I was wondering if someone could answer a question for me. I have a favorite recipe that has flaxseed meal in it. Bob's Red Mill lists flaxseed meal as total carbs 4 g and fiber 4 g for 2 tablespoons. https://www.bobsredmill.com/catalog/...product_ID=175

The box of flaxseed meal that I bought at the grocery store lists it as total carbs 8g and 8g of fiber for 1/4 cup.

CalorieKing.com lists it as total carbs 4g and 4g of fiber for 2 tablespoons.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/foo...95056&partner=

In Dr. Atkins book New Diet Revolution on page 76 he tells us to take one tablespoon of wheat bran or flaxseed meal to help avoid constipation. I quote- "You can also take one tablespoon of coarse wheat bran or flaxseed meal. Although it's derived from grain, course brand is pure fiber and therefore it too contributes zero to your carb count. You can sprinkle bran over your vegetables or blend flaxseed meal into a shake."

So when I make food with flaxseed meal used as my flour I count the carbs for the flaxseed meal as 0, is this correct or not.

Every time I post a recipe with the count for flaxseed meal as 0 I ALWAYS get some one chiming in to tell me that the carb count for the flax is wrong.

Does increasing the amount of flax ingested change the carb count? Should I count some carbs for this meal? Please help me figure this out.

Well, Betty, all of those carb counts for flaxmeal agree, and even Dr. A says it is zero carbs. I have always counted it as zero, and only count the stuff I add when I make flaxmeal cereal.
So, when someone says your count is wrong, do they say why? Have they given another count for it, and provided their source? I would be interested to see this, as well.
I know that when I first discovered flaxmeal, I couldn't believe that something so versatile and filling could be so low in carbs, and good for me. But until someone proves to me that my count is wrong, I'm gonna keep counting it the way I do.

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Trina

Vice-President of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

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Cheftrina-
They usually site the USDA nutritional on-line data (below) for flax seed, (0.81g carbs after subtracting the fiber) but it's for the whole seed. The USDA doesn't give a count for the flaxseed meal.

Which only raises another question in my mind. How can you get any kind of nutritional value out of a seed that if you eat it whole it passes right through you unchanged?

Seeds, flaxseed
New Search Scientific Name: Linum usitatissimum
NDB No: 12220
Nutrient Units 1.00 X 1 tbsp 12g

Proximates

Water g 1.05

Energy kcal 59

Energy kj 247

Protein g 2.34

Total lipid (fat) g 4.08

Ash g 0.42

Carbohydrate, by difference g 4.11

Fiber, total dietary g 3.3

Sugars, total g 0.13

Sucrose g 0.10

Glucose (dextrose) g 0.03

Fructose g 0.00

Lactose g 0.00

Maltose g 0.00

There you go. As I understand it, flax seeds are only digested if they are chewed, or eaten ground. And if they aren't digested, what difference does it make how many carbs are in them? You don't absorb those carbs anyway.
I ran the USDA figures through my hidden carb calculator, and came up with 3.2 grams per tablespoon. That does not take into account subtracting the fiber, so it seems that zero is correct. So maybe their figures reflect what is actually in the seeds, and not what we absorb? I'm not sure. I'm a little math challenged, lol.
In any case, the count, according to USDA, is less than 1 gram of carbs per tablespoon, or less than 2 1/2 for a quarter-cup. Pretty minimal, I would say. Maybe, on the product label, they are rounding down, as they are allowed to do? Splenda packets list their carb count as zero, but I count one each there; it's too easy to go overboard on them. But I can't imagine overeating flaxmeal cereal; it's way too filling.
It is an interesting question, Betty. What do you think?

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Trina

Vice-President of the Intergalactic Order of Brussels Sprouts Haters

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I think that when you grind the seeds that the shell, which I assume is the fiber part of the equation, is so much greater in mass than the meat of the seed that they cancel one another out.

I can't think of any other explanation. Calorieking.com uses USDA data for it's nutritional information, they don't sell any of these products, they have no reason to lie about the nutritional information.

I've seen news reports on how they come up with the nutritional profile of a food. It starts with the item being thrown in a blender until it's mush. So it would have the same profile whether it was flax meal or seed. Since flax is 80% fiber it certainly is an acceptable choice in any recipe.

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Rob-
I can see how the USDA number for the carbohydrate count 4.11 could be rounded down to 4 but would they be able by law to round 3.3 for the fiber up to 4? And if they are able to do this legally why does Dr Atkins state in his book New Diet Revolution on page 76 that wheat bran and flaxseed meal "contributes zero to your carb count"

I'm not trying to be argumentative here I really want to know why, and if I can't figure out why weather or not it really matters.

I can't answer that question Betty, I just don't know. Have you tried emailing Atkins or Bob's red Mill? They might be able to provide a precise analysis of carbs/fiber. My point is only that if in doubt count the higher number. But unless you're eating a full cup of flax meal the carb count will fit into almost anyone's diet.

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I think I'll do the email thing.

Thank you for your time.
Betty