Carbophobes Beware!
I was out for lunch the other day with a friend, and while we were chatting over our meals, the question of carbs arose. She's much more into that kind of thing than I am, and can discuss more of the products aimed at carbophobes than I can. Today I encountered one of the latest "carb-conscious" offerings. I'll have to ask her if she knows about this one.
It's the CarbZone Toffee Almond Bar from the good people at Slim-Fast that I looked at. Now I happen to be an inveterate label-reader, so I spent a while with that bar in hand, before I put it down and walked away, chuckling to myself. The wrapper shares with you the good news that this bar has only 2 grams of carbohydrates from sugars and starch. Doesn't that sound terrific? The only thing is that you can't stop reading there. You've got to look through the bottom of your bifocals and check out the tiny print too.
"As part of healthy eating this food may assist in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight because it is portion controlled." says the label. In other words, you do not want to eat that bar as a snack. If you're weight-conscious, that bar has to be your whole meal, or you'll lose the "portion controlled" benefit, because this little baby has a whopping 200 calories to deliver. Not sounding so good, eh? It gets better still. The bar has eight grams of fat and since the chocolate-flavoured coating is made with modified palm kernel oil, that means it's saturated fat. Something else you really don't want from this little tastebud tempter.
OK, now here goes, 'cause I saved the best til last! These bars have 16 grams of sugar alcohols. Carbophobes might want to keep their distance from sugar alcohols for a couple of reasons. One is that some people report that sugar alcohols actually act as trigger foods that can cause carb cravings or binges. The other one is the loose cannon of sugar alcohols. For most people, consuming more than 20 grams of sugar alcohols a day can do interesting things to their digestive system. The only problem is that the 20 g count isn't accurate for everyone. Less than 20 can be enough to do the deed in some people, and that's why the small print carries the teensy-weensy warning: "May have a laxative effect"!
Go ahead. Unwrap that bar and take a big bite!
It's the CarbZone Toffee Almond Bar from the good people at Slim-Fast that I looked at. Now I happen to be an inveterate label-reader, so I spent a while with that bar in hand, before I put it down and walked away, chuckling to myself. The wrapper shares with you the good news that this bar has only 2 grams of carbohydrates from sugars and starch. Doesn't that sound terrific? The only thing is that you can't stop reading there. You've got to look through the bottom of your bifocals and check out the tiny print too.
"As part of healthy eating this food may assist in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight because it is portion controlled." says the label. In other words, you do not want to eat that bar as a snack. If you're weight-conscious, that bar has to be your whole meal, or you'll lose the "portion controlled" benefit, because this little baby has a whopping 200 calories to deliver. Not sounding so good, eh? It gets better still. The bar has eight grams of fat and since the chocolate-flavoured coating is made with modified palm kernel oil, that means it's saturated fat. Something else you really don't want from this little tastebud tempter.
OK, now here goes, 'cause I saved the best til last! These bars have 16 grams of sugar alcohols. Carbophobes might want to keep their distance from sugar alcohols for a couple of reasons. One is that some people report that sugar alcohols actually act as trigger foods that can cause carb cravings or binges. The other one is the loose cannon of sugar alcohols. For most people, consuming more than 20 grams of sugar alcohols a day can do interesting things to their digestive system. The only problem is that the 20 g count isn't accurate for everyone. Less than 20 can be enough to do the deed in some people, and that's why the small print carries the teensy-weensy warning: "May have a laxative effect"!
Go ahead. Unwrap that bar and take a big bite!
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