NET CARBS

NET CARBS 

If you've picked a food package that is being marketed as "low carb", you might have seen the term "net carbs" and been confused.  Let's clear up this mystery. 

First thing first, the term "net carbs" was made up by the food industry, not by the FDA or any other governing body.  The term is an attempt to sell products to people that are trying to limit carbohydrate intake, presumably for weight management or diabetic control. 

The theory is that dietary fiber (which is a carbohydrate) and sugar alcohols (Xylitol, Erythritol, Sorbitol, Maltitol, etc…) do not affect blood sugar the same way that other carbohydrate sources like rice, potatoes etc do, therefore they should be subtracted out of the total carbohyrate per serving count, resulitng in the total "net carbs".  

Insoluble dietary fiber is in fact not digested by the body, but the effects of sugar alcohols are still open for debate in the scientific community.  Sugar alcohol is made mainly from sugar sources found in fruit, berries or it is made from fermented glucose/sucrose.   

Many report intestinal distress or laxative effects from sugar alcohols so be sure it isn’t in too many foods you are consuming. 

Back to “net carbs” though. If you are counting calories or macros, we recommend disregarding the net carb count and just counting all of the carbohydrates in your food.  Only insoluble fiber is not absorbed by the body and most packaging does not separate insoluble from soluble.  All of those calories add up and can be the difference between weight loss and no weight loss. As for sugar alcohols, some of them do in fact cause an insulin response in the body and the safe bet is just to count the calories.   

Like most things, there is no big “secret” or “special trick” to weight loss.  Stick with the basics and stick with it for a long time.  

If you need nutrition help, send us a message!