Net carbs are a way to eat the products you want which exceed the nutritional value of carbs as long as they also contain fiber and sugar. | Unsplash/emy
Net carbs. OK, most people can go for that, right? Unfortunately, yes. A lot of people think that there is such a thing. Wait! Isn’t there? Of course, there is. Let’s see how net carbs are measured.
Say that you want to eat a snack that, on the nutritional chart, lists 30 grams of total carbohydrates. That may not seem like too much for your diet. But, that’s 30 grams in a single serving and a serving size is 1 cup and there are 6 servings in the box. That’s 180 grams of carbohydrates in that box! Considering that according to the Mayo Clinic webpage, the average person who works on a 2,000-calorie day should consume been 225 and 325 grams of carbs in those 2,000 calories, 180 grams in one box of snacks is 80% of that person’s daily allowance. That’s not for a person struggling with weight control, or prediabetes or who is a diabetic. For those groups, the daily intake of carbs should be less. You should consult a physician or nutritionist to follow up on your needs.
Net carbs! Now, this is good news for a person on the keto diet, or a person who is simply trying to watch what they eat, and keep their weight under control. But what are net carbs? Are they even a real thing? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. They are a real thing. Are they a reliable real thing? You decide. To calculate the net carbs in a product is simple. For instance, let’s take that same box of snacks we talked about earlier. Remember, the product has 30 grams of carbohydrates per serving with 6 servings. There are 180 carbs total in the box. So, we take the total carbohydrates minus the fiber minus the sugar alcohol in the box.
Thirty grams of total carbs minus 3 grams of fat minus 2 grams of sugar equals 25 grams of net carbs. Twenty-five grams times 6 servings, 150 grams of carbs is a lot of carbs. Especially when you consider that peanut butter only has 7 total grams of carbs per serving. Those 180 grams of carbs should probably not make it to your table if you are on a…