If you are following a dietary protocol that requires counting carbohydrates (and you should be!), your first question probably is, Should I count total carbs or net carbs? And what is the difference?
In the United States, properly labeled packaged food shows Total Carbohydrates as a main category with possible sub-categories of Dietary Fiber, Sugar, and Sugar Alcohols. “For nutrition labeling in the EU and Mexico, carbohydrate is defined as ‘available carbohydrate,’ which does not include the fiber component.” What does all that even mean?!?
The ADA bases the recommendation for daily carbs on net carbs, which is total carbs minus fiber carbs and sugar alcohols.
Some diabetes coaches recommend a compromise by subtracting fiber carbs only when eating a whole food and the fiber carbs are part of the whole food, and they calculate total carbs for any processed food (packaged in a box, bag, jar, or can). Often the food manufacturer adds fiber carbs to the food (exogenesis carbs) and the fiber carbs are not part of the actual food. We can’t always trust the food manufacturer to be honest about the fiber carb content. “The commonly held advice to subtract ‘fiber’ from the total amount of carbohydrate on the label to arrive at ‘net carbs’ can lead to an [underestimate] of nutrient intake, as well as possibly an [underestimate] of the effect of the food on blood glucose and insulin release when those foods are processed into other foods by grinding and/or heating.”
Michaella Thornton of Diabetes Daily says, “Counting ‘net carbs’ may work for some people, but it is not a way of counting carbs certified diabetes educators (CDEs) or other health professionals are likely to endorse nor a legal term but rather a food-industry marketing phrase.”
One author and health podcaster recommends counting total carbs no matter what! In a podcast, he reveals the origin of the net carb calculations. What follows is the complete transcript of the podcast on September 9, 2017:
If you got this email from someone who forwarded it to you, please consider subscribing to our blog yourself at https://adventistvegetariandiabetics.com/blog-posts/-2. Scroll down to the SUBSCRIBE box and enter your email address. Please be assured we will never share your email address with anyone else.
Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics™ Recipe Book was published in April 2023. It can be found on Amazon at (https://www.amazon.com/Adventist-Vegetarian-DiabeticsTM-Recipe-Book/dp/B0C1JJTGLW/) in both Kindle and paperback formats.
Our classic book, Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics, 2nd Edition, was published in May 2023. It can be found on Amazon at (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5KNKS8B) in both Kindle and paperback formats.
We encourage you to join our Facebook group for Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics™ in order to ask questions, make comments, and share your own experiences. If you are not a member of the Facebook group for Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics but would like to be, please click the link and request to join. You will be asked 3 questions. Here’s a description of the Facebook group.
If you just want continuing information and don’t want to take part in any discussion, we recommend you peruse our website at https://adventistvegetariandiabetics.com/. We also have a Facebook information page, Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics Resources.
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@adventistvegetariandiabetics.
Adventist Vegetarian Diabetics 