Keto Means
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Does 1g of fiber cancel out 1g of carbs?

While fiber does not cancel out carbs, high-fiber foods are typically digested slower, which makes them less likely to be stored as body fat.

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According to Dr. Len Lopez, who writes for CBN.com, the type of carbohydrates you eat is much more important than the amount. Healthy carbohydrates such as fruit and vegetables are usually high in fiber, while processed carbohydrates typically lack fiber. While fiber does not cancel out carbs, high-fiber foods are typically digested slower, which makes them less likely to be stored as body fat.

Quality Over Quantity

Harvard School of Public Health agrees that it's the quality of carbohydrates that matters most, while the amount is less important. The school notes that processed carbohydrates that lack fiber, such as pastries, soft drinks and white bread, can contribute to weight gain and promote diabetes and heart disease. Instead, the school recommends nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, beans, vegetables and whole grains. These high-fiber carbs rank much lower on the glycemic index and therefore do not cause blood sugar to quickly rise.

The Glycemic Index

The glycemic index is a ranking system that is based on the degree to which carbohydrates cause blood sugar, or blood glucose, levels to rise. According to the American Diabetes Association, foods that rank low on the glycemic index, which cause blood sugar levels to rise more slowly, include 100 percent stone-ground whole wheat, most fruits, nonstarchy vegetables, oat bran, rolled or steel-cut oats, barley and beans. All of these foods are rich in fiber. Foods that rank high on the glycemic index, which cause more immediate spikes in blood sugar, include bagels, white bread, rice cakes, saltine crackers, white rice, macaroni and cheese, pretzels and popcorn. These foods are much lower in fiber.

Fiber, Blood Sugar and Body Fat

The relationship between carbohydrates, fiber and blood sugar levels is important because it can determine how quickly carbohydrates are used by the body as energy or stored as body fat. Low-fiber foods that rank high on the glycemic index quickly cause blood sugar to spike, triggering the release of the hormone known as insulin. Insulin removes sugars from the blood and delivers them to fat and muscle cells, where they can either be used as energy or converted to fat. Low-fiber foods that cause blood sugar spikes allow more of a chance for the body to store glucose as body fat.

Fiber Recommendations

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Does dietary fiber count as carbs on Atkins?

When you follow the Atkins Diet, aka the Atkins Nutrition Approach, you actually count grams of Net Carbs, which represent the total carbohydrate content of the food minus the fiber content and sugar alcohols (if in the product).

When you follow the Atkins Diet, aka the Atkins Nutrition Approach, you actually count grams of Net Carbs, which represent the total carbohydrate content of the food minus the fiber content and sugar alcohols (if in the product). The Net Carbs number reflects the grams of carbohydrate that significantly impact your blood sugar level and therefore are the only carbs you need to count when you do Atkins. Foods that are low in Net Carbs such as nutrient-dense vegetables and low glycemic fruits such as berries don’t have a significant impact on blood sugar and therefore are less likely to interfere with weight loss.

How to Calculate Net Carbs

You can calculate the approximate number of Net Carb grams of a low-carb product yourself by looking at the information provided on a food label:

Net Carbs = Total Carbohydrates – Fiber – Sugar Alcohols (if applicable)

Calculating the net carbs for foods without labels, such as fruits and vegetables, is easy too. The Atkins Carb Counter assists with portioning food and tracking carbs that impact blood sugar. Atkins science allows us to calculate Net Carbs in our products more accurately. In the case of Atkins bars, shakes and other products, the glycemic (blood sugar) impact has been directly tested on volunteers, and the Net Carb count reflects the glycemic load test results. So you can rely on the accuracy of the stated Net Carb count.

Register with Atkins today to learn more about carbohydrates

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