Wellness

How to Calculate Net Carbs: Total Carbs vs. Net Carbs

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Dec 21, 2021 • 3 min read

Whether you’re following a ketogenic diet or want to know more about nutrition, learning how to calculate net carbs will show you how much of your daily total carb count converts into usable energy.

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What Are Net Carbs?

Net carbohydrates refers to the total amount of digestible carbs contained in a food that your body can break down into glucose and use for energy. This dietary category measures the amount of carbohydrates contained in your diet—in both processed and whole foods—which your body can digest. These carbohydrates include simple carbs (like the starches in wheat, potatoes, veggies, refined carbs, and sugar) and complex carbs (like whole grains and legumes).

Net carbs do not include dietary fiber and sugar alcohols, which your digestive system cannot break down. Instead, they pass through your body without becoming energy compounds.

Net Carbs vs. Total Carbs: What’s the Difference?

Net carbs refers to the digestible grams of carbohydrates contained in a given food or in your diet. Total carbs refers to the total amount of carbohydrates that a food contains, including carbs from fiber, insoluble starches, and sugar-free sweeteners, not all of which your body can digest and turn into energy.

On most nutritional labels and ingredient lists, total carbohydrates will include fiber and sugar alcohols, which may or may not factor into net carbs as well. However, your body cannot digest many of these substances and turn them into energy in the same way that it can with net carbs. Sugar alcohols such as xylitol, erythritol, mannitol, and lactitol are not included in your net carbs. However, you can include sugar alcohols like maltitol, isomalt, and sorbitol in your net carb intake.

People who count net carbs (like those monitoring their blood sugar or doing the keto diet) do not include the grams of total carbs from fiber and some sugar alcohols in their daily estimated carbohydrate intake.

Why Count Net Carbs?

Here are a few reasons that a person may decide to count net carbs.

  • Diets: Counting net carbs can be important for people who are following diets that require them to manage their carbohydrate intake. Dieters on a low-carb diet, Atkins, or the keto diet typically limit their net carbs to be below a daily recommended level. If you’re considering going on a diet, work with a registered dietitian to calculate a healthy intake of net carbs for your body and lifestyle.
  • Bodybuilding: Athletes like bodybuilders who are looking to bulk up on lean muscle and cut fat may count net carbs. They will monitor their diets to maximize the effectiveness of their workouts, and net carbs are important to help them figure out how much energy their body has to burn.
  • Blood sugar: Counting your daily amount of carbs and distinguishing between carbs from sugars, dietary fiber, and complex carbs is important for people monitoring their blood sugar and people with diabetes. Understanding the specifics of carb intake can help manage blood sugar levels, monitor the glycemic indexes of different foods, and determine the amount of insulin that people with diabetes need.

How to Calculate Net Carbs

Calculating net carbs involves subtracting the grams of fiber and sugar alcohols contained in a particular food from the amount of total carbs. Most food manufacturers will list nutrition facts on the food labels of packaged foods, which will list total carbs along with grams of fiber and sugars. Use these figures to calculate your net carb count.

Healthy Questions

Functional foods are whole or fortified fare that can potentially provide health benefits when consumed as part of a regular diet. Since these foods have yet to be legally defined, it’s important that consumers research any claims related to nutritional value and consult an accredited nutritionist or dietician before incorporating new foods into their diets. This article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not a substitute for nutritional advice from a trained professional.

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