No legal definition for "low-carb" foods exists. The January 2004 issue of the University of California-Berkeley's Wellness Letter says food and drink manufacturers take advantage of this lack of regulation to make questionable claims about "low carb" foods, manipulating fiber content to create a confusing "net carbs" number. The FDA classifies a food with a "high" nutrient content, such as "high-protein," as one that provides at least 20 percent of the recommended daily recommended value, or DRV, of a nutrient per serving, while a "good" source of a nutrient contains 10 to 19 percent of your DRV. The FDA considers a food that provides less than 5 percent of a nutrient's DRV to be a "low" amount of that nutrient.
Step 1
Calculate the percentage of your daily calories you wish to come from carbohydrates. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that more than half of your daily calories come from complex carbohydrates for good health. If you wish to follow a diet that provides you with less than that number, determine the exact percentage.
Step 2
Read nutrition labels to determine the amount of carbs in the product. Nutrition labels provide the number of grams per serving, and the percentage of RDA of carbs the product provides. For example, the USDA recommends you eat 300 g of carbohydrates each day if you are on a 2,000-calorie diet. If a food has 10 percent of that number, the nutrition label will read, "Total Carbohydrates," then list "30 g," followed by "10%" under the "% Daily Value column." If your daily carbohydrate goal is 150 g, this product would have 20 percent of your DRV for carbohydrates--30/150 = 0.20.
Step 3
Use online research tools such as LIVESTRONG's My Plate to research the nutrition information in foods you eat. Type in the name of a food or drink and read the nutrition information, provided in the same format as the FDA-required nutrition labels on packaged goods.
Step 4
Perform an Internet search using the terms "low-carbohydrate," "low-carb foods" and other similar phrases to find websites that list low-carb foods. Evaluate the website using the "About Us" or similar link to determine if the site is credible. Low-carb foods come mainly from animal products such as meat, fish, poultry and dairy products, and nuts, seeds and some legumes.
Visit your library or a bookstore to find books that list low-carb foods.
Step 5
Compare the nutrients in animal products against each other to choose lower-fat, lower-cholesterol foods. For example, coldwater fish such as tuna, mackerel, salmon or halibut have less saturated fat and cholesterol than beef and are rich sources of cholesterol-fighting omega-3 fatty acids.
Things You'll Need
- USDA food intake pattern chart
- Nutrition labels
- Online calorie research tools
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