What's The Deal With "Net Carbs"?

Just a short time ago, making a choice at the sandwich shop was fairly simple - do you want white or whole grain bread? Turkey or tuna? Extra mayo or not? But today? Now we're asked if we want bread with that sandwich! And the new low-carb craze leaves many of us more than challenged. What does 'net carbs' actually mean? How about 'Net Impact Carbs?'

Counting net carbs is based on the premise that certain carbohydrates contribute to increased blood glucose (sugar) levels, while others do not. It's safe to say that not all carbs are created equally.

Low carb diets (such as the Atkins diet) consider fiber, sugar alcohols, (e.g., sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt, erythritol), glycerine, or sugar substitutes, and other carbohydrates to be"non-impact carbs," meaning that our bodies can't metabolize or use them, so they simply don't count. "Net carbs" are calculated by taking total carbohydrate grams and subtracting those from fiber and sugar alcohol. The remaining carbs are considered the given product's NET carbs.

Example: Here's how a typical low carbohydrate candy bar figures
its net carbohydrates:

25 g total carbohydrate - 11 g fiber - 3 g sugar alcohol -
9 g glycerine = 2 net carbs

Keep in mind, however, that just because something is lower in carbohydrates, it's not necessarily lower in calories. Sometimes carbohydrates are replaced with protein or fat, which may actually increase the calorie content. The low carbohydrate candy bar example contains 220 calories, only 10 less than a similar, regular (and probably better-tasting) candy bar!

The FDA has classified certain types of carbs called "polyols" as Sugar alcohols. As they don't raise blood sugar to the same degree as regular carbs, food manufacturers have been able to come up with creative language marketing, such as "Net Carbs".

It confuses me too! Just know that labels don't tell the whole truth. Most people are consuming foods and they are unaware of just how much fatter they are getting as a result.

My advice is to learn to read food labels. What matters is that we educate ourselves and realize once and for all that most foods are manufactured for profit and not for health.

Bottom line, "Net Carbs" is definitley not what it seems. The sugar alcohols are still carbs and although have less of an impact on blood sugar, it's not "no impact". Think of it like "decaf" coffee. It's not called "no caf", it's just "less caf". I don't know about you, but decafeinated coffee still keeps me awake at night.

Press on!
Larry Wasserman