What does net carbs mean?

[LindaS 316]

I am trying to keep carbs out of my diet. Today for lunch, I had an Atkins Protein Bar that said on the wrapper that it was "3 g net carbs." After I ate it, I entered it into myfitnesspal, and I learned it had 18 g of carbs. What? How?

And yet another lesson that I get in reading labels.

Should I care about net carbs? I don't get it. I don't know what it means, and I am so frustrated that I thought I was having a good on-the-go lunch only to learn it has way too many carbs. Help!

[LindaS 316]

OK, I found an answer about net carbs online here: Net carbohydrates can be calculated from a food source by subtracting Fiber and sugar alcohols (which are shown to have a smaller effect on blood sugar levels)^{[citation needed]} from total carbohydrates. Sugar alcohols contain about two calories per gram, and the American Diabetes Association recommends that diabetics count each gram as half a gram of carbohydrate.^[4]

But how does that impact us? Do we want to watch all carbs or just net carbs? I'll have to ask my nutritionist, but does anyone else know?

[KristinaRN 54]

I only count total carbs; a carb is a carb to me.

[rubyspring 1]

Our nutritionist discussed this at one of our support group meetings. Her advice is not to ignore the Fiber and sugar alcohols because each of us absorbs them differently. And even if the calories are not extracted in the stomach, they can still be absorbed by the body on the way out. I think the ADA recommendation is a good rule of thumb. So your drink was 3 full carbs and 15 half carbs or 10.5 all together.