What Is Net Carbs?
Net carbs are the carbohydrates your body actually digests and turns into blood sugar — calculated by subtracting fiber (and sugar alcohols, where relevant) from total carbohydrates. Staying under 20-50 grams of net carbs daily is the standard threshold for reaching ketosis.
Not all carbohydrates affect your body the same way. Fiber passes through largely undigested, so it doesn't raise blood sugar or interrupt ketosis the way starches and sugars do — which is why low-carb and keto trackers subtract it from the total. The basic formula is: net carbs = total carbohydrates − fiber (− sugar alcohols, if the food contains them). Reading nutrition labels with this formula in mind is one of the simplest ways to keep a ketogenic or low-carb diet on track without obsessively counting every gram.