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Net Carbs?

S

SweetHeart

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Net carbs?

Please can somebody explain net carbs to me? I'm quite sure they aren't as neat and good as they sound..... :think:

In order to give myself some help in this whole low carb new way of cooking thing, I've bought the Illustrated Atkins Diet Cookbook. Every recipe has a 'net carb' value but what does this mean in terms of real carbs? The book doesn't explain in proper detail just hype. Call me a cynic....but I'm suspicious.

Thanks!

Julia
 
I've been doing a little reading on this -

The theory is that certain sweeteners - the polyols or sugar alchohols taste and cook like sugar, but are not digested and absorbed like normal sugar. Hence the carbs are in there, but shouldn't affect your BG levels.

If you do some goggling and reading you'll soon see it's a bit of a contentious subject!!

Mat
 
I was goggling this afternoon, and I've read a few things that seem either inconclusive or darn right conflicting. I've just gotten used to reading the total carbs on food packets and now there are these sneaky net carbs. Your theory about sweeteners goes some way to explaining why there are sweeteners in the oddest things (soups, stirfries etc) in this Atkins Diet Cookbook...I was beginning to wonder if it was sponsored by the people who own the patent to sucralose...... :?

Julia
 
I came accross the same net carbs thing and started googling when I saw it on the wrapper for an Atkins Advantage chocolate bar. having tested myself after eating one I've got to say that it had a lot more effect on my BG than I would have expected for 2g of "net" carbs

Mat
 
Please can somebody explain net carbs to me?
Click to expand...

AFAIK folks in the States refer to total carbs and net carbs, whereas we this side of the pond simply refer to carb content.
In the US total carbs include indigestible fibre in the total carb count, whereas we show that separately.
So net carbs (US) = carbohydrate listing on UK produce.

Geoff
 
So, net carbs are the total carb content minus the carbs that would've been 'burned' by the body when it was dealing with the fibre content of whatever the foodstuff it was digesting. Put very simply;

Total Carbs - Carbs burned digesting Fibre content = Net Carbs

Is that right?

Julia
 
Total Carbs - Carbs burned digesting Fibre content = Net Carbs

Is that right?
Click to expand...

I'm no scientist or expert. My understanding as a layman is that fibre is unavailable to the body, simply facilitating transport through the digestive system. So not sure I'd use the term 'burned.'
For me it's easier to think of fibre as simply NOT carbs.

From New Atkins, New You (just realised I had it out from the library !) :

net carbs, aka digestible carbs or impact carbs ... although it's considered a carbohydrate, fibre doesn't impact your sugar levels ... when it comes to low-carb foods, you subtract grams of sugar alcohols (including glycerine), as well as fibre, from total carbs tp get the Net Carb count.

I'll post the sugar alcohols definition soon : )

Geoff
 
I'll post the sugar alcohols definition soon : )
Click to expand...

New Atkins, New You :

Many low-carb products are sweetened with such ingredients (blood sugars) as glycerine, mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, erythritol, lactilol and maltilol. Because sugar alcohols are not fully absorbed by the gut, they provide roughly half the calories that sugar does ... minimal impact on blood sugar and insulin response. This means that sugar alcohols don't significantly interfere with fat burning, making them acceptable on Atkins.

Looking that up helped educate me in the process : )

Geoff
 
I've just bought the New Atkins, New You from t'internet but it's not here yet. This evening I made the cannelloni from the Illustrated. Even the children ate it. I have to say, if you don't eat eggs or you can't cook, then forget the Atkins diet...... :crazy: I'm glad we've got chooks; cooking for 7 using Atkins recipes yesterday took 33 eggs - good job we get 12 a day!

Julia
 
Hey all!

Just as a bit of a warning - sugar alcohols raise my BG significantly. Almost as much as sugar, but not quite so quickly. I know some Type 2s on here are able to tolerate them without much of a BG rise, but as an insulin dependant LADA, I have to eat them in very small amounts or tolerate significant spikes. Make sure you test before and after to see what effect they have on you.

Smidge
 
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