Does Fiber Affect Net Carbs?‍

Can you eat fiber on keto?

Consuming fiber-rich foods has been shown to have numerous health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. 

Fiber is not digested by the body, so it does not affect blood sugar levels or insulin production. The lack of digestibility means that it doesn’t count toward calories in foods.

But, does fiber affect net carbs?

In this article, we’ll discuss how fiber affects net carbs and how to calculate net carbs yourself.

What are Total Carbs?

Total carbs are the sum of all the carbs in a food, including fiber & artificial sweeteners.

So, for example, half a cup of cucumbers has 1.9 grams of total carbs & 0.3 grams of fiber.

Therefore, half a cup of cucumbers has a total carb count of 1.9 grams because the fiber is included in the total carb count.

What are Net Carbs?

Net carbs are the total carbs in something after subtracting the fiber & artificial sweeteners.

People on low-carb diets, like keto, usually measure net carbs instead of total carbs because net carbs affect insulin much more than total carbs.

So, going back to the cucumber example, half a cup of cucumbers has 1.9 grams of total carbs & 0.3 grams of fiber.

Therefore, half a cup of cucumbers has a total carb count of 1.9 grams, but a net carb count of 1.6 grams. That’s because we subtracted the fiber from the total carb count to give us our net carbs.

However, counting the carbs for something so low carb, like cucumbers, doesn’t create a big difference, so let’s look at another example.

For example, a cup of boiled spinach contains around 7 grams of total carbs. This may make people on a low-carb diet stay away from spinach.

However, a cup of boiled spinach also has 4 grams of fiber. That means that one cup of boiled spinach has only 3 grams of net carbs, meaning it’s great for a low-carb diet, like keto.

For this reason, I usually don’t count carbs in low-net-carb vegetables like broccoli, spinach, cucumber, etc.

Does Fiber Affect Total Carbs?

Yes, fiber affects total carbs. Total carbs are the number of carbs in a food, including fiber & artificial sweeteners. However, since fiber & artificial sweeteners don’t affect insulin, most people on low-carb diets only count net carbs, not total carbs.

Fiber is not digested by the body, so it does not affect blood sugar levels or insulin production. The lack of digestibility means that it doesn’t count toward net carb grams in foods. However, it does count towards total carbs.

Foods with high fiber contents, like vegetables & fruits, have high total carb counts, but lower net carb counts compared to foods that are low in fiber.

Does Fiber Affect Net Carbs?

No, fiber doesn’t affect net carbs. That’s because net carbs are the total amount of carbohydrates in food after subtracting fiber & artificial sweeteners. People on low-carb diets usually only measure net carbs because net carbs have a bigger impact on insulin compared to total carbs.

Artificial sweeteners, like stevia, also don’t affect net carbs because they don’t raise insulin or have any calories.

So if you’re considering whether a food is low-carb or not, make sure to find out the net carbs first.

How Do You Calculate Net Carbs?

To calculate the net carbs in a food, you must subtract the fiber & artificial sweetener grams from the total carb grams.

1. Find the Total Carbs — If you look at the nutrition information on a food package, then you’ll easily be able to find the number of total carbs.
2. Subtract the Fiber & Artificial Sweeteners — Next, subtract the fiber & artificial sweeteners from the total carbs.

That’s how many net carbs are in the food.

If you’re doing a keto diet, make sure to eat under 50 grams of net carbs per day.

Basically, if you’re doing keto, just make sure to only eat low-net-carb foods & you won’t go out of ketosis.

Conclusion

We now know that fiber can be beneficial for our bodies in many ways, & it won’t kick us out of keto. To calculate net carbs, just subtract the amount of fiber & artificial sweeteners from the total number of carbs. Now that you know how fiber affects carbs, you can better plan your low-carb diet to still eat fiber-rich foods without worrying about whether it’s keto or not.

If you’re interested in starting the keto diet, here’s an article where I discuss the benefits of keto & how to get started.