La Weight Loss Bars and Carbohydrates
A carbohydrate isn’t always a carbohydrate, especially if it is a “Net” carbohydrate. La Weight Loss bars on average contain 17 to 24 grams of carbs. But if you read the nutrition label and know your carbs, you will be able to see that only part of the carbs in a La Weight Loss bar is digestible by your body. And the remaining carbs that are in the bar can be broken down by how fast they enter the bloodstream. These fast and slow carbs are broken down by their glycemic index values. So by knowing your carbs, you can tell if a meal replacement bar will supply a steady stream of energy or if you will spike up, then crash and burn.
Here are some carbs you might see on a meal replacement bar label: Fiber, Sugar, and Corn syrup.
Fiber is listed as a carb, but by definition, fiber can’t be digested in the small intestine and doesn’t get turned into glucose and absorbed into the blood. You can eat all the fiber you want and not gain weight. This covers any natural fiber that is derived from plants.
Sugar is sugar. Your body easily digests sugar and spikes your blood sugar levels. You will get a quick boost of energy then come crashing back down with a craving for more sugar.
Corn syrup is also sugar and is broken down and absorbed the same way. Some studies have pointed to corn syrup causing an even greater spike in blood sugar levels than plain sugar.
Complex carbs are the slow burning sugars that sustain energy levels for a long time and do not cause a spike in blood sugar levels. These carbs are the “good carbs” talked about on TV. Because the sugar molecules in a complex carb are more difficult to break down in the digestive system, the sugars are slow to release and absorb into the blood stream.
One of the difficulties with carbs is the wide range of how they affect different people. So it is difficult to put a standard on a “good carb” and a “bad carb”. It is all determined by your metabolism, health and body type. Try an experiment on yourself with different types of carbs. If your hunger increases as you eat the carb (until you are stuffed) that may be a “bad carb” for you or if you feel hungry again shortly after eating a heavy carb meal (that is your blood sugar levels crashing). That is really the only way to determine, without taking a blood sugar test, to determine if certain foods trigger you to eat more or feel satisfied.
It comes down to how the carbs affect your blood glucose. The goal is to eat in a way to keep your blood glucose from spiking up and then crashing back down, which in turn causes you to crave more carbs. It is not a totally black and white situation. Your metabolism and body type have a large impact on how these carbs affect your blood sugar levels. Some of these carbs are going to have more of an effect on you than others.
