 2 softgels 1000mg each Flax Oil 2 softgels 1000mg each Fish Oil Concentrate
As for what I drank, I had liberal amounts of water and Splenda-sweetened soft drinks. The water intake was right around a gallon and a half a day and I averaged about 6-8 cans of diet soda daily as well.
Now, without further wait, here is my menu and exercise routine:
MONDAY 7:45AM - Atkins Shake 10:00AM - 4 organic eggs with cheese 1:00PM - La Tortilla wrap with turkey, cheese and mayo 3:00PM - 1/3 cup of almonds and walnuts 5:30PM - 8oz steak w/A-1, 1/3 cup spinach leaves w/avocado oil 8:30PM - Heavy whipping cream w/DaVinci Syrup
EXERCISE: 35 minutes walking
TUESDAY 7:45AM - Atkins Shake 10:45AM - 3 eggs, salad greens w/Ranch, 2 tbsps walnuts 1:00PM - La Tortilla wrap w/turkey, ham, roast beef, cheese, mayo 3:00PM - 1/2 cup of almonds and walnuts 5:45PM - 8oz steak w/A-1, 1/3 cup spinach leaves w/avocado oil 8:15PM - Heavy whipping cream w/DaVinci Syrup
EXERCISE: 30 minutes elliptical
WEDNESDAY 7:45AM - Atkins Shake 9:45AM - 4 organic eggs with cheese 12:15PM - La Tortilla wrap w/roast beef, ham, cheese, mayo 3:00PM - 2/3 cup of almonds and walnuts 5:30PM - Grilled chicken w/cheese, 3/4 cup spinach leaves, Ranch 9:00PM - Heavy whipping cream w/DaVinci Syrup
EXERCISE: 30 minutes elliptical
THURSDAY 8:45AM - Atkins Shake 9:30AM - 4 organic eggs with cheese 2:00PM - 10oz steak w/A-1, 6oz BBQ no sauce, salad greens with eggs, cheese, sunflower seeds, pepperoni, Ranch, 1 bite of sugar-free pudding and 1 swallow of Coca-Cola (I accidentally sipped my wife's drink! UGH!)
Well, whaddya think? Isn't this doable? I think it's AWESOME!
9-6-06 UPDATE: One of my regular readers was appreciative that I posted my menu from this past week online and had a few excellent questions for me:
“Jimmy, thanks for posting your menus. How different is this week’s menus different from the previous weeks?"
To be honest, not a whole lot.
"How specifically did you incorporate Regina’s tweaks aside from organic eggs and fish oil?”
There were some specific changes I made, including CUTTING OUT ALL ASPARTAME AND MALTITOL products (I still had Splenda-based ones, though!), switched to eating SOME organic eggs and meats, drinking ONE Atkins shake a day, and including those supplements that Regina recommended I start taking. Other than that, the rest is what I've been doing.
Carbothin has a new chocolate bar sweetened with chicory root
One of the biggest problems with most of the low-carb chocolate bars that have been introduced to the market over the years is the fact that so many of the manufacturers took the easy road out when it came to their choice of sweetener. Rather than going out and researching what people who are livin' la vida low-carb really wanted, they stooped to the lowest common denominator by using the cheapest, most dastardly sugar alternative this world has ever seen--MALTITOL!
For that reason alone, I like to highlight any new low-carb chocolates that contain ZERO MALTITOL in them so you don't have to experience the uncomfortable feeling of excessive bloating and gas that the infamous and nasty sugar alcohol causes.
And I am excited to tell you that I've found one that actually tastes pretty good as well. It's from a company called Carbothin and the name of the low-carb chocolate product is called Lean-Up.
Available exclusively from our friends at LO-CARB U Foods right now, this maltitol-free chocolate bar (WOO HOO!) is also low-glycemic and tastes fabulous thanks to a proprietary blend of an up-an-coming sweetener made from chicory root as well as the stomach-friendly sugar alcohol erythritol. This special mixture of sweeteners along with real cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, and some whey protein make these Lean-Up bars delightful to your tastebuds!
Here's the skinny on the nutrition found in each Lean-Up bar:
Calories: 110 Total Fat: 9g Trans Fat: 0g Saturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 2mg Sodium: 15mg Total Carbohydrates: 15g Dietary Fiber: 8g Sugar Alcohol: 6g Net Carbs: 1g Protein: 2g
I found them to be very creamy with a rich chocolate flavor and just enough sweetness to bring out the chocolate. More than anything was the assurance in the back of my mind as I was eating it that I could rest easy and enjoy a low-carb chocolate bar for once without worrying about the consequences of doing so an hour after eating it. :) Lean-Up bars had NONE of that and were well worth each and every bite.
Available individually or in cases of 24, you'll want to try Lean-Up chocolate bars for yourself and your family by clicking here.
This story by WESH-TV, the Orlando-based NBC affiliate, warns people doing low-fat and low-carb about the dangers to their health when they eat too many low-fat or low-carb foods on the grocery market shelves today.
While I agree that there is a danger in blindly buying whatever you can get your hands on that blares the words "low-carb" on it these days, most people who are livin' la vida low-carb are smart enough to read labels and know what is best for them. If not, then you need to get into the habit of doing it right away!
My problem with this story is that it claims low-carb foods will hurt you. Taking that statement at face value, I could not disagree more. The foods themselves are not dangerous to eat as the story implies. They just happen to be foods that are lower in carbohydrates than their regular counterparts. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.
But the heart of the issue is what we find in the ingredients of so many low-carb foods that is detrimental to our cause -- hidden sugars! Don't buy anything that has sugar in it! That's not too hard to follow, is it? But you also have to be aware that sugar alcohols, especially Maltitol and Lactitol, will cause you gastric problems if you eat in excess. Actually, though, it can work as a built-in mechanism to keep you from overindulging on these sugar-free delights if you know your tummy will hurt after eating them.
That's one thing this story is concerned about, too. Well, if you buy the low-carb version of the candy you love, then you'll eat twice as much and be right where you started. How absurd! Why is it assumed more of it will be consumed?
I have enjoyed eating low-carb candies since starting my low-carb lifestyle and consider them a lifesaver for me during times when I really needed something sweet to satisfy my desire for chocolate! People ask me if I miss chocolate and I tell them I can eat all the chocolate I want, just without the sugar. While I have to be careful about how much I eat with the ones that have the sugar alcohols that cause problems, I have found other products that contain a sugar alcohol called erithrytol which doesn't cause these side effects.
Look for Z-Carb bars and you can have all the erithrytol-sweetened chocolate you want with only a negligible amount of carbs! They are available online and in the pharmacy section at Wal-mart. And they are soooooo good, too! My favorite is dark chocolate, but they also come in milk chocolate, with peanut butter, with soy crisps and with macadamia nuts. Once you try 'em, you'll want to try them in low-carb dessert recipes, too!
"I think a lot of it is a gimmick that is promoting people to eat these products and there is no benefit to them," said Tara Gidus, of the American Dietetic Association.
No benefit?! How about giving us low-carbers a way to enjoy a delicious treat while we are doing something to improve our health? I'll tell you what is no benefit to people is all the sugar-laced, carb-loaded foods they stuff their faces with on a daily basis. Where is the outcry about that? If these pundits who criticize the low-carb lifestyle so harshly every day would expend just as much energy on the role fast food and sugar have played in the obesity problem in the United States, then maybe a solution would finally emerge that will restore the health of the citizens of our country.
Hey, wait a minute. We already have it! It's called livin' la vida low-carb!
9-16-06 UPDATE: Sadly, Z-Carb bars are no longer available, but there are many other low-carb chocolates on the market today that are as good or better. Check 'em out!
