Net Carbs.

“NET CARBOHYDRATES.”

If you've been following any of the popular low-carbohydrate diets (such as the Atkins or South Beach Diet), you've probably come across the term "Net Carbs."
What are Net Carbs - How do they affect you?

Not all carbohydrates behave the same way in your body. Most carbs are digested and turned into glucose, which raises blood sugar levels. These are the only carbs you need to count when you're on a low-carb diet. Other carbs are digested by your body, but are not turned into glucose.
Instead of using large amounts of sugar, many supplements contain a sweetener called glycerol.
Glycerol isn't a protein, because there's no nitrogen in it. It doesn't contain any fatty acids, so it can't be called fat. It's not your average carbohydrate, as it only provides 2.4 calories per gram, as opposed to 4 calories per gram of normal carbohydrates. It's often referred to as a polyol carbohydrate. On nutrition labels, you'll often see it referred to in the carbohydrate table, as 'of which polyols.'
The main benefit of glycerol is that it doesn't affect insulin or blood sugar levels [1]. Research shows that even very large amounts of glycerol have very little impact on blood sugar or insulin levels.

Some low-carb meal replacement bars do contain more glycerol, which appeals to low-carb dieters because the bar will contain fewer Net Carbs. There are two problems with this. Firstly, too much glycerol can make the product sickly sweet. Large amounts of glycerol over 30 grams per day) can cause diarrhoea in some people. Many popular bars contain as much as 40 grams of glycerol.
I think that science should be balanced with common sense. A sensible amount of glycerol and Net Carbs makes for a far healthier, high-protein or meal replacement bar. This also reduces the risk of stomach upsets, especially if you're eating 2-3 bars a day.
Glycerol isn't the only nutrient to have a minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin levels.
There has been a lot of talk about organic oats, rice or barley flour, and how these nutrients can be used in weight gainers and meal replacements to lower blood sugar and insulin levels.
Some companies are touting these as the next super special carbohydrates. However, as many of you will know, these foods are nothing new. For many years, we've all been using oats, for example, to make porridge.
Rice only helps to keep your blood sugar levels low if the husk is left on (brown rice). Otherwise it's a good food to get fat on (which is why sumo wrestlers eat so much of it).
The makers of Activated Barley recommend it as a very cheap way to increase nutrient levels in a food. The fibre forms a gelatinous medium creating a steady release of nutrients, which include high levels of antioxidants.
Unfortunately, Activated Barley also has a reputation for having quite an unpleasant taste. We can quite easily (and cheaply) add it to our formulas. However, it can be hard to produce a good tasting product in the popular chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavours.
I think that until this area has had more development work, oats are best taken in the form of porridge or flapjacks, rice for those want it, and barley for anyone wanting to benefit from its reported cholesterol-lowering effects.
Remember too that oats, barley and rice are normal carbohydrates and cannot be excluded from Net Carb calculations.
Obviously, low blood sugar and insulin levels are very beneficial for those trying to gain lean muscle mass while keeping body fat levels low. To ensure you have a product that offers these important benefits,many top nutrition bars now include two of the latest nutrients in their formula - Nutriose and Inulin. These unique and little-known carbohydrates have almost no impact on blood sugar and insulin levels.
Created using a unique manufacturing process developed by leading French food scientists, Nutriose is a next-generation soluble dietary fibre obtained from natural raw materials. Nutriose has a high fibre content and a very low glycemic index (just 25% that of glucose). Studies show that Nutriose is easily digested along the entire digestive tract, which means no gas or bloating.
Inulin is an all-natural food ingredient, and a great source of dietary fibre, helping to reduce the digestion time and therefore the glycemic index. It is a type of oligofructose, a special carbohydrate that is not classed as a Net Carb.
Although the name is similar to insulin, Inulin has no connection with that hormone, either chemically, or through its effect on your blood sugar levels. One other benefit of Inulin is that it increases the absorption of calcium and magnesium, another reason why we prefer this ingredient over Activated Barley. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that subjects on a high calcium diet absorb approximately 18% more calcium if their drinks are supplemented with Inulin. Inulin is also popular as it does not cause wind, unlike other fibres such as guar gum.
This unique blend of ingredients ensures a steady release of nutrients into your body. Look out for Nutriose and Inulin in meal replacement and weight gainer products.