Ozzie_girl

I did a search on this forum and have copied and pasted a few questions and answers on the topic. All the questions have been answered by ‘Rosebud’ the Aus/NZ forum moderator so I assume she knows what she’s talking about.

For my own purposes I only take into account the carb count as listed next to ‘carbohydrates’. I just ignore the fibre count regardless of how it’s listed or whether it’s listed.


Q Im a bit confused about the useable carbs notion. In australian labelling is total carbs always useable carbs? The distinction between sugar carbs and total carbs doesn't matter does it?

Also in browsing websites about low-carb foods I found one that says something about US labelling laws including sugar alcohols and that the listed carbs of these bars might be around 20 but is really about 1.0g - 2.5g of "effective carbs". Ive been doing atkins and Im hoping someone can help me out of this confusion.

A You're right - it is confusing because some products have the fibre already subtracted (from the total carb count) and some don't.
The only way to know for sure is to do the sums. Just remember that fat gives 9 cals(37.6 kJ) per gram, protein and carbs each give 4 cals (16.7 kJ) per gram. So eg if the total cal count is 38, with fat 2g (18 cals), protein 3g (12 cals), total carbs 2g (8 cals) and fibre 1g, the fibre has not been subtracted, otherwise, the total cals would be 34.

The sugar alcohols, AKA "hidden carbs" are often found in products like low carb bars or chocolates. According to Dr A, sugar alcohols don't give an insulin response, however many people find their weight loss stalls if they use them. It's a YMMV thing. There is more information on sugar alcohols (and on lots of other things) in "Low Carb Tips" on the orange bar at the top of the screen.


Q just a little confused about how you would calculate the carbs of something if the fibre is more.
eg. almonds have 5g carbs, 9g fibre per 100g
so what is the effective carb count?

A If the fibre count is higher than the total carb count, you can be 100% certain that the fibre carbs have already been subtracted.
So the effective carb count will be 5.
BTW, almost all Australian products have the fibre presubtracted.


Q When you read the total carbs on a food label in Australia, has the fibre been deducted?

A As far as I know, yes.
If you're not sure, the way to work it out is to do the little sums.

Protein - approx 4 cals (18kJ) per g
Carbs - ditto
Fat - approx 9 (38ish kJ) per g

So as long as you're given the total calorie or kilojoule count, you can work it out. I've always found the fibre to be subtracted.