Carbs: Net or total? How do you count them?

I am posting this since there are a couple of carbohydrate posts further down on the VSG board and it got me thinking: How does everyone on here count their carbs?? I see there are two schools of thought: either you subtract fiber and get a "net" carb count or you don't and you count every carb.

BTW I feel this is important for everyone to understand because we are to stay between 20-40 grams of carbs daily to lose in the weight loss phase. IMO everyone should know what carbs are technically digested by the body and how to count them. I know some will disagree with me and if you do that is ok. Though I am really curious to know why you think insoluble fiber is absorbed and therefore should be counted in the total carb count.

A quick note on dietary fiber. There are two types: soluble (dissolves in water) and insoluble (doesn't dissolve in water). Soluble fiber binds to fatty substances in the intestines and carries them out as a waste and insoluble fiber helps push food through the intestinal tract, promoting regularity and helping prevent constipation. The human body lacks enzymes to break down insoluble fiber. Therefore, insoluble fiber does not change inside the body, so the body cannot absorb it and nutritionists say that it contributes 0 Calories per gram. Soluble fiber is partially fermented, with the degree of fermentability varying with the type of fiber, and contributes some energy when broken down and absorbed by the body. Dietitians have not reached a consensus on how much energy is actually absorbed, but some approximate around 2 Calories per gram of soluble fiber.

I personally believe (after much research this evening) that insoluble fiber is not absorbed by the body and soluble fiber is absorbed at only 50%. And sugar alcohol carbs are absorbed at varying degrees. So I do the net carb count approach. it looks like this: Total Carbs - 100% insoluble fiber - 50% soluable fiber = Net carbs. Sugar alcohols are carbs that are only partially absorbed. They do digest in varying amounts. The most common ones are sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, erythritol, and maltitol. BTW they create a lot of gas.

So how do you count your carbs?

 

 

My opinion is a carb is a carb during WL and and figuring net carbs is more of a maintenance thing to do if your board.....lose the weight first.... than find your tolerances...

frisco

I must politely and respectfully disagree, my friend.  If someone eats a bowl of Fiber One (yuck), they aren't going to be causing a huge insulin response, which is the worry of a moderate- or high-carb diet.  That cardboard is just going to travel from the mouth to the butt.

Also, let it be noted that here, on this date, Frisco and I have actually disagreed about something.  It's a Dear Diary day.

It's OK Ruggs..... your allowed to be wrong .....it happened to me once.....

frisco !!!!

As a biochemist, I agree with your post.

I don't count insoluble fiber at all - it goes right through you (that's its job!) and like you mention, because of binding and poor anabolism, we aren't great with breaking down soluble fiber fully.

Great post.  People need to remember to get their fiber in - it's not going to break your diet, and it cuts your risk for colon cancer!

Thx Ruggie I knew I wasn't totally off my rocker! At least about carbs. If I cannot absorb them then they are not counted for me.

So this "insoluble fiber" you speak of is the "Fiber" listed on a nutrition panel correct?

No.

When a vendor just lists "Fiber" on the nutritional information, it can be a mixture of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Well the nutrition label can just say Fiber or it can break it down. Most probably say just Fiber unfortunately. There is no real way of knowing what % is insoluble or soluble unless you look at the ingredients and google them to find out what kind they are. Even then you don't know how many grams. I hope the new FDA approved labels require it. In that case I will just assume 50% of the fiber is insoluble. I took some pics of labels from cereal that I had in my house and how they break it down. One box shows you both and the other box just shows soluble, You can easily figure out the insoluble from that label. Happy label reading! I am sure you were reading them anyways like I do. People must think I am crazy for reading labels on all the stuff at the grocery store!