The difference between carbs and net carbs is that net carbs exclude fiber and artificial sweeteners.
If you’re anything like me, then the first time you saw “net carbs” on the package of something at the grocery store, you’ve probably wondered:
“What the heck is net carbs?”
From pastries and crackers to fruits to even vegetables, we seem to be surrounded by carbs of just about every variety.
However, they’re not all uniformly bad for us after all. In this blog post, we’ll break the difference between carbs and net carbs so you can make better eating decisions.
What Are Carbs?
Total carbohydrates are found in many different foods like pasta, bread, cakes, etc.
But they’re also found in many other types of foods, too.
For example, both a salad & a slice of bread have a similar amount of total carbs. However, the salad is accepted on low-carb diets on keto whilst the bread isn’t.
What Are Net Carbs?
Net carbs are the number of total carbohydrates in a food, after subtracting the fiber & artificial sweeteners. People on low-carb diets usually count net carbs, not total carbs, because net carbs affect insulin much more than total carbs.
Net carbs are a common nutritional tool used to determine whether a food contains excess carbs.
Net carbs exclude carbs that come from dietary fiber & artificial sweeteners.
This is because dietary fiber is the part of a plant that humans don’t digest, so it doesn’t have any calories. It just passes through us whole, providing us with prebiotics that helps us stay healthy, without raising insulin.
Artificial sweeteners also don’t have calories, so they don’t affect insulin at all either.
However, artificial sweeteners, are found in sugar-free foods, like sugar-free ketchup and sugar-free gum.
Though they have low calories, they can cause gas, bloating, and bad breath, so don’t eat too many of them.
We recommend only eating artificial sweeteners when you’re adjusting to keto because they can cause problems like the ones listed above.
What Is the Difference Between Carbs and Net Carbs?
Carbs are the total amount of carbohydrates in a food, including fiber & artificial sweeteners. However, net carbs are the number of carbs in a food excluding fiber & artificial sweeteners.
Net carbs are more important to look at if you’re on a low-carb diet because those are the carbs that will actually affect your insulin.
How to Determine Net Carbs on Food Packages
To determine the net carbs on a food package, first, find the total amount of carbs. Then, check if the package tells you how much fiber or artificial sweeteners are in it. If it does, then just subtract the total carbs from the fiber & artificial sweetener amount.
If it doesn’t, look at the ingredients list & determine if the ingredients are high in fiber or low in fiber. Then estimate the reduction that the amount of fiber in the ingredients would cause.
If you’re not sure, you can always find the number of grams of fiber in a portion of food by searching online.
While this may not be an exact science, you can use the below tips to estimate your net carb counts.
- Find the Total Amount of Carbs — Firstly, check the nutrition label for the total amount of carbs. It will say “Total Carbohydrates: X.”
- Check If There’s a Fiber or Artificial Sweetener Count — Once you have the total carbs, check if the package says the amount of fiber or artificial sweeteners in it. Let’s say it says “Fiber: 6g.” You will then subtract the total carbohydrates with this number. However, if you can’t find these numbers anywhere, go to the final step.
- Look at the ingredients — Though it’s not an exact science, you can usually estimate the carb count based on the ingredients & amount of fiber in those ingredients. For example, if the product contains apples, then you can estimate that it contains high fiber, which would lower the carb count. If the product contains corn, then you can estimate that it contains medium fiber, which would slightly lower the carb count. You could also search on Google for the fiber counts for the foods, & then subtract them yourself.
Conclusion
Just because a product says “keto-friendly” on the label doesn’t mean that it’s low in net carbs.
Always find the serving size, ingredients, and net carb count to make sure that you aren’t accidentally eating more carbs than you intended.
And remember, it’s important to keep in mind that not all carbs are bad for us. In fact, many carbs like fiber are essential for our health and are great for keto.
If you’re interested in starting the keto diet, but aren’t exactly sure how to get started, here’s an article where I detail the benefits of a keto diet & how to get started.
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