If you are counting carbs, you must keep your carb intake within a certain range for each meal. Counting carbs can help you lose weight and control your blood sugar. Controlling your carb intake can help prevent your blood glucose levels from showing drastic changes throughout the day. Fiber, though an important carbohydrate, does not count toward your daily carbohydrate total.
Net Carbs
The rule of thumb for carb counters eating fiber is to subtract the fiber from the total carbs. When you are counting carbs, you must calculate something called net or effective carbs for each meal. These are the carbs that have an impact on your blood sugar, and fiber is not one of them.
What Is Fiber?
Fiber is a different kind of carbohydrate. Your body does not have the capacity to fully break down the compounds that hold fiber together. For this reason, fiber is never fully broken down or absorbed during the digestion process. Instead, it passes through your digestive system, absorbing water and bulking up your stool, until it is excreted.
Calculating Net Carbs
Counting carbs involves calculating the total amount of carbs your body is actually digesting and absorbing with each meal. To do this correctly, you must take out the non-digestible carbs, consisting of fiber and glycerin, which is also not absorbed. Looking at a food label, find the total carbs in each serving. Then look at the total dietary fiber content and the glycerin content if it is listed. Simply subtract the total amount of fiber and glycerin from the total carb count, and you have will your net or effective carbs.
Benefits of Fiber
Americans are encouraged to eat between 25 and 30 g of fiber per day. However, if fiber isn't digested or absorbed, you may wonder why it is a necessary part of the diet. Just by passing through your digestive system, fiber can benefit your body in several ways. It keeps the digestive system healthy and functioning properly. It also works toward stabilizing blood glucose and controlling weight, which are usually two important goals of a carb counting diet. Fiber slows down digestion, which attenuates the release of glucose into the blood, making for a slower rise in blood sugar level. This effect also controls your hunger, helping you to avoid overeating.
Member Comments