I don't get the math on these protein bars

#1

OK, I bought a box of https://julianbakery.com/product/stay-thin-protein-bar-egg-white/ that claim StayThin® Protein Bars | 170 Cal | 20g Protein | Egg White | Peanut Butter | 3 Net Carbs | 1g Sugar |
and looking at the ingredients don’t see how it can be 29g carbs and 26 g fiber. The tapioca fiber can be 100% fiber but the peanuts and peanut butter are like 50% fiber at best…the number 1 ingredient is egg white powder which I assume is no carbs or fiber… so unless the 4th ingredient is really like 90% of the non-egg white part of the bar this math doesn’t work… Am i missing something? I actually LIKE these bars taste (sorry if i posted in the wrong spot)

(Full Metal KETO AF) #2

Can you photo and post the ingredients and nutritional label?
Might help sorting out your answer. :cowboy_hat_face:

I did it with your link. :slightly_smiling_face:

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So the unaccounted carbs are from starch. If there is indeed 26 g. of fiber then the 3 carb amount is accurate.

(less is more, more or less) #3

Oh my. My entire 20 max carbs, + 9 over grams, in a single bar, no less. I’ll pass, thank you. This is the carb creep of which I speak when you count “net” carbs.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #4

@Screenack I guess so if you believe that somehow you’re digesting fiber as if it were sugars or starch. Not my experience

I track net and am doing fine ketosis wise. I don’t count or track fiber or sugar alcohols which I believe are not useable by our bodies nutritionally. So I am not sure that I get the “carb creep” concept. You’re obviously one of the Total Carb trackers. I guess from your point of view it’s 29g of carbs, my view says 3g. :cowboy_hat_face:

(less is more, more or less) #5

Correct, pard’ner.

I did net counting with Atkins some time ago (as well as factoring glycemic index which conceptually muddies things) and backslid to Carbylvania. I’m aware that fiber might be gastronomically innocuous. Honestly, I’m slightly envious that you can ignore fiber carbs but, in my experience, factoring ALL carbs is my only way to maintain my health.

When I see someone posting a question about commercially produced and distributed edible product, where food manufacturers exploit nutrients for maximum marketing value, it strikes me as a serendipitous opportunity to remind our neophytes that there are two paths on the matter of carb counting.

:steakcake:

(Full Metal KETO AF) #6

I agree about “keto” manufactured food? I avoid that kind of stuff like a plague. I really only started using a tracking app a few months ago to make me more honest with myself. I discovered that I was doing pretty good estimates pre tracking. But it definitely helps with keeping a daily running total.

Another issue that tracking has brought up in my mind is how your carb intake is spread through various 24 hr periods. For instance you might be keeping your daily carbs under 20. But what if you have say a carb heavy dinner, and breakfast with heavy carbs the next day. Maybe 15 carbs per meal. Well you’re blowing your 20 carbs a day if you look at the 24 hr. period from a different perspective. Because that’s 30 carbs in a 24 hour window even though they’re on different days. :cowboy_hat_face:

(less is more, more or less) #7

Excellent way to re-frame it, and that’s another reason I like a solid 20 total carbs – because whether I spread it throughout, or “binge” at one meal, it keeps my insulin from freaking out. Also, while I could blow it on a Reece’s candy, while otherwise eating raw steak for the balance of the day. It also eliminates the need to track what I eat.

As for the Reece’s, my former kryptonite, I know I wouldn’t eat it, despite the affordance, as I fear the addictive qualities of sugar.

#8

While I appreciate the digs about “manufactured food” and the net carb issue I guess I was looking more for a reality check on their claims. Is it possible that the fiber claims are correct? I m not seeing any mathematical way to get there from the ingredients.

(Running from stupidity) #9

IIRC, this “bakery” has a reputation here which is not enviable (re this very issue) and people stay away.

(I could be wrong (seems unlikely, right?) because these manufactured goods (not foods) are not the kind of things I’d go anywhere near.)

#10

I’d never heard of tapioca fiber before, just tapioca starch which is… starchy. But apparently it’s a thing. It’s a soluable fiber called dextrin, which can be made from multiple sources. It’s possibly a prebiotic. Who knew?

(less is more, more or less) #11

We’re politely saying that this is a bar of snake oil. I wouldn’t waste my time trying to figure it out. With so many healthy alternatives, why waste the time?

(less is more, more or less) #12

Speaking of food companies and manipulating and gaming macro-nutrients, check out Dr. Ken Berry’s take down on the matter:

No reason to scare quote manufactured.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #13

I wasn’t making a dig at you or your question. :cowboy_hat_face:

I gave you a straight opinion on the manufacturer claim. It looks like 3 net to me.

Of course we all make food choices on an individual level, no right and wrong here. As you saw Kyle and I had very differing viewpoints on the carb count. He states he needs to do total carbs to make keto work for him, awesome :sunglasses:. I use net because I am doing just fine with it and it feels more liberal. I’m 8 months in and my net carb level on average is 19g. Some days are as low as 8g. and on occasion I hit closer to 30g. but not often. I also never am hungry for snacks anymore, since about month 3 I have dropped to two meals everyday. But if you’re starting out a snack is better for you than being hungry. Usually it is recommended to have a fatty protein snack if you’re going to have one and the bar looks pretty unbalanced macrowise,

3g. carb/20g. protein/7g. fat.

Eventually you won’t need to snack and if you give yourself a chance your love of sweet things will lessen. In fact your sensitivity to sweet tastes will probably make real sugar taste kind of gross. That’s what happened to me, a guy who woke up and drank a 20oz coffee drink that had about 1/3 cup of high fructose corn syrup rich Coffeemate in it with a sugary muffin before eating breakfast an hour later.

#14

If it was really net 3 that is one thing. I am not seeing the mathematical way to combine those ingredients and getting net 3 as I dig in to the amounts of protein, fat carbs and fiber in the 4 main ingredients (other than the monk fruit) Others are dismissing the bars as “snake oil” —in this case I think the snake oil bit is the claim of tapioca fiber as a prebiotic when it may well be digested more like a sugar…it is basically an IMO

oh well, I will eventually finish these and not get any more… not planning to toss them since they actually taste ok… just eat sparingly on super low carb days…

(Running from stupidity) #15

He’s just a shill for Big Broccoli.

#16

Yes. According to this study, the tapioca dextrin acted as barely more that 50% soluble fiber and almost 50% digestible starch. It likely does act as a prebiotic, but prebiotic to what microbes is the question, since … “Bloating, cramping, flatulence, stomach noises and GI score were significantly affected by treatment, with all fibers inducing a modest increase in GI symptoms compared to the control.”

I would not eat them. YMMV.

(Justin Jordan) #17

For what’s worth - all fiber doesn’t affect my blood sugar the same way. The fiber in unprocessed foods seems to have no effect at all. Same with psyllium.

But beyond that, it’s a crap shoot.