However, just because a food has more fiber doesn’t guarantee it has an overall more nutrient-dense makeup. The only real nutritional impact of being aware of net carbs is it may help you choose foods that are higher in fiber, which can help improve your digestive health and decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease. In either case, though, a doctor should be monitoring any severe carbohydrate restriction. This could be the case if you have hard-to-manage diabetes or a certain neurological condition that calls for this diet, like a seizure disorder. If you need to watch your blood sugar or stick to a ketogenic diet, you might benefit from considering net carbs. If someone with diabetes took insulin based on total carbs without considering fiber, they might have a higher chance of ending up with low blood sugar. In particular, people living with diabetes can benefit from focusing on net carbs carbs from fiber do not impact blood sugar since they aren’t absorbed by the body.

If you’re working to lose weight or build muscle, factoring in net carbs can help since your body isn’t absorbing certain carbs for energy (aka, calories). WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF FOCUSING ON NET CARBS? Here, experts take sides on whether or not counting net carbs is worth your time:

While some nutrition professionals view net carbs as distracting or misleading, others argue they’re well worth considering.

Because you aren’t absorbing these carbs as energy, they “don’t count.” For example, a protein bar with 15 grams of carbs, 9 grams of dietary fiber and 2 grams of erythritol would have a total of 4 net carbs.

Net carbs are calculated by taking the total amount of carbohydrates in a food and subtracting dietary fiber and sugar alcohols (low-calorie sweeteners like erythritol and xylitol) which, theoretically, aren’t digested by your body. An invention of food marketers, net carbs emerged with the low-carb and keto diet craze as more people started counting ( and avoiding) carbs in the hopes of losing weight. While setting calorie goals and balancing macronutrients are largely tried-and-true tools, one metric is a bit more controversial.Įnter net carbs, aka “impact carbs” or “active carbs,” a category of carbohydrates that’s increasingly marketed on food packaging. If you’re trying to lose weight and eat healthier, chances are you’re well aware of the benefits of logging your food.

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