How to calculate net carbohydrates for weight loss

The calculation of net carbohydrates may have increased to the popularity due to low carbohydrate regimes, but the technique can teach us all a lesson on food quality.


Additional Reporting by Kelsey Hampton, MS, RDN, LD, CSSD

In recent years, you may have begun to notice the term "net carbohydrates" in graph graphics and bright on the front of food packages.

Count net carbohydrates is a concept that has been around for a very long time. In fact, one of the first uses of calculating net carbohydrates was intended for those who take insulin to handle their diabetes.

So, why there are recently so many net carbohydrate advertising manufacturers, and why are your friends and family reset on their new favorite protein bar "0 grams in ice"? It can be attributed to the rise of theKeto diet as well as the power to stay fromLow carbohydrate schemes.

Despite their connection with many diets, net carbohydrates are relevant to all. Calculation of net carbohydrates Provides a number that can help you understand and decipher (for the most part) Good quality food products at the store and can even help youlose unwanted body fat.

(In touch:8 groceries who can soon be in the short diet.)

What are the net carbohydrates?

The calculation of net carbohydrates is a way to measure carbohydrates that your body actually has digests. The "total carbohydrate" line on each label of nutritional facts indicates the total amount of sugar, fiber and other carbohydrates in a food. The thing is that your body does not treat all these carbohydrates in the same way.

  • Carbohydrates is a macronutrient that contains four calories per gram. Carbohydrates consist of long chains of sugar molecules.
  • Alimentary fiber is a form of carbohydrates; However, your body does not dike the fiber. It does not therefore provide calories like other forms of carbohydrates.

When you take the total amount of carbohydrates in the food and subtract food fiber that does not contain calories, you get, drum roll please, net carbohydrates, which are the remaining carbohydrates containing calories.

Total carbohydrates - Fiber = Net carbohydrates

Essentially, net carb theory is that some carbohydrates do not need to be accounted for as carbohydrates for the day.

For example, there are 40 grams of carbohydrates in a cup of cooked quinoa and 5 grams of fiber.

40 grams total carbohydrates-5 grams fiber = 35 net carb grams. This quinoa cup has only 35 grams of digestible carbohydrates containing calories.

Why would you like to calculate net carbohydrates?

The calculation of net carbohydrates provides a more accurate number of nutrients containing calories in the foods we consume.

Several reasons could choose to calculate net carbohydrates:

  • Diabetics use net carbohydrates for assuling their insulin.
  • You can use net carbohydrates to lose weight by identifying low calorie foods.
  • TheKeto diet Requires low carbohydrate consumption to drive the body in a state of ketosis.

How to use the power of net carbohydrates to lose weight.

To lose weight, you need to create a caloric deficit by increasing burned calories and reducing the ingested calories. When counting net carbohydrates to lose weight, you can start by reducing the total calories you consume. The reduction of total calories naturally reduces your carbohydrate intake.

You can also use net carbohydrates to identify foods to eat more. You can do it by choosingHigh fiber foods; More fiber in a carbohydrate food product, the lower the net network.

Let's use an example of white rice, quinoa and black beans. They all contain about 40 grams of carbohydrates by a cup (cooked) with various amounts of fiber.

Since each of these food has a different fiber content and essentially the same carb, it means that they all have different quantities of CARB net.

  • White rice: 44 g Total carbohydrate number - 0.5 g fiber =43.5 g net carb
  • quinoa: 40 g total carb - 5 g fiber =35 g net carb
  • Black beans: 40 g total carb - 15 g fiber =25 g net carb

As you can see, black beans have the lowest quantity of net carbohydrates per serving. White rice has the most.

The individual tries to reduce carbohydrates to lose weight should more often choose the lower carbohydrate beans more often than other starches. In doing so, you will consume fewer digestible carbohydrates that bring calories and impact on blood glucose.

Almost all carbohydrate restriction regimes, including Keto and Atkins, focus more on limiting net glucidity rather than reducing the total number of carbohydrates.

Let's move the difference between fiber and sugar alcohols.

Another ingredient that you may have noticed on nutritional facts, especially foods made likeprotein bars and sugar-free drinks, sugar-free candies and sugar-free gum - is sugar alcohol.

Sugar alcohols are used in processed foods to add sweetness while providing fewer calories than table sugar. They can provide fewer calories than sugar because sweet spiritsare incompletely digested. Remember that fiber is not digested at all. These sweeteners are also very different thanalimentary fiber, like many of them are not natural.

Sweet types of alcohols include:

  • Erythritol
  • Sorbitol
  • Maltitol
  • Mannitol
  • Xylitol

Similar to fiber, you can subtract the sugar alcohols from the total gram of carbohydrates to calculate net carbohydrates. However, the body does not treat all sugar alcohols in the same way.For most sugar alcohols, You can only subtract half of total sugar alcohols into the net network equation. Other sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) are not digested, so you can subtract the full gram.

Total carbohydrates - Fiber - (sugar alcohol) / 2 = net carbohydrates

Fiber provides many advantages into the body apart from being a non-digestible carbohydrate. Fiber can helplower cholesterol,Improve digestive regularityand helpRise.

Sugar alcohols can serve as a form ofprebiotic To power good bacteria in your digestive tract, which is an advantage, but they are also known to cause bloating, diarrhea and gas, and long-term use is not conclusive in terms of health problems.

RELATED: The scientific way tobrake your sweet tooth in 14 days.

Calculate healthy carbohydrates or a useful method for losing weight? Do you want to recommend it?

The calculation of net carbohydrates can be useful for a person who tries to lose weight because it encourages the consumption of high quality food, namely the fiber. As a general rule, foods in their natural fiber natural state will be among the best quality options with respect to those with similar carbohydrates and fewer fiber.

Looking at the fiber content in treated articles, you can also help you determine a better quality option. The next time you are at the store trying to decipherwhich whole grain cracker is the best, look for the one that provides most fibers per serving.

Moreover, those who eat a high fiber diettend to weigh less than those on a low fiber diet. The American Heart Association recommends consuming 25 grams of women's fibers and 38 grams ofFiber per day For men, so that counting net carbohydrates or aimed at reaching a minimum amount of fiber every day, the two options will probably help you make improvements in your nutrition.

Conclusion

The calculation of net carbohydrates can be beneficial for weight loss, weight maintenance and improving food quality quality. We do not have an amount defined on the net carbohydrate network that an individual should have in a day; Rather, this number is specific to your objectives, at the level of related activity and health conditions.

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