Anyone who’s weighed and measured their food while tracking macronutrients is familiar with the concept of ‘net carbs.’ Take the total carbs, subtract the fiber, and you’re left with net carbs, which is all you need to track. The practice traces back to the concept that the human body cannot digest fiber and turn it into calories, so while technically carbohydrates, they shouldn’t be counted in your macronutrient totals.

This makes sense when eating whole, unprocessed foods, like cauliflower or broccoli, which is why the concept was first introduced by the Eades. Unfortunately, a similar process began to be adopted by food manufacturers, who started replacing regular sugars with sugar alcohols, which are less absorbable but still maintain their sweet flavor. However, these highly processed ingredients come with their own downsides, and ultimately derail people from making long-term changes toward a real-food diet.

“When you start to game the system with sugar alcohols and other processed, chemically-altered Frankenfoods, all bets are off.”