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Keto shoppers in the UK live and die by the carbohydrate line, and sweets are where labels get subtle. The key fact: on a UK nutrition table the carbohydrate total includes polyols, the bulk sweeteners in most sugar free confectionery, listed on their own line underneath. Whether and how much of that polyol line you subtract is a choice different keto approaches make differently. The label's job, and this guide's, is to hand you the exact numbers.
The ketogenic diet keeps carbohydrate low enough that the body runs mainly on fat. This is an editorial label reading guide for sweet shopping on that diet, not personal dietary advice, and anyone managing a health condition alongside keto should lean on their healthcare team.
How does a UK sweets label report carbohydrate?
Three lines do the work. The carbohydrate figure is the total. of which sugars tells you how much is sugars. of which polyols appears on most sugar free sweets and tells you how much of the total is polyol sweeteners such as maltitol, isomalt and sorbitol. UK labelling law counts those three at 2.4 calories per gram rather than sugar's 4, and our guide to sugar alcohols explains why: they are absorbed slowly and only in part.
Sugar free does not mean carbohydrate free. It is a claim about sugars, no more than 0.5 g per 100 g, defined in the GB nutrition and health claims register. A boiled sweet can be honestly sugar free while its carbohydrate line reads more than 80 g per 100 g, nearly all of it polyols. Both numbers are true. Keto shopping is the discipline of reading the second one.
What is the net carbs calculation?
Net carbs is not a UK labelling term. It is arithmetic the keto community does with the label's own numbers, and the formula depends on which side of the Atlantic printed the label. A US panel folds fibre into total carbohydrate, so the American formula subtracts fibre and then some or all of the sugar alcohols. A UK table already excludes fibre from the carbohydrate line, so on a UK pack the only live subtraction is the polyol one. The debated part is how much of it: some approaches subtract the full polyols figure, others subtract half for every polyol except erythritol, while the cautious count them whole. The honest position is that polyols are absorbed to different degrees, they are not zero and they are not sugar, so pick the convention your own plan uses and apply it consistently with the numbers printed on the pack.
What do the numbers look like on Diablo packs?
Here are two of ours with the full carbohydrate picture stated plainly, so the arithmetic is yours to run:
Per 100 g: 47 g carbohydrate, of which 0.5 g sugars and 42 g polyols, plus 8.1 g fibre. The trace sugars occur naturally in the cocoa
Sugar Free Fruit Flavoured Toffees
Per 100 g: 84.1 g carbohydrate, of which 0.2 g sugars and 83.2 g polyols, maltitol syrup and isomalt doing the sweetening
Not a low calorie food. See nutrition information for sugar and calorie content.
Notice what those figures let you do: run whichever polyol convention your plan follows against real printed numbers, rather than trusting a front of pack impression in either direction. Every product page on our site carries the full nutrition table.
The thirty second label audit
Four checks before any sweet goes in a keto basket. One: the carbohydrate total per 100 g and per portion. Two: the of which polyols line, and which polyols the ingredients list names, since your convention may treat them differently. Three: the of which sugars line, where a genuine sugar free product sits at or under 0.5 g. Four: the portion size the numbers describe, because a whole bag eaten in one sitting is several label portions at once. That last check matters twice over with polyols: packs over 10 percent polyols carry the standard note that excessive consumption may produce laxative effects, so a few pieces at a time is the sensible pace anyway.
See every label in the Sugar Free range
Frequently asked questions
Does sugar free mean low carb?
No. Sugar free is a legal claim about sugars only, no more than 0.5 g per 100 g. The carbohydrate total can still be substantial because polyol sweeteners count within it, on their own labelled line. The two lines answer two different questions.
Do polyols count as carbs on a UK label?
Yes. Polyols sit inside the carbohydrate total and get their own of which polyols line beneath it. UK law assigns polyols such as maltitol and isomalt 2.4 calories per gram against sugar's 4, with erythritol the zero calorie exception, reflecting their slow and partial absorption.
Why do keto plans disagree about subtracting polyols?
Because polyols are absorbed to different degrees and the research sits between the extremes. Some plans subtract the full polyol figure from total carbohydrate, others subtract half except for erythritol and the cautious subtract nothing. The label gives the same honest numbers whichever convention you follow.