Net Carbs on Keto

[CalaBeach]

Hi everyone!

Just double checking.

When calculating net carbs on keto can I take into account fibre eaten from a different source if its eaten at the same time as the carbohydrate food?

The reason that I ask is that I actually assumed that a net carb calculation would only apply to the same food. So what I'm asking is that is I eat 10 grams of carbs from one source such as sweet potatoes and then eat 5 grams of fibre from another food such as Cauliflower in the same meal. Can I apply the net carb calculation in this case so I would have a net carb intake of 5 grams.

Or is this wishful thinking or Voodoo dieting?

Your feedback is welcome.

[Hidden]

That's interesting. I don't know but I'm guessing if you ate them at the same time'ish, then you add the foods together as though you'd eaten them mixed together, and then add the carb and fibre content together as well if that makes sense??? But as I said, I'm guessing.

[CalaBeach in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for your reply. Cooper27 has solved the problem. There are no single foods with excess fibres so therefore there are no fibre offset options across different foods.

Shame.

[Cooper27]

It's a nice idea in principle, but no food has more fibre than carbs (as fibre technically is a carb in terms of nutritional information), so in essence, there is no excess fibre there to offset your sweet potatoes.

When you look up carb info, you'll need to distinguish whether it's "net carbs" or "total carbs". Net carbs are total carbs minus the fibre. The UK only uses Net carbs already (so no need to deduct fibre again) while the US may use either but should distinguish.

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

[CalaBeach in reply to Cooper27]

Thank you for your informative reply. You have solved that riddle.

[Sheperdess]

That’s a good question. I’m on a ketogenic diet and have started eating beetroot (beets in US) and red lentils. They are higher in total carbs than the leafy green veg I usually eat. I’m aiming for a low DAILY net carb limit, so the fibre in all of my food eaten in the day counts, meaning I can meet that low carb limit, even though the total carbs I’m eating is higher with these foods. I hope that helps.

[CalaBeach in reply to Sheperdess]

Thanks for your reply. Stay Keto!

[AnnieW55 in reply to Sheperdess]

Are you in the USA? Only asking because if so then you are correct. But in the UK, Europe, Australia the net carbs are already in the carbs figure - there’s no deduction for fibre.

[Hidden]

Sorry, I must be even thicker than I thought. I don't get it.

If you have something that is (theoretically) 100% fibre, and something that is 100% carbs (without any fibre), mix them together in a bowl in the same quantity, then surely the resultant mix will be 50% fibre, 50% net carbs?

How would that differ from being eaten at the same time, which was the original question?

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

It's because fibre is a carb, it's just not counted as a carb in terms of keto. What your example has is 2 foods that are 100% total carbs, but one is net 0% and the other is net 100%.

You need to ensure that when you are reading nutritional information, you determine whether it is telling you the net carbs or the total carbs. If you are taking net carbs and deducting fibre again, then you're technically double counting the fibre.

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

So if you mix something that is 100% net carbs with something that is 100% fibre, and sell the mix as a new food, what is the net carbs of that new food?

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

Unfortunately you're comparing net carbs with net carbs.

Let's look at it this way: a food item has 20g total carbs, of which 0g is fibre, this gives you your theoretical 100% carb item.

Your 100% fibre item would still have 20g total carbs, but 20g of that is fibre. That gives a net carb total of 0g.

Combine the 2 food items and you still eat 20g of net carbs.

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

I get that the amount of actual carbs remains unchanged by the addition of something else that was full of fibre, but my assumption was that you'd be eating half as much as you would, i.e. it's a meal of a finite size.

So there would be 20g net carbs in total in the mix, but they have been watered down and as a result I'd only eat half compared to what I would have if I'd not mixed in the high fibre ingredient.

My mate would eat the other half, unless it was very tasty in which case he wouldn't get a look in, and we'd get 10g net carbs each, wouldn't we?

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

Well yes, if your total dish has 20g of net carbs and you only eat half the dish, you only eat half the carbs...

[Subtle_badger 16Kg IF 72hrs in reply to Hidden]

50%.

Assume you had 50g of sugar, and 50g of pure fibre:

in Europe the label would show 50g carbs and 50g fibre

in US it would show 100g carbs and 50 g fibre, and possibly 50g net carbs.

(I wrote it, so i am posting it, even though its been answered!)

[Hidden in reply to Subtle_badger]

What about UK?

[Subtle_badger 16Kg IF 72hrs in reply to Hidden]

Europe includes the UK in this case.

Australia and NZ do the same as Europe. I think Canada follows USA

[Hidden in reply to Subtle_badger]

Oh blimey I didn't realise that.

I'm in the UK and I've been deducting the fibre from the carbs shown on the label to get net carbs.

So to be clear, the carbs on a UK label is actually the net carbs (and you do not deduct the fibre)?

[Cooper27 in reply to Hidden]

Yes, that's correct. UK only uses net carbs easy mistake, I did it for the first few days too.

[Hidden in reply to Cooper27]

Thanks Cooper. Forum's are so great, you learn all the time.

[Subtle_badger 16Kg IF 72hrs in reply to Hidden]

yup. i got caught with this the other way. i created a recipe with lentil etc in a food app, and it came up with negative calories or negative carbs, i can't remember which.

i could not convince them this was a serious bug.

[AnnieW55]

Not sure if Subtle_badger is around at the moment so I’ll answer. Yes , in the UK the “sums” are already done for us. The carb line on the packet/wherever is the net carb figure and the one to use - no deducting of fibre needed.

[Hidden in reply to AnnieW55]

Thank you.

[amykp]

The answer is no, you cannot.

In the US when you read the package, you subtract fiber carbs from overall carbs IN THE SAME FOOD--in other words, if you eat cauliflower and it says 5 grams carb per cup, 2 of them fiber... it means that cauliflower has 3 useable carb grams per cup.

In the UK they do the subtraction for you. The package would say carb 3 gram, fibre 2 gram. You do not get to subtract that fibre from anything else.

Beets are iffy on keto--you can eat a bit. Lentils are NOT keto. 1/2 cup contains more carbs than you should eat in an entire day, and that's AFTER you've subtracted fiber. (I sadly love red lentils too, and I savor a tiny nibble when my DH orders them in a restaurant! :o)

[shawnner]

Great question!

Just my 2 cents... It doesn't work that way ;-). The food containing processed and/or low fiber carbs will quickly convert to glucose, then create insulin . Insulin is the hormone that stores fat. Ultimately, carbs will make you hungry for more and decrease your odds of weight control success. I think it's best to try to limit them as much as possible. I forgot to mention... The fiber in carbs makes it digest slower, spiking insulin less and therefore storing less fat. Just my thoughts, didn't want to sounds preachy.