Q: Is Corn Fiber Keto-Friendly? Is it Low-Carb?

Short Answer: Yes, the Non-GMO Corn Fiber in Catalina Crunch is both Keto-Friendly and Low-Carb.

Scientific Evidence & Explanation:

We get quite a few folks who see the ingredient Non-GMO Corn Fiber and think “Corn Fiber = Corn”. They think: “since corn is high in carbs (starch), corn fiber must be high in carbs too”.

This is not true!

Why is that?

Corn Fiber is not corn itself, it is a high-fiber ingredient made from corn. You can buy it at the grocery store (and use it to bake) just like you might buy a flour from the store and use it to bake a cake.

Here is the Nutrition Label for Corn Fiber. As you can see, Corn Fiber has only 2g of net carbs per tablespoon.

The next question we get about Corn Fiber: is Corn Fiber a "true" Fiber? Has there been any scientific testing on the glucose response of Corn Fiber?

There have been many scientific studies on the glucose response of different corn fibers which find either no glucose response or a very minimal response.

One such study was performed in a pilot lab by Ketogenic.com. In this study, subjects ate a controlled portion of either Corn Fiber (SCF) or isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO) and then their glucose response was tracked over time.

As you can see in the graph below (courtesy Ketogenic.com), the subjects who consumed corn fiber saw essentially no glucose response impact. This indicates the corn fiber is acting like a proper fiber and not like carbs.

On the other hand, IMO is producing a tremendous glucose response, very similar to carbs. For this reason, we do not use IMOs in Catalina Crunch, even though we'd probably make more money if we did because IMOs taste better than corn fiber.

Finally, I'd also like to mention that we have 10,000+ customers and many of them have tested how Catalina Crunch impacts their own blood sugar as well.

For example, here is a public Instagram post you can take a look at from a person who tests every low-carb product they purchase.

This person tested their blood sugar before and after Catalina Crunch and found it barely increased, from 88 to 93. 

In conclusion, we've done a tremendous amount of hard work and research to make sure that when we say Catalina Crunch is low-carb and Keto friendly, it truly is.

Sources:

Kendall, C. W., Josse, A. R., Potter, S. M., Hoffman, A. J., & Jenkins, D. J. (2007). Effect of novel maize-based dietary fibers on postprandial glycemia.

Lowery, R. P., Wilson, J. M., Barninger, A., Sharp, M. H., Irvin, C., Stefan, M., … & Wagner, R. (2018). The effects of soluble corn fibre and isomaltooligosacharides on blood glucose, insulin, digestion and fermentation in healthy young males and females. Journal of Insulin Resistance, 3(1), 1-6.