A question about carbs/sugar

jillshadow

So I have a question. When reading the nutrition facts about an food item sometimes it says total carbs: so and so, and then below it it says sugars: so and so. Does the total carbs include the sugar, or is it seperate?

radiii

jillshadow wrote: »

So I have a question. When reading the nutrition facts about an food item sometimes it says total carbs: so and so, and then below it it says sugars: so and so. Does the total carbs include the sugar, or is it seperate?

At least in the USA, it includes it. So if an item has 21g carbs, and 12g sugar, its 21g total carbs, of which 12 come from sugar. The remaining 9 come from fiber or some other starchy thing to add some more carbs.

I am unsure if labeling laws/standards are different in other countries.

jillshadow

radiii wrote: »

jillshadow wrote: »

So I have a question. When reading the nutrition facts about an food item sometimes it says total carbs: so and so, and then below it it says sugars: so and so. Does the total carbs include the sugar, or is it seperate?

At least in the USA, it includes it. So if an item has 21g carbs, and 12g sugar, its 21g total carbs, of which 12 come from sugar. The remaining 9 come from fiber or some other starchy thing to add some more carbs.

I am unsure if labeling laws/standards are different in other countries.

I am in the US. Thanks for the info,glad I got that cleared up!

kayeiam

Example... Slice of bread (not accurate amounts).. The bread has 25 carbs listed on the food lable. Then under the 25 carbs, you see listed (with an indent, like a new paragraph), it says 5 Fiber, then under that is another indent that says 9 sugar. What this means is that in those (whole) 25 carbs, it includes 5 fiber, and 9 sugar. It doesn't show what the other 11carbs are from, but is included too in the (whole 25 carbs). Now remember to find your Net carbs you would subtract the fiber (5) from the total carbs (25) meaning your net carbs are 20. Hope this helps you.

NK1112

Yes, and when you post your macronuitrients to MFP ... you will find that if you do the math on them that the calories do not add up to what is on the package ... that's cause MFP caluclates the calories for net carbs ... carbs less fiber carbs. The fiber carbs have less calories than starch or sugar carbs because they are not digested.

Some packages also list Net Carbs as the count for calories.