What Are Net Carbs Exactly?
These are the carbs known as DIGESTIBLE carbs. Net carbs are the ones our bodies can absorb, including both simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs contain one or two sugar units linked together and are found in foods like fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, honey and syrup. Complex carbs contain many sugar units linked together and are found in grains and starchy vegetables like potatoes.
When you eat a carbohydrate food, most of the carbs are broken down into individual sugars that your body can absorb. However, some carbs can’t be broken down into individual sugars or can only partially break down to be absorbed. These include fiber.
Because of this, most fibers can be subtracted from total carbs when calculating net carbs. Example if a cracker has 10 grams of carbs but 8 grams of fiber your body processes 2 grams of carbs plus all the benefits of fiber. FUN!
How does fiber work in our bodies?
Most of the fibers we consume are known as soluble fiber which dissolves in water and forms a gel that slows down food movement into the colon and can help make us feel full longer.
While the soluble fibers are in our gut, they are fermented into short-chain fatty acids (just like the GOOD FAT we ask you to eat, ANOTHER CLEAN CUT WIN!). These fatty acids help keep your gut healthy (and we’ve told you a health gut = a healthy you, your gut is actually known as your second brain.)
Many studies have shown that soluble fiber may lead to better blood sugar control, increased insulin sensitivity (which means the correct message is being sent from the brain to the gut) and even better skin.
We knew fiber was good for us but here’s a quick look at how good it is! Just another Clean Cut tool to manage cravings, cheats, weight loss and management and and and….
SO much more to come on FIBER!
READ MORE at Clean Cut Fitness & Nutrition by Lori Sawyer & Caren Boscaino.
