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Fiber - subtract from calorie count?
RalfLott
Posts: 5,036 Member
Found this gem in a thread from 2012:
thenance007 wrote: »My Mission Carb Balance Tortillas, for example, show 120 calories: 3 g fat x 9 cal/gram = 27 fat calories; 5 g protein x 4 cal/gram = 20 calories. Total carbs 19 g of which 13 grams are fiber, so 6 grams carbs x 4 cal/gram = 24 calories. Total not counting fiber is 71 calories. So if you are counting calories, you are counting 52 calories that aren't digested and provide no energy to the body.
So I did some research and here is what I found:
http://www.examiner.com/low-carb-lifestyle-in-national/if-fiber-is-not-digested-then-why-do-we-count-the-calories-or-carbs-it
"If fiber is not digested (i.e., not metabolized into simple sugars), then why do we count the calories in it? If it “just passes through” then we should not count either carbs or calories. Alternatively, if we DO get energy (calories) from it, then it IS digested, right?
What a fantastic question because the reasoning makes sense–if the body can’t use fiber for energy, then why does it have calories or carbohydrates at all? Since this question is a bit more complex than a simple answer, I decided to turn to two of my resident nutritional experts for assistance. Hopefully this will help clear the air on an intriguing question.
The first person I asked about this was Jacqueline Eberstein, RN from Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition. She worked with the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for thirty years and is arguably the foremost authority on the Atkins diet today. Her answer regarding the labeling of fiber carbs and calories reflects American food manufacturers adhering to the stringent labeling laws that are in place.
“The calorie content is listed on the label since the U.S. labeling laws also require that fiber be include in the total carbs. Other countries don’t include fiber in the total carb content so they likely don’t include the calories.”
We can infer from Eberstein’s response that apart from the labeling laws in the United States, fiber carbs and calories would NOT necessarily be counted since it would not be used for energy by the body. What does bestselling nutrition author Dr. Jonny Bowden, author of 150 Healthiest Foods On Earth and a series of essential health books for your personal library, have to say about these questions? Here was his response with a little help quoting from Laura Dolson at About.com Low-Carb Diets:
Fiber is still counted as “carbohydrates” in label-making and it may just be the path of least resistance to call ALL carbohydrates “4 calories per gram.” As for why there are calories in soluble fiber, according to the FDA, it is listed on food labels as having calories because it does, in a roundabout way, contribute calories to the body. This is because most soluble fiber is used by the bacteria in the colon to produce short-chain fatty acids which, in turn, are used by the body. These calories do not raise blood sugar, so when counting carbs, those in soluble fiber (like insoluble fiber) don’t count towards the total. This same situation is also true of oligosaccharides, which may or may not also be listed as fiber. The bottom line is when you are counting carbs, we can always subtract fiber from the total carbohydrate count on food labels."
So it appears that we can legitimately subtract the calories from insoluble fiber, as that is not digested, but that the calories from soluble fiber actually are digested, but in a way that wouldn't count as carbs.
So there are net calories as well as net carbs!
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Nice find! I'd never really thought about that.
I can see doctors worrying about people thinking this way. "There's fibre so we can eat more." sort of like how I could eat low fat cookies because they were low fat... I actually quite liked Fig Newtons once upon a time.0 -
Interesting find. I think I would just count them. Since it is so hard to get exact calories for anything right.
For instance, a slice of bacon has X calories, after you cook that bacon, unless you drink the rendered fat left behind in the pan, you will not have consumed all those calories listed on the label. So how do you determine how many calories you consumed in the cooked slice of bacon? I don't have a lab setup at home to determine that, and I just can't be bothered, using my digit scale is as much effort as I am willing to put into the effort of calorie counting.
But Dr. Bowden's response does make a lot of sense to me.
Honestly, I'm okay thinking I consumed a few more calories than I did, because I am pretty sure when I eat out, my calorie counts are mostly guess work, unless the place has the calorie counts listed on the menu or a pdf file on the website. So I think it all balances out in the end.
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Not all fiber is the same either.
I was reading a post on Dr Bernsteins Facebook page just yesterday where a T1D asked if they should bolus insulin for fiber or subtract it.
At least half of them responded that they have to count at least half their fiber intake.
It seems to vary. I suspect the difference is soluble and insoluble fiber0 -
I suppose it's fair to subtract calories from sawdust, aka, "cellulose"....0
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retirehappy wrote: »Interesting find. I think I would just count them. Since it is so hard to get exact calories for anything right.
For instance, a slice of bacon has X calories, after you cook that bacon, unless you drink the rendered fat left behind in the pan, you will not have consumed all those calories listed on the label. So how do you determine how many calories you consumed in the cooked slice of bacon? I don't have a lab setup at home to determine that, and I just can't be bothered, using my digit scale is as much effort as I am willing to put into the effort of calorie counting.
But Dr. Bowden's response does make a lot of sense to me.
Honestly, I'm okay thinking I consumed a few more calories than I did, because I am pretty sure when I eat out, my calorie counts are mostly guess work, unless the place has the calorie counts listed on the menu or a pdf file on the website. So I think it all balances out in the end.
In regards to bacon I suppose there are some packages that don't state " cooked" or "fried" but most ( if not all) I have purchased do. I pulled the Smithfield out of the freezer to check it out of curiosity and it reads "2 fried slices" so to me that would be exclusive of any fat in the pan. But yes. I may not fry it as much as the test lab so who knows. Like you, those are hairs I see no need to split.0 -
What a great explanation! Thanks for sharing your find @RalfLott!I suppose it's fair to subtract calories from sawdust, aka, "cellulose"....
LOL
In regards to bacon I suppose there are some packages that don't state " cooked" or "fried" but most ( if not all) I have purchased do. I pulled the Smithfield out of the freezer to check it out of curiosity and it reads "2 fried slices" so to me that would be exclusive of any fat in the pan. But yes. I may not fry it as much as the test lab so who knows. Like you, those are hairs I see no need to split.
I'm lucky in that I buy fully pre-cooked bacon from Costco or Sams in bulk packages so I don't have to worry about my brain exploding over how to log stuff like cooked v. uncooked bacon in my food diary!
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Fibre is listed as a separate entry on British labelling. That is to say, that it is in addition to the carbohydrate content, given above it. Our Carbs are listed as a total, and underneath is the 'of which sugars' but fibre is a separate unit of food content...
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This discussion has been closed.