Calculating Carbs And Sugars On Keto: A Simple Guide

The keto diet is a low-carb diet that aims to put the body into a state of ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. To stay in ketosis, a person needs to consume no more than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. This involves calculating the number of net carbs in their diet, which refers to the amount of carbohydrates that the body can digest and use for energy. To calculate net carbs, one must subtract the amount of fibre from the total number of carbs. If the food is processed, one must also subtract half of the sugar alcohol content. Net carbs are important to calculate as they can help with weight loss and blood sugar management.

Net carbs vs. total carbs

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet. It involves taking an extremely low amount of carbohydrates and substituting them with fat to stimulate the body's fat-burning processes. The keto diet aims to bring the body into a state of ketosis, where it uses fat for energy instead of carbs.

Total Carbs

Total carbs include all types of carbohydrates present in food, including fiber and sugar alcohols, which are not fully absorbed by the body. On a nutrition label, you can find carbs broken down into some combination of the following components:

• Sugars, such as glucose or fructose. There is also a separate line for added sugars, meaning those not naturally occurring in the food.
• Fiber, which the body cannot digest but may help feed good gut bacteria.
• Sugar alcohols, which are incompletely absorbed and metabolized by the body and have little effect on blood sugar levels.
• Starches, which convert to glucose when digested.

Net Carbs

Net carbs refer to the total amount of digestible carbohydrates in a food product or meal. Net carbs are determined by removing fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates count. Net carbs are all the carbohydrates in food that can be absorbed and used by the body for energy. The body is unable to fully digest some types of complex carbs, such as fiber.

The key difference between total carbs and net carbs is that total carbs include all the different types of carbs in a food or meal, while net carbs only include carbs that the body can fully digest into glucose. Net carbs are important for those following the keto diet because consuming too many digestible carbs can prevent you from entering and/or kick you out of ketosis.

Calculating Net Carbs

To calculate net carbs, you can use the following formula:

Net Carbs = Total Carbs - Fiber - Sugar Alcohols

For example, if a food product has 20 grams of total carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 4 grams of erythritol (a type of sugar alcohol), it would have 13 grams of net carbs.

It's important to note that not all sugar alcohols are treated equally in this calculation. Erythritol and allulose, for example, have a negligible impact on blood sugar levels and can be subtracted from the total carb count. Other sugar alcohols, such as maltitol, sorbitol, and isomalt, have a higher glycemic index and may contribute about half a gram of carbs per gram. In these cases, you would only subtract half of their amount from the total carb count.

Calculating net carbs

Net carbs are the amount of carbohydrates in a food that your body can digest and use for energy. They are also referred to as digestible or impact carbs. Net carbs are absorbed into your bloodstream.

How to Calculate Net Carbs

To calculate net carbs, you need to subtract the amount of fibre from the total number of carbs. You can also subtract sugar alcohols, but this is slightly more complicated. Sugar alcohols are usually only partially absorbed by the body, so you only need to include half of the sugar alcohol content in your calculations.

The basic formula is:

> NET CARBS = TOTAL CARBS – FIBRE – SUGAR ALCOHOLS

However, Erythritol is an exception. If it is the only sugar alcohol in the ingredients list, you can subtract its total from the total carbs.

Sugar alcohols

The most common types of sugar alcohols include:

• Erythritol
• Isomalt
• Maltitol
• Sorbitol
• Xylitol

Erythritol is the most keto-friendly sugar alcohol. It has a glycemic index of 0 and works well in both cooking and baking. Xylitol is also considered keto-friendly, although it has a slightly higher glycemic index than erythritol and can cause a slight increase in blood glucose levels.

Maltitol, sorbitol, and isomalt are less keto-friendly as they are partially digested and can cause an increase in blood glucose levels. They may also lead to more severe gastrointestinal issues.

When calculating net carbs, you can subtract the grams of erythritol from the total carbohydrate count. For other sugar alcohols, some people choose to subtract half of their amount from the total carbohydrate count.

Fiber

The body is unable to fully digest some types of complex carbs, such as fiber. Complex carbs are not included in net carb calculations.

To calculate the number of net carbs in a serving, subtract the fiber content from the number of total carbs.

For example, a food that contains 20 grams of total carbs and 10 grams of dietary fiber has 10 grams of net carbs. This final number, 10 grams, is the amount of carbohydrates the food contains that the body can digest into glucose.

Higher-fiber foods can also help you feel full, which can aid in overall lower calorie intake and weight loss. For all of these reasons, the American Heart Association (AHA) also recommends a fiber-rich diet.

Carbohydrates

The term "net carbs" refers to the amount of carbohydrates in a food that your body can digest and use for energy. Net carbs are also called digestible or impact carbs. These include both simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs contain one or two sugar units linked together and are found in foods like fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, honey, and syrup. Complex carbs contain many sugar units linked together and are found in grains and starchy vegetables like potatoes.

When you eat a carb-containing food, most of the carbs are broken down into individual sugar units by enzymes produced in your small intestine. Your body can only absorb individual sugar units. However, some carbs can’t be broken down into individual sugars, while others are only partially broken down and absorbed. These include fiber and sugar alcohols.

To calculate net carbs, you need to subtract the amount of fiber from the total number of carbs. If the food is processed, you should also subtract half of the sugar alcohol content. These quantities are available on food labels.

Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest and so cannot transform into glucose for energy. The amount of fiber is included in the number of total carbs but not in the number of net carbs. The body does not digest all sugar alcohols, so they have less effect on blood sugar levels than regular sugar.

Frequently asked questions