Do you know this? You stand in front of the huge candy aisle in the supermarket, overwhelmed by your cravings – and completely forget how much added sugar is actually in all those classic chocolate bars. 🤔
Have you ever wondered how NEOH products differ from other sweets? What exactly is behind our secret sugar substitute formula ZERO+? And how is it possible that our products have almost no impact on your blood sugar levels despite full sweetness? It's time to take a closer look!
- We replace sugar 1:1 with our developed sugar substitute ZERO+.
- ZERO+ consists of over 90% plant-based fibers, including agave, chicory, corn, and wheat.
- NEOH products keep your blood sugar levels stable.
- No added sugar and no compromise on taste!
- The amount of NetCarbs in NEOH products is very low compared to sweets with sugar, which is why your blood sugar level is hardly affected by enjoying them.
What is the idea behind NEOH?
NEOH pursues a clear mission, "rethinking snacking – with the goal of completely eliminating added sugar in sweets entirely. And all this without compromising on taste, especially sweetness. Instead of classic table sugar, we rely on our specially developed sugar substitute formula ZERO+, which replaces 100% of the added sugar. Besides the sweet taste, it has hardly any effect on blood sugar levels. Additionally, at NEOH we place great importance on high fiber content to keep blood sugar levels stable. Why fiber is important and why we integrate it into our NEOH products can be read in this blog article about fiber.
What is behind the sugar substitute ZERO+?
Our sugar substitute called ZERO+ consists of over 90% plant fibers, including agave, chicory, corn, and wheat. It is complemented by erythritol and sucralose to achieve sweetness. But beware! The amount of sweeteners in NEOH products is very low! The established ADI value of the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection and Food Safety as well as the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, which defines the maximum safe intake of a food per day without any effects, is 15mg per kg of body weight per day for sucralose, equaling 1050mg/day for a 70kg person.
💡Good to know:
If we talk about 0.05% sucralose (considered per 100%, i.e., 100g), that translates to only 0.015g sucralose in a 30g bar. ➡️️ So just a hint of sweeteners! A 70kg person could therefore eat 70 bars a day without any health consequences.👌 That would be almost 6 full 12-packs of our bars. So far beyond what is realistically consumed – at least we don’t know anyone who eats that many of our NEOH bars per day!
Sucralose
is a calorie-free sweetener produced by chemically modifying sugar. It has a sweetness 600 times greater than sugar and is used in many sugar-free foods and beverages due to its sweet properties.
Agave Inulin
is a soluble fiber derived from the Mexican agave plant and is often used in reduced-sugar foods to add sweetness and fiber without a significant blood sugar spike. The fiber tastes slightly sweet, but unlike sugar (glycemic index of 100), it has a much lower glycemic index (14), which means it barely affects blood sugar.
The root of chicory
is an important source of inulin and oligofructose, both soluble fibers. They are also indigestible food components that are not digested in the small intestine but pass directly into the large intestine. This can stabilize blood sugar because slows down the absorption of sugar in the intestine. This root extract is often used in fiber-rich, reduced-sugar snacks, tastes mild, and has almost no calories.
Corn
is one of the world’s most important cultivated plants. Resistant corn fibers, derived from corn, are used in reduced-sugar products. They are low-calorie, soluble fibers. “Resistant” means that the starch is not or barely digested in the small intestine and therefore largely reaches the large intestine undigested. Corn has a GI of 48.
All three fibers are further processed in the gut by beneficial gut bacteria, producing substances that promote gut health and have anti-inflammatory effects.
Erythrit
is a sugar alcohol often used as a sugar substitute, providing almost no calories and barely affecting blood sugar levels. It is made from fermented corn starch. Erythritol has about 70% of the sweetness of sucrose (sugar). It contains virtually no calories at 0kcal/g. The glycemic index of erythritol is nearly 0, so it does not affect blood sugar levels. Erythritol is not cariogenic (= does not promote cavities) because the bacteria in the mouth cannot use this substance as food and therefore do not produce acids that could attack tooth enamel.
Wheat
Is one of the most important cereal grains worldwide and provides a significant amount of fiber, especially as wheat bran. These indigestible fibers pass through the small intestine and are then fermented by microorganisms in the large intestine, which positively influences the gut flora. Wheat fibers also help increase the feeling of fullness, which can have a positive effect on weight control. These valuable fibers are abundant in whole grain products.
Product comparison: sweets with sugar vs. with ZERO+
Unlike many traditional sweets that contain large amounts of added sugar, NEOH has no added sugar. Classic chocolate bars, chocolate tablets, or chocolate wafers often consist of a very high sugar content – which affects not only the sweet taste and technological properties but also your blood sugar. NEOH provides an additional health benefit through the specially developed sugar substitute ZERO+ and its high fiber content. You can learn more about this in our Article about fiber. Let’s take a look at the direct comparison.
|
Product |
Serving size in grams |
Calories in kcal |
of which sugar |
NetCarbs in grams |
Fiber in grams |
|
NEOH Hazelnut Crunch |
21 |
93 |
1
|
3 |
7 |
|
Conventional chocolate wafer |
21 |
122 |
9,4 |
12 |
0 |
|
NEOH CRISP N CREAM |
22 |
97 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
|
Conventional wafer with hazelnut cream filling |
22 |
120 |
9 |
10 |
0 |
|
NEOH Coconut Bar |
30 |
128 |
1,5 |
3 |
11 |
|
Conventional coconut bar |
30 |
148 |
13 |
17 |
0 |
|
NEOH Peanut Bar |
28 |
126 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
|
Conventional bar with peanut caramel filling |
28 |
134 |
15 |
18 |
1 |
|
NEOH Milk Chocolate |
18 |
82 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
|
Conventional chocolate bar |
18 |
97 |
9,9 |
9 |
0 |
You might wonder, why a small amount of sugar still appears in the nutritional tables of our products even though they are advertised as "ZERO Added Sugar." The reason is simple: ingredients like milk powder naturally contain lactose, i.e., milk sugar, which cannot be removed. Nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, or peanuts also naturally contain small amounts of sugar. By "no added sugar," we mean that we do not add any extra sugar. Everything else occurs naturally and is unavoidable.
What are NetCarbs?
In the second-to-last column of the top table, we mention NetCarbs, but what exactly are they? NetCarbs, also known as net carbohydrates, are the carbohydrates that our body can actually utilize. They depend on the serving size and cause blood sugar to rise individually. The goal of NEOH is to keep these usable carbohydrates as low as possible to maintain your blood sugar curve stable and avoid unpleasant blood sugar spikes.
The calculation is quite easy. From the total carbohydrates, those components that the body cannot digest, such as fiber and erythritol, are subtracted. What remains are the NetCarbs. Because our products contain very few NetCarbs, they are blood sugar friendly and can be perfectly integrated into a low-carb and keto diet. Let’s look at this calculation with an example: One serving of chocolate (18g) contains 4g carbohydrates - 3g erythritol = 1g NetCarbs/serving
The following table gives you an overview of the NetCarbs contained in NEOH products.
|
NEOH product |
Serving size in grams |
NetCarbs in grams |
|
Crunch Bites |
29 |
4 |
|
20 |
4 |
|
|
28 |
4 |
|
|
22 |
4 |
|
|
30 |
3 |
|
|
21 |
3 |
|
|
18 |
1 |
In short: NetCarbs are a practical and approximate guide for blood sugar increase, but not a “guarantee” for the exact effect on your blood sugar. At NEOH, we therefore not only pay attention to low NetCarbs but regularly test our products with blood sugar sensors to ensure the most stable blood sugar curve possible. This way, you can enjoy without constantly having to measure your blood sugar.
Snack smarter with NEOH
NEOH shows that snacking and conscious nutrition don’t have to be contradictory. With ZERO+ we completely replace added sugar, keep the NetCarbs low, and at the same time make sure the taste convinces you. The products offer full sweetness without compromise and support stable blood sugar levels. They also provide plenty of fiber with few calories and contain no added sugar.
While some snacks only make you happy for a short time, NEOH ensures you still feel good afterwards. 😊💪
