Net Carb

Some kinds of carbohydrates such as refined sugars are absorbed easily and quickly into the body rapidly affecting blood sugar levels. Other carbohydrates such as fiber or sugar alcohols, are absorbed relatively slowly and have less of an effect on blood sugar.

Since a principle of the Atkins diet is to avoid foods that quickly increase the blood sugar level, slowly absorbed carbohydrates are considered to be "OK" in limited quantities and in the long term are to be preferred over foods which have a strong effect on blood sugar levels.

There is no "standard" way of determining the net carbs in a food. Generally net carbs are obtained by taking the total carbs and subtracting off the fibers and sugar alcohols. This number is then used by food manufactures to claim that their brand has "lower net carbs" than some other brand.

Last Modified: Tue, 01 May 2007 08:44:03 GMT