Atkins & sugar

[LisaTx]

I'll be done with induction soon and I've been reading labels and it seems everything has sugar. Is there an acceptable level of allowed sugar, or do I need to find foods with 0 grams of sugar?

 

[nativetxn]

No sugar, Lisa. Sorry. I know a few WISHers here eat the RediWhip whipped cream and that contains sugar. But we truly are not supposed to eat anything with sugar or any other refined carbohydrate.

Eating sugar can knock you out of ketosis, although the WISHers who eat the RediWhip apparently do not experience that.

No caloric sweeteners at all.

 

[dizneegirl]

There's a difference between natural sugars, and added sugars, though. It would be near impossible to find & eat '0' sugar gram foods, unless you stuck strictly to meat & eggs...

You don't want to be eating refined sugars... none of the white stuff added to the foods you're eating.

However, dairy products, tomatoes, fruits, veggies... they all have natural sugars in them. You'll see sugars listed on cream and half and half, on cream cheese, on cheese, on no-sugar-added tomato sauce...

What you want to do is avoid things with sugar listed as an ingredient on the label... and that includes all it's different forms (lactose, dextrose, sucrose, fructose, etc., etc., etc.)

 

[LisaTx]

Katholyn, you freaked me out there!

Thanks for explaining it a bit further, dizneegirl.

 

[nativetxn]

I'm good at freaking DISers out, Lisa, haven't you heard?

 

[marydmjj]

On some labels it lists the carbs & then indented it says sugar alcohol or something? Do I count the carbs + the sugar alcohol? So very confusing!

 

[dizneegirl]

The indented lines are just splitting out the various forms of carbs contained in the total count.

You can subtract any fiber grams from the total.

Sugar grams are DEFINITELY counted... they ARE the carbs.

Sugar alcohols are a grey area... the theory is that they don't get digested, and don't affect blood sugar. They include isomalt, lactitol, malitol, mannitol, sorbitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, and erythritol, among others.

Some people can subtract all sugar alcohol carbs. Some people have to count all sugar alcohol carbs. The safest bet is probably to either count them all, or count half of them toward your total carb count.

Here's an example:

Carbs - 10g
Dietary Fiber - 2g
Sugar - 2g
Sugar Alcohols - 5g

If you're going to count net carbs "by the book" (as Atkins says you can), you subtract the fiber (2g) and the sugar alcohols (5g) from the total (10g), for a net carb of 3g per serving.

 

[Luvinit]

Thanks Dizneegirl...you seem to have a really good understanding of all this sugar stuff...I have a question? (if you don't mind)

I bought some sausage...listed in the first few ingredents was corn syrup. When I looked at the carb count it said <1g, and there was nothing listed in the sugar spot. SO....does that mean that there really isn't that much sugar in the product?

I thought if something was listed as the first or second ingredient in a product...it ment that there was ALOT in there?

What do you think about that, should I just go with the carb count and not stress over the ingredents?

 

[dizneegirl]

Corn syrup isn't something you want to eat on a regular basis, but it's awfully hard to find sausages and stuff without it, isn't it?

Personally, I'd not eat it everyday, and just count the carbs. The purists would tell you not to eat it at all.

As far as how much is in there... sausage is mostly made up of meat, no two ways about that. There probably really isn't a whole lot of spices and sweetner added (though, why do they feel the need to add that sweetner at all?!) You probably have 95% meat and 5% other... there's just more corn syrup than spices or additives.

Of course, if you're adventurous, I have a few recipes for sausage...

 

[Luvinit]

Thank you!!!...I would love a few reciepes!!!

 

[Kelsie]

Lisa,

I don't really pay attention to the sugar content unless, as dizneegirl said, they are Sugar Alcohols then I do subtract them from the carb count (along with fiber). I mostly focus on the 'net carbs'. I also shy away from a lot of Sugar Alcohols because they just don't agree with me. I can tolerate very little of them.

I did use Redi-Whip' and it didn't seem to kick me out of ketosis but I used very little on some sugar-free jell-o. I have found a heavy whipping cream in a can and am using it now.

One of the reason's Atkins has worked for me is that I don't have to count a lot of different things and really am at the point where I know what I can eat without having to worry about the content.

 

[marydmjj]

Thank you thank you thank you!!! I was thinking I had to add the sugar alcohol etc to the carb count for an absolutely enormous carb count!