To "Net Carb" or not "Net Carb

[Martin Canty]

I was recently part of a FB group about Ketogenic Diets, all the time the die-hard extremists were on about the one & true way of doing a Ketogenic diet, outside of discussion on Macro's & logging absolutely every carb consumed with a religious fervor, that total carbs must be counted.... I left the group....

Roll forward a month or so, I met up with an old friend who I had not seen in ages (she is an RN) the subject of diets came up & it turns out that she is doing Keto, interested in the opinions of a Medical Professional, we had an interesting discussion about carbs. Whereas withholding pretty much all carbs is fine for the induction phase of Keto, for long term sustainability fiber is essential for our diet, something I was very well aware of! Perhaps that's why people are saying that they can't sustain LCHF.
To a strict Keto advocate my diet is a big no-no for being called Ketogenic, it indeed looks more like a lower carb version of a Mediterranean Diet with plenty of fresh veg & not a fat bomb in sight; I find this highly sustainable.

As for the FB group I was on, there was some very dangerous advice being dispensed by non-medical people who have little understanding about complete nutrition.

 

[HOBIE]

There is quite a lot of people who think they are experts. 🙄

 

[Robin]

I was recently part of a FB group about Ketogenic Diets, all the time the die-hard extremists were on about the one & true way of doing a Ketogenic diet, outside of discussion on Macro's & logging absolutely every carb consumed with a religious fervor, that total carbs must be counted.... I left the group....

Roll forward a month or so, I met up with an old friend who I had not seen in ages (she is an RN) the subject of diets came up & it turns out that she is doing Keto, interested in the opinions of a Medical Professional, we had an interesting discussion about carbs. Whereas withholding pretty much all carbs is fine for the induction phase of Keto, for long term sustainability fiber is essential for our diet, something I was very well aware of! Perhaps that's why people are saying that they can't sustain LCHF.
To a strict Keto advocate my diet is a big no-no for being called Ketogenic, it indeed looks more like a lower carb version of a Mediterranean Diet with plenty of fresh veg & not a fat bomb in sight; I find this highly sustainable.

As for the FB group I was on, there was some very dangerous advice being dispensed by non-medical people who have little understanding about complete nutrition.

In the UK, the nutritional info on the back of food packages is always given in terms of net carb, with fibre listed separately, ( I was in the US recently, and had to keep remembering to do the maths) so I'm not sure if people in the UK generally think of fibre as part of their carb load. I didn't think fibre was digested, so why worry about it? We Type 1 carb counters certainly ignore it, because it doesn't affect blood glucose.

 

[Martin Canty]

food packages is always given in terms of net carb, with fibre listed separately

That's probably a good thing..... I certainly have to do the math (but these days I don't even think about it, just read the label & up pops the net carbs unless it looks wrong), also the US labels are in servings rather then per 100g, something that caused me consternation when I was in NZ the other year as I have never thought of food in terms of grams so couldn't picture 100g... Just looked it up, 3.5oz, I may be able to do that....

I do get concerned that people cut fiber out of their diet, potentially causing major health problems outside of constipation.

 

[Mark Parrott]

I used to belong to a keto group on FB, but like you, left as it was getting stupid. You do not count what is not digested! Fibre is vital & should be increased on a keto diet. The keto police treat it as an extreme religion. Very unhealthy.