DEAR DOCTORS: I had lunch with a co-worker, and she's on a keto diet. She says she can have only 35g of carbohydrates per day. The label on the candy bar she was eating said it had 26g of carbs, which is almost her whole carb budget. But she said it only had 6g net carbs. What does that mean?
DEAR READER: For those who aren't familiar, the aim of a keto, or ketogenic, diet is to severely limit the amount of carbohydrates you take in each day. Your body uses the carbs you consume as fuel. It converts them into glucose for immediate energy needs, and stores the excess in the liver as glycogen. The ease and speed of using carbs for energy makes them the body's preferred energy source. But when deprived of adequate carbohydrates, the body will begin to burn fat. This is a biochemical process known as ketogenesis. It's not as efficient as using carbs, so the body saves it as a plan B.
