What does this wizardry mean for calorie and carbohydrate counters?
Not as much as the marketing would have you believe.
So how do they differ from one another?
Sugar alcohols, on the other hand,are sugar molecules that have been chemically treatedwith hydrogen molecules.
They mimic the sweetness of table sugar but usually have fewer calories than the real deal.
Despite many internet debates, fiber does have calories, depending on the classification of the fiber.
So, neither fiber nor sugar alcohol istrulya zero-calorie food.
So, What Is a Net Carb?
Net carbs are defined by total carbohydrates minus dietary fiber and sugar alcohols.
Net carbs also go by other names: impact carbs or effective carbs.
In other words, manufacturers can say what they want, except explicitly state that a food is low-carb.
Fiber and sugar alcohols interact in the body differently.
Hence, you may even see zero net carbs in some cases.
Therein lies a very sour pickle.
Dietitians recommend that they count sugar alcohols at half the value of the foods total carbohydrate content.
If youre choosing a sugar-free or low-carb version of something because you think theyre more calorie-friendly, think again.
They can still contribute a significant amount of calories when consuming the food as a whole.
In the case of foods with sugar alcohols, these foodsalbeit labeled as sugar-freetypically contain more fat.
(This would be a different story if youre diabetic, in which case Idefer to this resource.)
Dont sweat the difference between the amount of soluble and insoluble fiber eaten either.
While youcansubtract fiber carbs from your total, its much more trouble than its worth.
Stephanie Lee is a geeky health and fitness freelance writer.
you’re free to follow her shenanigans onTwitteror on herYouTube channel.
Title image remixed fromarchetype(Shutterstock).
