If you're on a low-carb or ketogenic diet, the term "net carbs" should be familiar to you. Any sweet product designed for those on a low-carb diet has the words "net carb" on it, and in theory they should be those actually assimilated by the body and the only ones that have an impact on blood sugar.
Those who start this type of diet are always perplexed by "low carb or "keto friendly" sweets with over 20g of carbohydrates and wonder how it is possible to take them and stay within the daily carbohydrate quota. When it is explained to them that polyols "are not worth " and they can be subtracted and that a brioche actually has only 3 or 4g opens up the fantastic world of sweets with low (net) carbohydrates for them too.
When he seems to have understood that polyols can be subtracted, he then finds someone who explains to him that " Not all polyols are the same , only erythritol can be subtracted" and from there he begins to divide the sweets into "suitable" or not ketogenic diet (which is the most careful in this sense).
When I first became interested in the ketogenic diet I actually thought net carbs were an exact calculation, erythritol subtracts all, maltitol and other polyols about 50%. Then there are the American tables in which the fibers are subtracted but that is a matter that does not concern us except for imported American products.
By purchasing "keto friendly" and "low carb" products from all over the world, I realized that there is no calculation approved by the scientific community to identify net carbohydrates , they are not recognized by the US FDA or EFSA in Europe.
This allows everyone to print the claims they want on the packaging but also to calculate the net carbohydrates as they wish. There are those who count all the polyols as not assimilable (many), there are those who consider xylitol not assimilable since it has a very low glycemic index, there are those who subtract the insoluble fibers ... in short, the Far West.
So? How you do it?
In my opinion the best thing if you follow a diet in which the calculation of the carbohydrates you introduce is fundamental (like ketogenic) is not to abuse it . As you will have understood, this is not a scientifically proven calculation but above all in the long run you risk ruining your intestines (since polyols are not assimilated, they ferment in the intestine).
[multiple sources including WebMD ]
