Low-Carb Food Grade: Helping You Find Healthy Low-Carb Foods

Sue Heikkinen, MS, RDN, CDCES, BC-ADM, ACE-PT - Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist

Need help finding healthy low-carb foods? MyNetDiary’s Low-Carb Food Grade feature can help you plan and evaluate your low-carb diet.

The lowdown on our Low-Carb Food Grade and how it helps identify healthy low-carb foods

Our Low-Carb Food Grade tool helps you choose the best healthy, low-carb foods out there. It is a spin-off version of our original Food Grade feature and is enabled when you select our Premium Low-Carb plan.

The Low-Carb Food Grade assigns foods a letter grade with these attributes:

A - Best foods
B - Good choices
C - Ok in moderation
D - Limit

Here is an example of Low-Carb Food Grade displayed for two food entries:

Development of the Low-Carb Food Grade

A team of registered dietitians reviewed the nutritional value and low-carb suitability of hundreds of foods for a low-carb diet. The dietitians rated the foods on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 indicating the best healthy, low-carb foods. A mathematical formula was developed based on these food ratings and the nutrition profiles of the foods. This formula calculates the Low-Carb Food Grade for every food a user enters.

Negative factors: Carbohydrates, trans fat, saturated fat
Positive factors: Dietary fiber, protein, unsaturated fat

Limitations of the Low-Carb Food Grade

Foods with similar grades may have significant nutritional differences that the Low-Carb Food Grade does not measure.

The Low-Carb Food Grade may not emphasize your individual nutrition goals. For example, sodium is not a significant factor in the Low-Carb Food Grade. However, it might be important for you to limit it.
The formula is based solely on nutrition information shown on the Nutrition Facts label.

Tips for using the Low-Carb Food Grade

Focus on your overall choices. Don't get discouraged if you eat a few foods with low ratings.
Carbohydrates have the most significant effect on the Low-Carb Food Grade. Even though some high-carbohydrate foods may be healthy by other standards, they may have a lower rating on the Low-Carb Food Grade due to the carbohydrate content.
Portions still matter, even for highly rated foods.
If you do not find the Low-Carb Food Grade helpful, you can hide it by going to “App Settings,” typing “Food Grade” in the search bar, and deselecting “Show Food Grade.”