So I've been hearing a lot lately about net effective carbs or effective carb count. This is the number of carbs you're left with after subtracting fiber. Some people subtract other things like sugar alcohols and such, but that could get pretty complicated. One other interesting note is that hydrogenated starch (the stuff that's in Jello Pudding) is actually able to be subtracted according to this theory since it does not raise blood sugar.
In short, one part of this theory is about fiber. A carbohydrate is only "effective" if it can be utilized by the body for energy. Since fiber is a carb that passes through the body undigested, it can be subtracted from the total carb count. An example would be a bowl of veggies, which has 8 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fiber. So this theory says that the veggies actually have 4 grams of effective carbs.
Another part of this theory deals with foods that raise blood sugar (or glucose) levels. Since the goal of a low carb diet is to eat in a way that doesn't raise blood sugar levels, this theory says that you can subtract certain sugar alcohols and other products that don't result in effecting blood glucose levels. This is where you get into subtracting counts for sugar alcohols and all that mess.
For sanity's sake, I think I'll stick with the fiber subtraction method. Might as well get on board since I've noticed that Net Effective Carbs are actually being put on food labels of products that I buy in Walmart!
For now until it's definitely decided upon that it's real, I think I'll just stick to my number of carbs I want. And feel good about being possibly lower. I think this could easily just become an excuse for me to eat more carbs. But it is interesting.
:)
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