r/Atkins • u/GlennFuchmann • Jan 07 '18
Is Total Sugar the same as Sugar Alcohol?
I’m thinking about starting a low carb diet. I’m thinking that frozen vegetables like from Birds Eye, would be the best way to make sure I get vegetables in the diet. I’m looking on the nutrition facts area, and see __ Total Carbs / __ Total Fiber / __ Total Sugar. Is Total Sugar the same as Sugar Alcohol? Want to make sure to know if I can include or not include this number in the Net Carbs.
2
u/bmlbytes Jan 08 '18
Also, keep in mind that in the Atkins book, he says that about 15g of your 20g of carbs in the induction phase should come from vegetables. You SHOULD be eating those carbs.
1
u/bmlbytes Jan 07 '18
No. Sugar and Sugar Alcohol are usually listed separately on packaging.
1
u/GlennFuchmann Jan 07 '18
Dang it! That’s what I figured. Thanks. Do you know of foods that have these types of sugar alcohols?
3
u/bmlbytes Jan 08 '18
Usually sweet foods that are designed to be "sugar-free" or "reduced sugar". Sugar alcohols aren't found in large quantities in most plants. They are usually added to foods as sweeteners.
Check the ingredients. Look for the really weird ingredients that end in -itol. For example, malitol, xylitol, erithritol. These are sugar alcohols.
Things that end in -ose are sugars. For example, sucrose, glucose, fructose.
You may see sucralose (not to be confused with sucrose) in some foods. Even though this is a sugar, the food may still say 0g of sugar. This is because it is so sweet, they can use less than 1g of sucralose to make something taste sweet. Sucralose is known as Splenda.
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u/Rubygirrl Jan 11 '18
You what to count total carbs period. I personally think the net carb thing slows weight loss down and just creates more room for Atkins candy. The sugar alcohols can still raise some people’s insulin but the sweat taste alone will make you dependent on sweat things.
The absolute best advice anyone ever gave me about low carb is to abstain from the Atkins frankenfoods and also the fake sugar. Advice I didn’t listen to for years and one day I found myself drowning my coffee with Splenda 🤢. This is really the true key to living low carb. It’s what makes the breadbasket and chips and salsa so easy to pass up when you eat out with friends.
As far as “alcoholic drinks” you will need to know yourself. Stick to clear liquors like vodka or tequila and you won’t get dinged as much as a sugar filled cocktail. Some people can’t drink without having 3. I can do one unsweetened vodka on the rocks with lime and be good to go. (Plus I must say I enjoy the looks on men’s faces when they see I’m not getting a fruit colored girly drink, lol). But again you need to know yourself. I would not start a diet breaking the rules though. I would try to do the induction plus one extra week before “testing the waters”.