What exactly is this?
My Walmart now carries a line of lc treats, brand name is Z carb, that contain this ingredient.
Here is what the label says:

Carbohydrates..............0g
(that cause a noted effect on blood sugar)

TOTAL CARBS(6%DV).........17g
inulin(fiber).......................-9g
erythritol....................-7.993g
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IMPACT CARBS..............0.007g

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Z-CARB Products do not contain malitol, hsh, polyglycitol, or lactitol. These ingredients can cause uncomfortable laxative side-effects and gastric distress.{{duh}}

My question is, does anyone here know what this ingredient is? Are there any side effects that I need to beware of?
tia!
btw, this stuff tastes like heaven! Reminds of chocolate silk..........

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Cynthia

Erythritol is a different breed of sugar alcohol. It doesn't cause digestive issues, has an extremely low caloric impact and an extremely low carb impact as well. Simply put, most of it doesn't metabolize and passes through the body unchanged.

The science get's a little complicated. Suffice it to say, it's good. Those carb counts they list might be a little low, though. I would plug all the values into a hidden carb counter. That will give you the true carbs. The trick with erythritol is to always use the listed calories to compute carbs rather than paying attention to the carb count itself. Companies are allowed to reflect erythritol's non metabolizing behavior into the calorie count (.2 cal/g), but at the present, they have to declare all erythritol grams as carb grams.

Thank you!

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Cynthia

I buy these at Walgreens, although I will check at WalMart now...I'm sure their prices are better. I absolutley cannot eat anything that contains mannitol or sorbitol. It sends me running in 30 minutes or less. Most packages say "excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect". All I have to do is eat one. Yuck.

There is also a bar made by Carborite named At Last. It is usually found in the diabetics section. These are also made with erythritol. They are good, but not as yummy as the Z carb Gormet Dark Cholcolate Bar with Macadamia Nuts. I think the Hershey 1 Carb bar is an erythritol sweetened bar, also.

I am reading labels even closer now!

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