How should I read food labels so I count the carbs properly?

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requires that the packaging of every
manufactured food product display certain information, including a list of
ingredients—in descending order of weight—as well as a Nutrition Facts
panel. Almost everything displayed on this panel is based on specific
laboratory procedures, called assays, regulated by the FDA. The quantity of
fat, protein, ash and water can all be directly and exactly assayed. (Water
and ash need not be listed on nutrition panels.) But the amount of
carbohydrate is arrived at only after the above four components are
directly computed: In other words, what is not fat, protein, ash or water
is called carbohydrate.

To complicate matters, carbohydrates are comprised of several sub-groups,
which include dietary fiber, sugar, sugar alcohol, and "other"
carbohydrates—a kitchen sink grouping of gums, lignans, organic acids and
flavenoids. (These individual items can be assayed.) The FDA requires that
a nutrition label include the total carbohydrates. The amount of dietary
fiber and sugar must also be listed. However, the law does not require that
other carb sub-categories appear. Some manufacturers voluntarily include
the sub-categories of sugar alcohol and "other carbohydrate."

Not all types of carbohydrates behave the same way in your body. For
example, when your body digests table sugar, it turns immediately into
blood sugar. So sugar and most other carbohydrate is what we call
"digestible carbohydrate." Other carbs, such as sugar alcohol or glycerine,
can be digested but do not turn to blood sugar. Still others, such as
dietary fiber, are indigestible and pass through your body without
impacting your blood sugar level. To date, the FDA has not focused on these
important biochemical differences and treats all carbohydrates alike. This
means that when you look at a food label, you do not see a number for the
carbs that impact your blood sugar level. To do so, simply subtract the
number of grams of fiber from the total number of carbohydrate grams.

We believe that consumers deserve to get all the information they need to
follow a controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach and make healthy
eating decisions. Therefore, Atkins Nutritionals labels include the Net
Grams of carbohydrates (those that impact your blood sugar) as well as
total carb grams. For example, an Atkins Chocolate Mocha Crunch AdvantageTM
Bar contains 19 grams of total grams of carbohydrate as defined by the FDA.
But of that total, 15.5 grams comprise dietary fiber, glycerin and other
carbohydrates that do not impact blood sugar, so the number of carbs that
you need to count when you do Atkins is actually only 3.5 grams.

Tip: If you are planning to have more than what is considered one serving 
(check the label), multiply the adjusted carb count by appropriate number 
of servings.