Q: What does net carbohydrate truly mean? My daughter has diabetes and watches her carbohydrate intake to determine her insulin dosage. Can she use net carbs to help plan her diet?

		Mary Alice Gettings and Cindy Javor are registered dietitians for Penn State Cooperative Extension. If you have a question, call 724-774-3003 in Beaver County or 412-473-2540 in Allegheny County. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

A: You are not alone when it comes to confusion about the terms net carbs, effective carbs and impact carbs. These terms, used by manufacturers to capitalize on the low-carbohydrate diet craze, are causing a great deal of confusion among the public, especially those with diabetes.

These are phrases that manufacturers have created but have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This may not be the case for long since the FDA has received complaints and is working to make this label claim clear.

In some of these new products, a few of the ingredients have been altered or replaced to reduce the carbohydrate content. For example, certain ingredients might be added to the recipes that are higher in protein, such as soy flour, fat from nuts and fiber. For this reason, most of these foods are not as low in carbohydrate as the package implies. In fact, the calorie difference from the original to the low-carbohydrate food is minimal.

Sugar alcohols, fiber and glycerin are common in the ingredient list of low-carbohydrate foods. Manufacturers are misleading you when they say some of these ingredients don't affect blood sugar. Sugar alcohols, such as sorbitol and mannitol, provide about half the calories of sugar because they are only partially absorbed. While they don't increase blood sugars as much as table sugar, they still have an effect.

In addition, a high intake of sugar alcohols can cause gas, cramping and diarrhea. When determining the amount of carbohydrate contributed to your diet by sugar alcohols, count half of the grams that are listed from this source on the Nutrition Facts label.

Glycerin is an ingredient that is used as a sweetener and to retain moisture. It does have an effect on blood sugar and should be counted as part of your total carbohydrate intake. Fiber, from whole grain cereals and breads, is an undigested carbohydrate; therefore, it is an ingredient that does not contribute to your total carbohydrate intake.

However, the fiber in fruits and vegetables does contribute some carbohydrate to your diet. The rule of thumb is to subtract fiber if it is more than 5 grams in one serving.

The bottom line is that you should ignore the carbohydrate information on the front of the package and go directly to the Nutrition Facts panel usually found on the side or back of the package. If the Nutrition Facts states that a serving of the food contains 18 grams of total carbohydrate from 6 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 2 grams of glycerin and 6 grams of sugar alcohols, you will have an actual total carbohydrate intake of 9 grams. You would subtract the fiber (6 grams) and half of the sugar alcohols (3 grams) from the 18 grams to come up with an intake of 9 grams.

It is likely that the manufacturer would count only the 4 grams of sugar as the net carbs on the front of the package. This difference can have a significant impact throughout the day for those with diabetes. For those restricting carbohydrates for weight loss, it gives a false sense of the calories you are truly eating. Remember that when it comes to weight loss, you must have fewer calories coming in than going out of your body. A low-carbohydrate food is not necessarily a low-calorie food.