Actually, first, what are carbohydrates or “carbs”? In short, they are the sugar, starches and fiber found in foods, both natural and created.
Some foods, mostly sugar, potatoes and rices have a lot of carbs. Some foods don’t even have carbs, like meats, cheeses and pork rinds.
Carbs are a pretty important source of energy for your body. It is important to balance these carbs out for your body to function optimally. I know that I had such an imbalance of carbs for so long that I am now suffering from it in the form of diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Don’t let that happen to you! Or if it already has, come along on the ride with me here!
NET CARBS are the Total Carbohydrates MINUS the Dietary Fiber and the Sugar alcohols.
The Nutrition Facts will usually list Total Carbohydrates with subcategories of Dietary Fiber (sometimes dividing them into soluble and insoluble fiber), Sugars and sometimes Sugar Alcohols or Sugar Alc.
For example:
- A cup of fresh broccoli florets contains 5.0 grams of total carbs and 2.0 grams of fiber. 5.0 grams of total carbs – 2.0 grams of fiber = 3.0 NET CARBS.
- Olé’s Extreme Wellness Spinach and Herbs Tortilla Wraps contains 16.0 grams of total carbs and 11.0 grams of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble). 16.0 grams of total carbs – 11.0 grams of fiber = 5.0 grams of NET CARBS.
- Atkins Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut Crunch Bar contains 17.0 grams of total carbs, 8.0 grams of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble), 2.0 grams of sugar and 6.0 grams of sugar alcohols. 17.0 grams of total carbs – 8.0 grams of fiber – 6.0 grams of sugar alcohols = 3.0 grams of NET CARBS. Notice the sugars were not counted. (And by the way, these bars are delicious. I thought they were going to taste terrible like the old diet bars in the 1990’s… the last time I tried a commercial “diet” concoction… but it didn’t! It is now my go to dessert bar/sweet/movie candy.)
- Atkins Carb Tracker
- Atkins Dine Out
- Carb Calculator
- Carb Manager
I found that I use one or all of these carb apps EVERY day!
Or the ultimate app for those without a phone, a smart phone or who hate using their phones… a carb counter book would come in handy. You can go to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and other book sellers and get books like:
- Living the Low Carb Life Pocket Carb Counter
- The CalorieKing Calorie, Fat & Carbohydrate Counter
- Dr. Atkins’ New Carbohydrate Gram Counter
- The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter
- Carb Charts
- The Official Pocket Guide to Diabetic Food Choices
- Dana Carpender’s NEW Carb and Calorie Counter
- The Diabetes Counter