Actual Carbs vs Net Carbs?

amymurray12282
amymurray12282 Posts: 154 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I got a Quest bar this morning and I noticed something that doesn't make sense to me. There are two different carb counts! On the nutrition label, it says there are 21 grams of Total Carbohydrates (14g Dietary Fiber, 2g Sugars, 1g Erythritol), but on the front of the package, it says 6g Net Carbs with a little equation (21g Carbs - 14g Fiber - 1g Erythritol = 6g Net Carbs). Can someone please explain this? I'm a bit baffled, to say the least.

Replies

  • SophieSmall95
    SophieSmall95 Posts: 233 Member
    edited August 2016
    I assume it means 21g total carbs but 6g refined sugar? Or maybe carbs that can be absorbed? As depending on the type of fibre it may not be nutritional fibre.

    Not sure, never seen anything like that on a packet before.

    On UK packaging it would say something like "21g carbohydrates, of which sugars 6g"
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited August 2016
    The NET carbs are the total carbs less fiber and/or sugar alcohols. I actually will use the NET carbs as I do a moderate lowish carb per day. It tells that really my body is gonna process 6 grams of that bar as a carbohydrate.
  • foxmenlady
    foxmenlady Posts: 2 Member
    The Atkins diet uses the concept of net carbs to guide people when making food choices. This approach is based on the idea that not all carbohydrate-containing foods have the same effect on the body. Some cause blood sugar levels to increase rapidly, while others move through the digestive system slowly. Food manufacturers, not health professionals, created the term "net carbs," so anyone following a diet for medical reasons should seek guidance from a physician or registered dietitian before using this carb-counting method to lose weight.
  • foxmenlady
    foxmenlady Posts: 2 Member
    So... Carbs minus fiber = net carbs
  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
    It's gibberish. The fiber doesn't negate the calories in the starches/sugars so it's totally pointless to even think about it.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    foxmenlady wrote: »
    So... Carbs minus fiber = net carbs

    Yes.. and if there is any sugar alcohols, minus these out as well.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Low carbers usually look at net carbs (carbs less fiber and I guess sugar alcohols), so it's a marketing thing.

    My understanding from low carbers, though, is that it makes sense in that the status of fiber is debatable. In the US they are counted as carbs, but in the UK and various other countries they are not (so the net carb number would be their total carb number).
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    edited August 2016
    Quest and some others use this formula:
    Total Carbs - Fiber - Sugar Alcohols = Net Carbs

    As a type 1 diabetic that doses insulin based on carbs that actually get absorbed and converted to glucose, I use this formula:
    Total Carbs - Fiber - 0.5 X Sugar Alcohols = Net Carbs

    If there is debate about whether fiber is absorbed, I sure haven't heard it. Everyone seems to agree that fiber just passes through. There is some debate about sugar alcohols, as to which sugar alcohols are absorbed and convert to glucose (for a non-diabetic, this is relevant because it is what will need to either be used fairly quickly or will be stored as glycogen or fat for later use... so this is what affects your weight loss plan). Some have specific sugar alcohols that they say convert at various rates from 0% to 100%, but I find that lumping them together and using a standard rate of 50% for insulin gets me pretty close... so it would be fairly accurate for caloric uptake as well.

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