Counting carbs : Nett carbs or total carbs?

[sgm14]

I'm only on what is called a Liberal low carb diet, but I am a little confused about whether I should be counting nett or total carbs.
Some people seem to say that you should not count fibre as it does not affect your blood sugar levels, but otherwise seem to say that while that is usually true, it is not always true, so you need to count total carbs.

What do folks here do?

If it makes any difference, I am only interested in low carbs for the purposes of controlling my blood sugar levels and I am not trying to lose weight (in fact I need to make sure I don't) and I will be recording the carbs in Freestyle app which may be viewed by my doctor/diabetic team.

 

[Goonergal]

I am a little confused about whether I should be counting nett or total carbs.

Net carbs is an American thing as their nutrition labels are different. In the UK carbs are shown separately from fibre, so you need the total carbs and no need to deduct the fibre.

In the US, fibre is included in the carb total (although shown as a separate number) and usually it’s deducted from the total to give ‘net’ carbs.

There is a school of thought that fibre should be included when carb counting, but that’s personal choice.

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

Where I get my total carb content info from it does not include fibre as a extra component.

 

[HSSS]

Where I get my total carb content info from it does not include fibre as a extra component.

Australia count it the same as the U.K. and most of Europe on labels etc ie Carbs and fibRE separately.
It’s mostly only the USA that include fibER in their carb count.

As to why I think you’ll mostly find it’s USA based people that included fibre in their counts. And partly because of ease because of their labels. Some argue a small amount of fibre might get absorbed. Many of these are also more concerned about weight than bgl. Like mainly things in diet and definitely in keto and low carb worlds there’s no one definition of how to do it and how to count and exactly what you should do. Personal choice is a lot of it.

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

Australia count it the same as the U.K. and most of Europe on labels etc ie Carbs and fibRE separately.
It’s mostly only the USA that include fibER in their carb count.

I was chasing up some low fibre food a couple of weeks ago, it was hard to find the info on some products here.

 

[Dan O Reilly]

They say lakanto sweetener is diabetic friendly as it's zero net carbs. Does anybody else use it and is it okay?

 

[HSSS]

They say lakanto sweetener is diabetic friendly as it's zero net carbs. Does anybody else use it and is it okay?

That’s the monk fruit one isn’t it? In which case yes it’s fine. It’s plant based, like stevia. I think it has an aftertaste like stevia and is more expensive but if it works for you then great.

the things to check for sweetener is if it’s granular/tablet is the bulking agent, often dextrose or maltodextrin which still spikes bgl even though it’s calorie free. Always check with your meter your reaction to various sweeteners as mileage varies. For instance the sugar alcohol maltitol spikes a fair few people like sugar (and causes digestive upset for many). But erythritol is usually ok.

Then you have to make your personal choice about artificial like sucrolose, ace k, saccharine, aspartame verses plant based like monk fruit, stevia and the sugar alcohols (they aren’t booze btw). And decide how you feel about the taste of sweetness possibly effecting insulin even without glucose (jury is a bit undecided there), gut microbiome and the sweet taste addiction being maintained.

 

[sgm14]

In the UK carbs are shown separately from fibre, so you need the total carbs and no need to deduct the fibre.

Thanks, I'm in the UK, so I will just continue to record the total carbs as I have been doing.
I don't think I will bother adding the fibre content.

 

[Goonergal]

Would I be able to ask here when people say they have X amount carbs a day are they adding protein and fat to that as it has an affect on BGL although not as much? Apologies if not appropriate to ask on this thread.

No. It’s the grams of carbs being counted.

 

[HSSS]

Would I be able to ask here when people say they have X amount carbs a day are they adding protein and fat to that as it has an affect on BGL although not as much? Apologies if not appropriate to ask on this thread.

No. It is a CARB count not a carb, fats and protein count (because that’s everything you eat!).

Fats do not affect bgl in any relevant way and although protein does to a slight extent for a type 2 that rarely is enough to be concerned about. (Think about the excellent control the carnivores in here have!). Lack of protein is much more likely to be a problem than too much. (Lack of energy, lack of amino acids for metabolic processes, lack of satiety causing hunger, loss of lean muscle, metabolic slow down etc)