Net Carbs Defined

There is not an official government definition of Net Carb at this time. In our software programs Net Carb is defined as:

Net Carb = Total Carbohydrate - (Dietary Fiber + Sugar Alcohol)

If the Dietary Fiber and/or Sugar Alcohol values are missing (unknown) from food item data, the Net Carb calculation will treat the missing value(s) like zeros. For example, if both the Dietary Fiber and Sugar Alcohol values are missing, the Net Carb value would be equal to the Total Carbohydrate value, which may over-represent the Net Carb value. It is therefore important to also look at the Dietary Fiber and Sugar Alcohol values of foods and recipes when assessing the Net Carb value.