Karen, I was wondering if you 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/fo...=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 someone 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.

No, the carb count stays the same, no matter how much you eat.

Flax does contain carbohydrates, but they are minimal. The packagers have rounded up the fiber count so when you subtract the fiber from the carbs, its 0.

For the exact count, it depends on the source of information. The USDA Database has flax seeds at 4.11 grams carbohydrate and 3.35 grams fiber. The Flax Council of Canada says 3.0 and 3.0 respectively BUT the flax meal has 2.3 and 2.2.

Flax is a plant food, and all plant foods contain carbohydrates and fiber. I don't like to refute Dr. A, but bran is not pure fiber either.

I think it's always good to err on the side of caution and the truth generally lies somewhere in between so I count each Tbsp. of flax as 1/2 gram of carbohydrate.

Karen

I think that sounds like a safe bet.
Thank you for your time.
Betty

Thanks for this information - I am making the carrot cake recipe and that makes a difference of 2 carbs per slice!

PecanPie

Pecan Pie-
Please let us know how you liked the carrot cake.

HI - Made it today and DH and I both really like it. I thought it was a little dry (maybe I cooked it a bit too long - or it could be that I needed to try and adjust it for high altitude) but taste was great - I think 8 servings is too few though as it is quite rich so I cut it into 12 - I used a 2 quart casserole - same as an 8x8 but oblong.

We plan to make this for our bbq next month!

PecanPie

I'm glad you liked it, this is one of my favorites.

I've always lived on the Texas Gulf coast so I have no idea what to tell you about cooking at high altitudes.

Good luck with your BBQ.
Betty

Thanks, Betty - As a rule, I don't worry too much about the high altitude for most things (we live in the Mile High City!) but I know baking is different. It doesn't matter - we loved the cake. It is like the flaxseed muffin recipe I got from this board. They are the closest I have ever come to making a dark rich "bran" muffin like the kind you buy in the stores.

Thanks again,
PecanPie

Just want to add a note about Bob's Flaxseed Meal. There is .76 carbs per 2 tbsp according to their company. Its minimal but can add up.