7/10/2023 0 Comments Pure protein bars![]() ![]() The other reason sugar alcohols are so popular in these products-more so than other sugar substitutes, like sucralose (Splenda)-is that they result in a yummier bar, texture or taste-wise. It’s up to manufacturers whether or not to include sugar alcohol content under Total Carbohydrate in the Nutrition Facts (unless they’re making a specific health claim about the sugar alcohol), so the only way to know for sure whether something contains sugar alcohol is to scan the ingredients list. Look for these eight FDA-approved sugar alcohols on the label: erythritol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysates (HSH), isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol. They can be made in a lab from sugars and starches, or extracted from fruits and veggies, where they naturally occur in small amounts, according to the FDA. So food companies often turn to them when they want to make a product that will appeal to people seeking snacks lower in sugar and calories, Tewksbury says. ![]() Sugar alcohols taste sweet, but don’t add to the sugar content and contain fewer calories per gram than real sugar, per the FDA. (Not the same as the kind of alcohol that intoxicates you, though, hence why your protein bars don’t make you tipsy.) Enter a weird type of carb called the sugar alcohol. Much like many of us are trying to eat more fiber, a lot of people have cutting down on sugar on the brain. But since these bars are pretty dry, if you don’t drink water with them, “You’re going to have this really dry mass sitting there,” Kitchin says. When you eat something like fruits and veggies, you naturally get some water with your fiber. “That amount is a lot for your stomach to handle.Your system just isn’t used to that.”Īnother issue specific to these bars: Fiber works best when you have water in your system, Kitchin explains, because it absorbs water to soften things up. “ is a pretty dense added fiber to begin with, but it really is the huge quantity you’re getting all at once that can cause an issue,” Tewksbury explains. While this can sometimes happen with naturally fibery foods (like beans), it’s much more likely to happen with these bars because of the super-high concentration of fiber. Overdoing it on fiber can commonly cause gas, bloating, and cramping, according to the Mayo Clinic. Whenever you eat a ton of fiber in one sitting-or just more than you’re used to-you run the risk of messing with your tummy, Kitchin says. So a high-fiber content is your tipoff to look for one of those ingredient names.Īnd you may have already learned the hard way that as wonderful as fiber is, there is such a thing as too much. Added fiber isn’t broken out separately in the Nutrition Facts it’s just included in the total fiber count. Look out for chicory root, inulin, chicory root fiber, chicory root extract, or oligofructose on the ingredients label, per the FDA. Manufacturers like it because it helps pack a huge hit of fiber without making it taste like mulch. The most popular kind is extracted and isolated from a plant called chicory root. Common bar ingredients like oats or nuts can naturally provide a few grams of fiber, but food manufacturers typically use what’s called added fiber to dramatically boost a product’s fiber content.
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