When you count carbs, and the carb count for a certain food is given including fibre and excluding fibre, i'm assuming that it's the latter number you use, since the fibre passes through your body. am i correct in thinking this?

yep!
 

Fiber, for the most part, is indigestible... but good for ya.

hi m,
 

Generally speaking, you're thinking correctly...;)

However, some food labels don't follow this "rule". The manufacturer has already subtracted the fiber grams, so the "total" carbs showing are in fact carbs AFTER fiber subtracted. You have to do the math - look at the calories per serving, and work out how many calories contributed by protein (4 cal. per gm) and fat (9 cal. per gm). The number of calories leftover, divide by 4 to get the actual grams of metabolically significant carbs. Federal regulations for food labelling are being tightened, so these inconsistencies will soon no longer be a problem.

I can't think of the name brand, but there has been a brand of cracker that showed 6 carbs and 6 gm fiber...... wow, 0 effective carbs!! Wrong... :(

Read those labels, and happy lowcarbing.

Doreen

Doreen is absolutely right! And as well there is one more thing to consider just to make it even more confusing for you. There are two types of fiber both insoluble and soluble and its pretty hard without testing to know how much of each is in the fiber.

I find it easiest to just count the whole carb amount listed. But best of luck to you!

Tinakaye
203/128/128
http://tinabelle.tripod.com/lowcarb.html

thanks for the info
 

i think to be on the safe side, i'll 'pencil' the fibre carbs in - i'll just be a bit more cautious of them from now on. what got me thinking about it was looking at a bag of pistachios i bought - the fibre content accounted for 52% of the total carb grams.

Good thinking, I would rather err on the side of safety as well! Best of luck to you!

Tinakaye
203/127/128
http://tinabelle.tripod.com/lowcarb.html