Carb Confusion

[Terri]

Looking for a website or thread that explains carbs. I see on packages it will say 5 g net carbs. I look at the nutrition facts and it shows 18 g carbs. Under that it will have sugars and fibers listed. I am guessing that these somehow are subtracted to come up with net carbs.

I am still pre-op but want to make sure I understand how to figure these. I know my luck I will be thinking I am getting 25 g a carb a day but actually getting 75g.

I know nothing about carbs with the DS except usually causes gas and weight gain. LOL.

Thanks

 

[k9ophile]

Google it. Not to be a mean girl, but it will probably stick with you longer if you read about it. Basic nutrition should be a part of every WLS patient's research. See if you can find a college text book on introduction to nutrition.

 

[stanh]

http://www.atkins.com/Science/Articles---Library/Carbohydrates/What-are-Net-Carbs-.aspx

 

[shann]

This is a pretty good site if you ignore the numbers: http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/carbs.html

Here's an explanation of net carbs: http://www.atkins.com/Science/Articles---Library/Carbohydrates/What-are-Net-Carbs-.aspx
Some people go by this and some people just count carbs. @southernlady , Liz, I'm pretty sure just counts all carbs.

I've never counted carbs- I only count protein and then try to keep my carbs on the lower end.

 

[southernlady]

^^Shannon is correct, I do NOT count net carbs..

To me, it's voodoo math. http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2010/aug/what-are-net-carbs.html (no longer available)

The term "net carbs" does not have a legal definition, and it's not used by the FDA or the American Diabetes Association. When you see it on a label, you should read the nutrition facts and ingredients list for more information. If you are not on intensive insulin management and do not count carbs, you don't need to do anything. If you are on intensive insulin management, count carbs, and manage your diabetes with carb-to-insulin ratios, you can:

1. Check the product's sugar alcohol content. If it is greater than 5 grams, subtract half the grams of sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates and count this as the "available carbohydrate" for insulin adjustment purposes. However, if erythritol is the only sugar alcohol listed, subtract all of the grams of sugar alcohol.

2. Check the fiber content. Total fiber in foods comprises many different types of natural fiber and manufactured ingredients. They may vary in whether they are digested and how they affect blood glucose. If insoluble fiber is listed on the nutrition facts panel under "Total Carbohydrate," subtract all of the insoluble fiber from the total carbohydrates and from the total fiber grams. If the fiber quantity is still greater than 5 grams, subtract half the grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrates, and use the result as the available carbs for insulin adjustment purposes.

On a nutrition label, the total carb count is required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include the full amount of grams from sugar alcohols and fiber. However, these carbs have less impact on blood glucose than others because they are only partially converted to glucose, or not at all, by the body. Some food companies started using the term "net carbs" and defined it to mean the total grams of carbohydrate minus the grams of sugar alcohols, fiber, and glycerine. This equation is not entirely accurate, because some of the sugar alcohols and fiber are absorbed by the body. In fact, about half of the grams of sugar alcohols are metabolized to glucose.

I was counting carbs since 1997 when I discovered I was diabetic. When the "net" carb craze started, I looked at it and more importantly tested it against my glucose meter. Turns out, I had to count fiber and sugar alcohols in my insulin dosing or get all screwed up. It is FAR easier just to count all of them.

So while some DS'er's count just net in their quest to stay under 50 (or whatever number they've decided on). I stay under 120 almost all the time, and try to stay under 100. It works for me.

Confused yet?

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Simplest method: Ignore all the fancy bullshit about numbers and look at "carbohydrate" and count that. The End.

 

[newanatomy]

I follow what Liz does. It is the easiest way for me to hold myself accountable.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I have never tried to understand the net carb thing but I think as long as you are consistent it doesn't matter. like, under X many total or under Y net - just pick one and always do it that way. then see how it goes (how you feel, etc)..

seems like total would be easier than net.

 

[kirstabelle]

Pretty sure Net carbs is an Atkins products marketing tool...

 

[Munchkin]

Read the Atkins books. Look at induction. You should stay on this most of the time. It's mostly meat, cheese, and eggs with low carb veggies like green beans. This is what you do to maximize the weight loss window.

Grains, sugars, white foods are bad. You avoid them like crazy. Starchy foods are bad.

The idea is to get your body into ketosis. Force it to burn it's own fat and convert fat to sugar(glycogenesis). You can find out if you are successful by getting some ketosticks at the pharmacy. They are expensive and you can get twice as much by cutting them in half lengthwise. You want ketones in your urine and the darker purple, the better. Test once a day in the morning and you want them to be purple. If they don't turn purple you are getting carbs somewhere. Processed foods are full of extra sugars. There's lots you can eat, you just have to be careful what you eat!

So what's a ketone? First you have to understand how the body stores fat. Molecular fat is stored as ATP, adenosine tri phosphate. Ketone bodies are what holds, bonds, the three phosphates. When your body has to use your own fat for fuel, it takes one of the phosphates, the ATP becomes ADP(adenosine di phosphate) and the ketone body is excreted in your urine.

Clear as mud, right?

 

[Terri]

Yes Atkins is where I had seen the "net carbs". I had seen some protein bars that had 5 net carbs on the front but then saw in the nutrition facts that carbs were listed as 18g so that is when I got confused. The Atkins link that @shann and @stanh gave me explained what I was questioning.

I am going to do what @Elizabeth N. said just find carbohydrate and count it.

Thanks for stirring the mud puddle @Munchkin. Just teasing that is really great info. I will pick up some of the ketosticks for sure.

 

[Sheanie]

OMG, @Munchkin , I had no idea you were such a Smarty Pants. When I need something explained, I'm going to be calling on YOU. I'm a hard learner, and I understood everything you said.

 

[Parousia]

Pretty sure Net carbs is an Atkins products marketing tool...

They're not purely a marketing tool. The idea of net carbs vs total carbs is that only net carbs are available to be used by your body as fuel, and can therefore affect whether you go into ketosis or not. Fibre and sugar alcohols pass through your body unchanged (although for some people, sugar alcohols can hamper weight loss, according to Atkins).

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Sugar alcohols and excess fiber (separately as well as together) give me some serious shits. So I read carb labels for "net" carbs as a warning system .

 

[southernlady]

Sugar alcohols and excess fiber (separately as well as together) give me some serious shits. So I read carb labels for "net" carbs as a warning system .

I do too...if it's above 6 sugar alcohols, I don't bother. And 6 are bad enough. Need to stay below 5 for an entire DAY!