It's something I struggled to find clear information about when I first started researching flax seeds for the low carb diet food blog. I've written a couple of posts about flax seed already but in this article I'd like to focus on this particular question.
Basically the answer to the question "does flax seed contain carbs" boils down to this: "Yes it does, but so few that a lot of people discount them altogether when doing carb counts".
The best place to find accurate information about the amount of carbs contained in flax seed and just about any other food is the website for the US National Agricultural Library. They list the following details for 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed meal:
Scientific Name: Linum usitatissimum
NDB No: 12220 (Nutrient values and weights are for edible portion)
- Nutrient Units 2.00 X 1 tbsp, ground (14g)
- Water g 0.97
- Energy kcal 75
- Protein g 2.56
- Total lipid (fat) g 5.90
- Ash g 0.52
- Carbohydrate,
- by difference g 4.04
- Fiber, total dietary g 3.80
The figures we are interested in are the 2 listed under carbohydrate:
"by difference - 4.04" and
"total dietary fiber - 3.80"
Now 4.04g for 2 tablespoons is pretty far from zero, but we have to remember that although dietary fiber is a carbohydrate, on a low carb diet we subtract fiber from the carb count of our meals because it is not digested, and doesn't affect blood glucose levels. In other words, it is a carbohydrate that goes into our bodies and then comes out again without being absorbed, so we can ignore it.
This means that our carb count of 4.04 becomes.24! In other words: tiny. Some people go further though and round the numbers: 4.04 is rounded down to 4.00, and 3.80 is rounded up to 4.00. Now when we do the calculation we arrive at 0 net carbs - a low carb dieter's dream! Although its not really "0", most of us will not eat enough flax for this small amount of carbohydrate to make a big difference in our diet.
Just in case you're wondering, the percentage figures for flax look like this:
"by difference - 28.88" and
"total dietary fiber - 27.3"
Giving us 1.58g of net carbohydrates per 100g of flax seed meal. If you're eating flax seed in these quantities (for example, in baking) you will need to be aware of the carb count and add it to your calculations.
Now, it's important when asking "does flax seed contain carbs?," to realize that not all flax is created equally, and that the values listed at the National Agricultural Library may not pertain to the particular brand of flax meal you are using. So, if you want to know the net carb count of the particular flax seed that you're using, check the label on the packet, and go with the manufacturer's figures (sorry for stating the obvious:)).
