Question: I have diabetes. I thought I heard someone say that you can subtract all the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate amount before figuring out the carbohydrate choices for the food. Is this correct?

Answer: The most recent edition of Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes, from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), recommends subtracting half the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate amount when eating foods with more than 5 grams of fiber per serving. For example, if a product contained a total of 8 grams of fiber per serving, you would subtract 4 grams from the total carbohydrate amount. However, if a product contained less than 5 grams of fiber per serving, you would not subtract any of the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate amount before determining your carbohydrate choices for your meal.