I got a bag of free samples of "low carb" items with my last Netrition order. Dh & I got a real laugh with some of these items.

Better Balance French Vanilla Protein Cereal: 1 oz package

100 calories
15 gms carbs
Fiber 3 gms
Protein 9 gms

Ingredients: Soy protein isolate, yellow corn flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, inulin, pea fiber, natural honey, evaporated cane juice, canola oil, cinnamon powder, vanilla extract, natural flavoring, baking powder, double acting leavening agents, salt.

This on is definitely NOT for me!

Carb Watchers Lean Body Hi-Protein Meal Replacement:

260 calories
Carbs 12
Fiber 4
Sugar 3
Protein 40

One of the ingredients is Corn Syrup Solids. Sigh.

Better Balance Golden ButterTwists Pretzels:

1 oz is 1.5 servings (not 1, not 2, but 1.5)

Per Serving

Calories 110
Carbs 12
Fiber 2
Sugars 1
Protein 10

If you eat the entire bag, chowing down that extra half serving, you'll be getting 15 net carbs in this little 1 oz bag.

Ingredients: Soy isolate, corn starch, sesame seed, palm oil, tapioca starch, fiber gum, cane juice, pea fiber, etc.

Not for me!

Atkins Endulge Peanut Caramel Cluster Bar

1.2 oz bar

110 calories
9 carbs
4 fiber
1 sugar
3 sugar alcohols

They claim net 2 carbs.

Ingredients I don't want:

Maltitol! Yikes!
Non-fat dry milk

Not for me. Ever!

Big Train Low Carb Hot Chocolate:
1 16g pkt

50 calories
10 carbs
1 fiber
2 sugars
5 sugar alcohol

Suspicious ingredients: Non-dairy creamer (Partially hydrogenated coconut oil, corn syrup solids), sugar, as well as erythritol, sucralose, and other stuff.

Not for me!

Spiced Low Carb Chai:

1 pouch 16 gms

60 calories
11 carbs
0 fiber
2 g sugar
7 g sugar alcohol

Suspicious ingredients:

Maltitol (the very incarnation of evil!), Non-dairy creamer (same as above in the hot cocoa mix, with corn syrup solids & hydrogenated coconut oil!)

Not for me!

Cytolean, a package of supplements, not a problem.

2 pkt Stevia Extract, OK.

1 envelope of Emerald Balance Total Nutrition Drink Mix, giving you the antioxidant power of 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables, 100% natural pH balancing, natural energizing....hmm, let's see what's in it.

39 calories
6 g carbs
1.7 g fiber
1 g protein

This tiny package has all kinds of stuff. It's 4 gms, and you mix it with 3 to 6 oz water. Not much of a drink, is it?

Barley grass juice powder, Certified organic beet juice powder, (sounding even yummier, isn't it?), Organic carrot juice powder, chlorella - cracked cell, parsley juice powder, spirulina powder, watercress juice powder, acerola berry juice powder, bioflavinoids (citrus), blueberry powder, grape seed extract 92%, green tea catecins 80%, Orange juice powder, pineapple juice powder, red raspberry powder, turmeric powder, vitamin c - natural rose hips, vitamin e- (d-alpha tocopherol), dandelion, aloe vera, spearmint, apple fiber, apple pectin, flaxseed meal, rice bran powder, bamboo, cinnamon, ginkgo biloba, horsetail, lecithin powder, siberian ginsing, eleutherococcus suma, stevia, non-dairy probiotic culture, astragalus, damiana, ginger, silymarin, Nova Scotia dulse, royal jelly, plant enzymes, lipase, protease, amylase & cellulose.

Whew! All that in this teensy weensy package!

Splenda Quick Pack, for putting in your pitcher of KoolAid. 8 servings, less than 1 carb per serving. A lot better than using a cup of bulk Splenda in your pitcher, which is 24 carbs. Not too bad.

These are all the items that came in my free "low carb" sample. Most of it is useless to me. The stuff with maltitol will go directly into the trash, I wouldn't give this cr*p to anyone to suffer through intense intestinal agony. So, all in all, this free sample is pretty much worthless.

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Nita

WOW! Amazing what's considered low carb by some manufacturers. It seems like the Netrition people would know better......I take that back. If it sells, it sells, eh?

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BC
LC Since 1998
Highest Weight 172
Current 104-108

i'm trying to envision exactly what corn syrup solids are.......uhhhh....
and malitol is evil!

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A few years ago I got caught by the evil malitol while on holidays....two days of absolute heJJ with stomach cramps etc. You won't get that stuff past these lips ever again!

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Donna
238.5/173.4/150
I will see my goal weight again

i learned about malitol with an exerpience i still call "the brownie incident." 3 big ol' pieces of Krustez LC Brownies and the rest of the night with lay-in-bed stomach cramps. and i can't imagine two days of that! eeek!

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Nita, I got about the same "sample" with my last order ... plus some pills & "pretzels" (which were icky. Yeeshh!

Thanks for the great review!

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The first time I ordered from netrition I also got the free LC samples. Most of them were pretty scary. There was even a bag of microwavable pork rinds, supposed to be like popcorn, I guess, but yuk!
I threw most of it away.

I have to admit to trying the Big Train hot chocolate, though. I ended up buying some for DH because I figured better that than the uber sugary Swiss Miss or whatever.

The only thing that would interest me would be the Emerald Balance drink mix powder. I use an antioxidant powder in my shakes and I'd like to add it to my DS's shakes but if it tastes like the one I use, he wouldn't drink it. If you try it, can you post how it tastes?

Can anyone explain to me what the sugar alcohols are and why (and if) they can (or should) be subtracted from the carb count?

Cisco

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Here is a link to a generalized discussion of sugar alcohols. Sugar alcohol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Manufacturers have adopted the methodology of subtracting all sugar alcohol carbs in arriving at "net" carbs for their product. That methodology is a flawed type of marketing hype because most sugar alcohols do actually have an impact on blood glucose levels. The only sugar alcohol that I have any confidence in subtracting completely from the total carbohydrate count of a product is erythritol, because its impact on blood glucose levels is minimal. Many people will count all of the sugar alcohol carbs in their total carb count. Others will count some portion. My general rule of thumb is to count half of the sugar alcohol carbs of a product in its carb count, unless the only sugar alcohol is erythritol. In my view, those who don't count any sugar alcohol carbs in their carb totals are either in denial or don't understand them and their impact on the body.

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Henry

Hmmm this post listed several items that I like a lot. Better Balance by Kay's Naturals are good products, I like Big Train, and Atkins. My key priority when choosing a food is making sure that it consists of protein, low in sugar, and carbs. The Kays products have good protein content for what types of products they offer, and Big Train is low in sugar (my #1 priority) and low carb. I like them and find them to be good alternatives to the real thing. I am maintaining my weight loss.

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Visit my blog: Recovering Fatty
Or my Bariatric Corner section for Labrada Nutrition

I guess for people who are eating a "regular" diet, those products are considered low carb. Canada's food guide recommends 300 grams of carb as a daily intake based on 2000 cal. consumption. Everything is relative. Do you guys get xylitol down there? I haven't been able to find erythritol here, but have found the xylitol amazingly good. It doesn't impact my blood sugar and behaves, tastes and looks like regular sugar. Like all alcohol sugars some people might have trouble digesting xylitol if you eat a huge amount of it right off the bat. If you gradually add it or eat reasonable amounts there's no problem. None of my family or friends had any trouble with it.

Margaret