Rounding carbs on food labels & trackers


(Barbara) #1

I’m suspicious of “carb creep” coming from rounding carbs on food labels and trackers. Especially for foods labeled “0” carbs or “<1 carbs”

Dr Berry said Food Companies are allowed to “round down” even if carbs are .5 gm or higher so carbs may actually be .9 and rounded down to “0” or the lowest whole number.

At the FDA site, under the Total Carbohydrate section, it considers <1 gram PER SERVING to be “insignificant”:
< 0.5g - express as zero
< 1g - express as "Contains less than 1g " OR “less than 1g”

or =1g - express to nearest 1g increment
https://www.fda.gov/iceci/inspections/inspectionguides/ucm114098.htm

If I am interpreting the FDA site right, then

  • Zero Total Carbohydrate could be up to almost .5 grams
  • Less than 1 gram could be .9

This might be key to consider especially when eating more than 1 serving of a “Zero Carb” or “Less than 1 carb” food.

I am hoping pork rinds are really 0 Carb since they are only protein & fat. Eating more than one Serving size of 14 g or .5 oz (about 8 servings per 4 oz bag) is more a matter of high Calories than any carbs. As Dr Westman says we don’t need to count calories, but they do matter.
or
is it possible that eating 2 servings could equal 1 carb?

If an item does have ingredients other than proteins and fats and shows less than 1 g Total Carbohydrates, should be counting it as 1 g just to be on the safe side?

When staying at or below 20 g total carbohydrate per day, these half grams can add up especially when you hit a weight loss stall or plateau.


(mole person) #2

Cheese and eggs are both sneaky carb sources too. Every egg and most 1 oz servings of cheeses come in at about .5 grams of carbs.


(Laurie) #3

One brand we buy says zero carbs per serving. I don’t have the bag handy, so I can’t give more details.

The other brand (FritoLay Baken-ets) says 1 carb per serving. But a “serving” is 15 grams (half an ounce), which provides only 7 g of protein. I eat for nutrition, so if I want 20 g of protein I’ll eat 3 “servings” of pork rinds, and if I want 40 g of protein I’ll eat 6 so-called servings (a large bag).

So am I getting 0 carbs in that meal, or 6 carbs? Big difference.

By the way, I don’t consider pork rinds to be high calorie. They have more protein than fat.


(Barbara) #4

Another bubble burst! I just looked eggs up in a food counts book and it said 1 whole chicken egg is .6 :hushed:
I always thought eggs were a “free” food. I knew cheese had to be limited. Dr Westman limits cheese to 4 oz a day but I can’t get away with that much and still lose.

I’m sleuthing my intake, trying to break a 2-month stall and looking for hidden carbs. The rounding thing matters if I plan to take it to 20 g/day. I’ve got 20 to go and I’m sure it’s only going to get tougher but I’m determined.


(Carl Keller) #5

I think it’s safe to trust the 0 carbs on a label, IF the label also says it has zero grams of sugar. In @Ilana_Rose’s examples of cheese and eggs, there are trace amounts of sugar in both of those.

But then again, maybe they are rounding down on the amount of sugar posted on the label…


(Running from stupidity) #6

That is indeed correct.

One of the many great things about Australia is that nutrition panels have to have the “per 100g” amounts, so they can’t make ludicrously small “serving sizes” in order to suit the rounding.


#7

Eggs are a free food, unless you’re eating like 30 a day.


(Cari McAskill) #8

What the Aussie said!

One way I found around this on non-processed things like spices, eggs, etc: look up the amount for 100g. I’ve had ugly surprises come from spices and nuts, even.

I’m only a month in and I’m being super OCD with tracking, for exactly the reasons you’re talking about. I feel your pain.


(Running from stupidity) #9

It’s a great way to learn, indeed.


(Barbara) #10

Why make things simple and easy when you can make them complicated and difficult? It’s the American Way :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
I think I might convert to the Australian method. I don’t mind weighing things for a while until I can eyeball 100 g! Thanks, Juice!


(Barbara) #11

Rounding down is what I fear! I want every Total 20 carbs I can get but no more than that.