Premium member but there's no option for NET CARBS

Hannanelle001

Hi, Per the FAQ, Net Carbs can be enabled by opening the Diary Settings on the app (not on the web site) and enable this feature.
I open Diary settings, after installing the latest version of the app, on my Android. There is no Net Carb setting. What am I missing?

durden

Hi @Hannanelle001, it looks like you're located outside of the US. Currently Net Carbs are only available in the US and Canada. For more details please see: https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032622531-Can-I-track-Net-Carbs-

Lietchi

Are you in the right country? Net carbs is an option only for the US and Canada, I believe.
In many countries, Europe for example, nutritional labels are already 'net carb' (so subtracting fiber from the carb count would be wrong).

Hannanelle001

durden wrote: »

Hi @Hannanelle001, it looks like you're located outside of the US. Currently Net Carbs are only available in the US and Canada. For more details please see: https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032622531-Can-I-track-Net-Carbs-

I noticed this response after I typed up my first response. I want a refund of the Premium fee, based on that. It was not clear in the information (which I DID read) that the feature was only available in North America. There is no other reason for me to have Premium. Since you are staff, please can you help with this?

Are you saying that I got a version of the app that does not have the Net Carbs option, because I'm not in US/Canada?
Which actual entry on a European label, is the Net carbs? (example below).

Aioli (from example: https://www.mathem.se/varor/aioli/aioli-170ml-by-danyel-couet)

Energy 2870 kJ/686 kcal
Fat 76.5 g
- of which sauterated fat 5.97 g
Carbohydrates 0.65 g
- of which sugars 0.21 g
Protein 1.39 g
equivalent salt 1.07 g

I don't think Net carbs are working by default for Europe, on MFP because my daily carbs consumed is much higher on MFP than on Carb Manager. I'm in Europe, so Net Carbs should then be enabled by default (??) It's not though. Carb Manager is the expert in food logging with Net carbs. They do it automatically for all foods that are in their database.

Plus, what about UK foods then, where the name of the product and label, might be indistinguishable from USA? Some brands are available in both countries and for raw ingredients - you wouldn't be able to tell if it's an American cucumber or a British... Should I enter in Swedish then, instead of English?

This needs more explanation by Myfitnesspal in the FAQ. A lot of users are paying for Premium particularly to use this feature - i.e. everyone who's following Keto! If it is not available to European users, or requires configuration, then this should be clearly communicated!

Lietchi

Using entries in English, you might get US entries (not usually net carb, although there might be custom net carb entries created by users) or UK (net carb is standard labeling there).
Hard to know, but some pointers:
- if the entry is based on USDA data (contains usda in the name or uses the typical structure e.g. 'cucumber, with peel, raw') it's normally not net carb
- sticking to UK (and Swedish) supermarket brands should give you net carb nutritional data

The food database is crowdsourced, so there is a bit of everything in there, lots of erroneous entries in general, without even the question of net carbs. So checking your frequently used entries is a good idea anyway.

In European labeling, the carb count =net carb count, as easy as that.

Hannanelle001

Thanks for the fast response! I was editing my response while you responded. The response is there now with an example, instead of a picture (for language reasons, so as not to confuse people).
Is it the "Of which sugars" entry that is the net carbs?
Or the main carbohydrates entry?

I noticed after I responded to you, that a staff member at MFP also responded. I'm really irritated at MFP now, because I went Premium because of this feature alone (net carbs). It wasn't clear that it was for US users only - and I did read the info. So I feel cheated and have requested a refund of Premium. If I'm going to calculate this myself, I will not pay MFP for that feature.

Aioli (from example: https://www.mathem.se/varor/aioli/aioli-170ml-by-danyel-couet)
Energy 2870 kJ/686 kcal
Fat 76.5 g
- of which sauterated fat 5.97 g
Carbohydrates 0.65 g
- of which sugars 0.21 g
Protein 1.39 g
equivalent salt 1.07 g

Lietchi

'Of which sugars' is the amount of sugar.
'carbohydrates' is what you need 🙂

Hannanelle001

Lietchi wrote: »

'Of which sugars' is the amount of sugar.
'carbohydrates' is what you need 🙂

Thank you! So if that exact product was sold in the USA, the carbohydrate figure would be higher, because the US counts differently? Alternatively, hypothetically, if a product like this was imported from the US to Europe - the Carbohydrates figure on the label would have to be changed?

Lietchi

I'm not sure about imported products. The few of those I've seen (but from Asia) have new nutritional labels printed on them, presumably to be in compliance with the labeling of the EU.
But yes, the US counts carbs differently.
In Europe, fiber doesn't count towards carbs (nor sugar alcohols, I presume).

vincygal

What a shame! I just purchased Premium and cancelled within 10 minutes! No net carb option. Defeats the purchase for me. MyFitnessPal is a great app! Net carbs would be the icing, come on, fix it.

Lietchi

vincygal wrote: »

What a shame! I just purchased Premium and cancelled within 10 minutes! No net carb option. Defeats the purchase for me. MyFitnessPal is a great app! Net carbs would be the icing, come on, fix it.

And what do you think needs fixing? If food labels already show net carbs in the country where you live, subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from the carb count would just show false (too low) carb numbers

eyalmaoz1

Lietchi wrote: »

vincygal wrote: »

What a shame! I just purchased Premium and cancelled within 10 minutes! No net carb option. Defeats the purchase for me. MyFitnessPal is a great app! Net carbs would be the icing, come on, fix it.

And what do you think needs fixing? If food labels already show net carbs in the country where you live, subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from the carb count would just show false (too low) carb numbers

Net carbs should be an option with the relevant info explanation for everyone.

What about the other continents which are NOT America/Europe? Dozens of countries and a few billion people there.

What if I am in Europe and then travel to the US for a couple of months? How is that supposed to be handled?

What if I live in Europe and order some food or supplement items from the US?

Lietchi

If you're using different provenances of food data in your diary, you're 'screwed' (inaccurate) anyway, whether you're using net carbs or not. Unless you want the possibility for net carbs for individual foods?

As for traveling: I wonder how they determine the location of people. The time zone in our settings? If so, perhaps changing time zones would change something, but time zones alone aren't enough to determine whether or not someone is in the US or Canada so I'm not sure how that works.

For 'exceptional' foods (the odd foreign/imported product used) you can always create a custom food entry where you do the math yourself and update the carb count.

I use EU food labels for packaged foods, but I often use USDA food data for whole foods (vegetables). I know my carb count is going to realistically be somewhere in between net carbs and 'gross' carbs. Fortunately, I don't have any interest in (net) carbs, but if I did I would be making my own entries/adjusting existing ones for frequently used foods.