Reduced-carb is often reduced-appeal

By Valerie Reitman
Los Angeles Times

To reduce the carbohydrates in processed food, the primary source of the carbs — flour and sugar — is reduced or eliminated. The challenge is to find a substitute for the taste and texture.

That's a tall order for a product such as bread, which is mostly flour, and it's the reason why some low-carb products have an unappealing taste or a strange texture. The quality is improving, however. Here are ways food companies are reducing carbs in products.

Sub protein for flour

Those proteins can be derived from sources including soy beans, wheat (gluten), milk or eggs. These ingredients boost the protein counts of processed foods and substitute for some of the bulk in foods. Soy protein, for example, is made into various forms, including "soy protein isolate." Bu, protein has the same four calories per gram that carbs do.

Increase fiber content

"Resistant starches" can be added to increase fiber, hence reducing the "net carbs" in a packaged food. These starches are not digestible by intestinal enzymes and occur naturally in some plants. Although they are carbs, the starches are said not to affect blood sugar because they pass through the system without being digested.

These functional fibers — derived from corn, wheat, potatoes, banana or tapioca — have names such as inulin, a chicory root derivative, and ActiStar, derived from tapioca starch. Gums and stabilizers can be added to boost fiber content.

Substitute the sugars

Sugar alcohols, called polyols, can be substituted for sugar. These are sweeteners, with names such as isomalt, lactitol, mannitol, xylitol and sorbitol.

They are still carbs, but are usually subtracted in "net carb" counts because manufacturers claim they do not hike blood sugar. (Some types of polyols, however, are said to hike blood sugar more than others, so claims about their effect on blood sugar are controversial.)

They pass through the intestine and are digested by fermentation, and some can cause digestive problems. They contain calories ranging from 0.2 per gram for erythritol to 3 per gram for hydrogenated starch hydrosolates.