How to Calculate Net Carbs

If you're following a low carbohydrate diet, like Atkins, you might find yourself needing to calculate net carbs. Net carbs refer to the carbs which count towards your total carb count. This is really easy to do.

Instructions

1. If you are American or Canadian, subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate count of the food item.

   Ex. Total Carbs 4g minus Fiber 2g = 2 grams net carbs

   If you don't know the total carbohydrate or fiber count, you can look these up at http://www.lowcarb.ca/low-carb-tools/carb_counter.html

   Note that fiber grams doesn't distinguish between soluble and insoluble fiber. All fiber is treated as equal.

   Skip ahead to step 3.

2. If you are European, the fiber has already been subtracted from your food labels. In this case, you should count all the carbs listed on a package as net carbs.

   For fresh or unlabeled foods, follow the American approach above.

   Continue to step 3.

3. Sugar alcohols are troublesome. Some diets recommend you count half the carbs, some say to count all the carbs, and yet and others claim you don't need to count any.

   Sugar alcohols include xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol, and erythritol, and are semi indigestible carbs. They have a minimal impact on blood sugar, which is why some plans believe you don't need to count them towards your net carb intake. If you follow one of these plans, then you can subtract all the sugar alcohols.