Ok. What’s the story with Russel stover sugar free candy. If I have one a month, that’s a lot. I am hearing that it’s not keto but when I scan it with carb manager it gives it a grade of “A”. Thoughts???
Russel stover.... yay or nay?
Screenack
(less is more, more or less)
#4
If you’re below 20 total carbs for the day, enjoy. I wouldn’t make a habit of it, though. I’ve checked them out, and they are on the carby side, so I’ve skipped on them.
ChrisW
#5
Besides sugar would be interested to see their nutritional breakdown and ingredient list though.
OgreZed
#6
I would say nay. The label I looked on Amazon had Maltitol listed several times. As a sugar alcohol, it should only be half-subtracted out. So it’s going to depend on what mix there is of Maltitol, Maltitol syrup, and Stevia, but Maltitol seems to be the primary sweetener.
juice
(Running from stupidity)
#7
Other sweeteners seems to be a case-by-case thing, but Maltitol is the devil for all, it seems.
OgreZed
#8
But not the only sweetener. More Maltitol than Stevia, based on the order of the ingredients.
Gee13167
(Jeanine)
#10
Yea I knew it was too good to be true. It was the end of my day and I had 9 net carbs left, so I went for it. I usually eat choc zero (it’s fantastic) but reached for that instead. I definitely DO NOT make a habit of them. They have been sitting in my pantry unopened for about 5 months 
Screenack
(less is more, more or less)
#12
You piqued my curiosity.
Maltitol – GI: 36
Maltitol is very commonly used in sugar-free products as it is very similar to sugar. If the packaging says that a product is sugar-free, you will most likely find maltitol on the ingredient list. It cooks and tastes very much like the real thing, and is only half the calories of actual sugar. The downfall of this is that it has quite a large glycemic index – meaning it spikes blood sugars.
However, due to the current laws we have, many products are allowed to calculate these out of the net carb counts and many people are secretly consuming hidden carbs. This one is best to avoid.
On a low carb diet, it’s always best to be skeptical of products using this. Many times we see people over-consume on products using maltitol, which can lead to a slowing of weight loss.
Many also complain of the laxative effects maltitol has. It’s commonly associated with stomach issues including bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
ChrisW
#13
Yeah, I have a bunch of Atkins Bars (which also contain Maltitol) sitting somewhere in my pantry gathering dust. I think they’ll be going in the bin next pantry clean out.
dam!!
PetaMarie
(squirrel-kissing paper tamer)
#15
Maltitol’s effect on blood sugar aside, I used to eat these when I was “lazy low carb” and they will give you Disaster Pants if you aren’t careful.
decreebass
(the cheater)
#16
Regardless of the kind of fake sweetener, as the first person respond said; if you’re under your limit at the end of the day, indulge away! Of course, don’t mistake sugar-free for carb-free; THAT’S the important thing to remember here. They do have quite a few carbs, if I recall correctly. I had to shake my head because you just know there’re diabetics picking them up thinking they’re eating healthfully when there’s just as many carbs (maybe not as much raw sugar) as regular candy.
Anyway, yeah, if you can afford it (carb wise), go for it. No sense in being terrified of various ingredients or any of that nonsense. Just stay under your carb limit or have a cheat day every now and again and eat the real thing. No sense in torturing yourself.
Westieholic
(Mother of Puppies )
#18
Thanks for this thread.
I was about to go out and get some Russell Stover sugar-free.
But maltitol is truly demonic. Guess I’ll make a fat bomb
anon2571578
#19
I used to do these candies when I first started out (and once in a blue moon might still have one) but eating sugar-free gummy bears gave me the worst blowout in recent recollection and also provided a nice deterrent memory on the way out. Maltitol may be the devil, but maltitol syrup is the devil’s lawyer.