Carbs and Fibers

[daryop]

Is this calculation correct to figure out the dose?

Carbs = 35
Fibers = 5
Net Carbs = 35-5 = 30 Carbs.

[jentoe_22]

That is the calculation I have been using for a very long time. But I am not sure if it is correct. :)

[tanyatype1]

Looks good to me! I only subtract the fibre though if it's 5 or more grams.

[Cyborg]

I always subtract fiber...

[kgm0612]

I very rarely substract out the fiber from the total carbohydrate count. It has to be over 10g fiber before I do.

Cyborg............do you subtract even if there's only 1g of fiber?

Karen

[notme]

I never subtract for fiber. I will end up with high blood glucose if I do. I am sure it is different for everyone. I do think your calculations are correct if you subtract for fiber.

[Scratch]

I subtract out the fiber.

[Cyborg]

Cyborg............do you subtract even if there's only 1g of fiber?
Karen

Yes, even if it's only 1g of fiber...

[Dervish]

I very rarely substract out the fiber from the total carbohydrate count. It has to be over 10g fiber before I do.

Cyborg............do you subtract even if there's only 1g of fiber?

Why the threshold? Fiber is still fiber and interacts with your body the same way regardless of how much or how little there is, no? (If there is a threshold, doing it as a percentage seems more rational to me than a fixed amount - I would think it's more sensible to subtract the fiber in something with 5g carb/4g fiber than something with 100g carb/10g fiber. This would also avoid any games that may be played with serving sizes.)

And I'm with Cyborg, at least for now. I always subtract fiber, but I'm only a month into this, so I may find that not subtracting it or only subtracting a fraction of it works better for me.

[tanyatype1]

If my insulin to carb ratio is x/10 (dinner) then eating something with 5 or more grams of fiber is going to change how much insulin that I need to take to cover the remaining carbs. On the other hand, if my ratio is x/15 (breakfast) and I eat something with only 1 or 2 carbs, then I hardly have to change my amount of insulin. I rewrote this 3 times and I feel like I'm still not being articulate! LOL! It makes sense in my world!:)

[panda1076]

I always subtract out fiber (and I subtract 1/2 the sugar alcohols).

tanya, I understand what you are saying... if the fiber is such a small percentage you don't worry about it. and depending on what your ratio is for time of day, that percentage is different. I think the same way for snacks. If it's the morning, when my ratio is 1:45, I don't let 5 or 10 carbs bother me as a snack. but if that same snack was at dinner time, that would be half a unit, so i would dose for it.

[kgm0612]

For some reason, subtracting the fiber count of anything less than 10g doesn't work for me. I don't eat many food items that contain high fiber counts, so it's usually not a subtracting issue for me.

For example. Over the weekend I ate a Thomas's Light Multi-Grain English Muffin for breakfast with butter. One muffin contains 100 calories, 22 grams total carbohydrates, 8 grams fiber. I do NOT subtract the fiber out because two hours after eating I will test high and then two hours after that I will be within range.

Saturday 9am: 86 before, 165 at 11am, 90 at 1pm.
Sunday 8am: 85 before, 174 at 10:15am, 90 at noon

Had I subtracted out the fiber for the above example, I would have been much higher than the 165 and 174 two hours later. My guess is that I would have been into the 200's.

Monday 8:15am: 1/2 an english muffin and a small Dannon carb & sugar control yogurt. 75 before and 100 at 10am.

I'm best sticking with 1/2 an english muffin and a yogurt for breakfast, rather than an entire muffin.

Karen

[Dervish]

For some reason, subtracting the fiber count of anything less than 10g doesn't work for me.

OK, fair enough. I know better than to argue with empirical data. :)

[sugarfree76]

I don't subtract for fiber.
I just make sure I have enough of something else...

[Cyborg]

For some reason, subtracting the fiber count of anything less than 10g doesn't work for me. I don't eat many food items that contain high fiber counts, so it's usually not a subtracting issue for me.

For example. Over the weekend I ate a Thomas's Light Multi-Grain English Muffin for breakfast with butter. One muffin contains 100 calories, 22 grams total carbohydrates, 8 grams fiber. I do NOT subtract the fiber out because two hours after eating I will test high and then two hours after that I will be within range.

Saturday 9am: 86 before, 165 at 11am, 90 at 1pm.
Sunday 8am: 85 before, 174 at 10:15am, 90 at noon

Had I subtracted out the fiber for the above example, I would have been much higher than the 165 and 174 two hours later. My guess is that I would have been into the 200's.

Monday 8:15am: 1/2 an english muffin and a small Dannon carb & sugar control yogurt. 75 before and 100 at 10am.

I'm best sticking with 1/2 an english muffin and a yogurt for breakfast, rather than an entire muffin.

Karen


Since the fiber does not contribute to bg, perhaps you need to increase your morning I:C ratio...

[Clint]

I cant subtract fiber either.. as I will end up high.

[ant hill]

I'm about to do carb counting and i have had a dietition told me that fiber don't do anything to influance the glucose cost so by having 10 carbs and take away 5 fiber don't just give you 5 carbs. Lately i have lernt that the white bread is loaded with carbs so the cheese and bacon buns are full of it!! :eek: :confused:

[xMenace]

Since the fiber does not contribute to bg, perhaps you need to increase your morning I:C ratio...


I'd bet there's something to this. If a person always eats more-or-less the same foods every meal, this discrepancy will not be discovered. By changing carb types and quantities, one would expect variances.

Basically most of our measurements are not fine enough to make these fine adjustments. Take a slice of bread for example. How many of us take a standard count of 15 or 20 grams per slice? When you weigh these suckers, you'll find they can range from 12g to 27g. And that's for a standard loaf.

While I'm slowly moving towards this finer level of counting, most just estimate. I would never have in my younger years.

[Mich]

I never subtract for fiber, but I do a combo for the percentage to last over an hour or an hour and a half. On MDI I had to do a booster injection about an hour into it.

If I do subtract, I always get a late hit of glucose.

If I am snacking, I am stacking boluses like crazy and have to give myself a clear 3 hours at some point to make sure I am still on target.

Mich

[HelenM]

Its interesting,I've seen this come up so often but I never consider fibre because its already subtracted on food labels and carb count books. In the UK its usually listed separately, in France many products don't include any count at all. Having said that I do find that largely vegetarian meals (high fibre) do make a difference taking longer to digest and that I often go low at 2 hours with a higher reading at 4 or 5 hours.

I wonder is carb counting always that acurate, or just what we think is right, and through experience works for us?

[Rebecca]

According to the AACDE if a product contains LESS than 6 grams of Fibre you do not remove it from the amount of carbohydrates, but if it DOES, then you are to subtract HALF the amount..
say a product is 30 grams of carb (cho) and has 5 gms of fibre, you count ALL the fibre in the carbs.. but if it has 10gms of fibre, you subtract 5 of those from the cho for a total of 25.