The Value of the 20% Rule

What is the 20% rule? This is the general rule that helps you determine what the appropriate level of carbohydrates to consume. You are going to compare the level carbohydrate levels to sugar levels. This can be a tricky thing for the average person to calculate, but luckily, there is an easy way to figure this out.

The first thing to do is to identify the total carbohydrates line on the nutrition label.

In the case above, you will take 36 grams and calculate 20% - which is equal to 7.2. Compare this to the amount of sugar in the label above, which is 6 grams. If the grams of sugar are higher than 20% of the carbohydrates, that is a food to be avoided. In this case, since 6 grams is less than 7.2, this food is an acceptable choice to eat.

Let’s look at one more example. Suppose you have a cookie. That has 22 grams of carbohydrates and 28 grams of sugar. The fast way to calculate the 20% is to move the decimal point in the carbohydrate number one (22 goes to 2.2) and then multiply by two (2.2 times 2 equals 4.4). In this case, you have 4.4 as the carbohydrate number and 28 grams of sugar – not an acceptable food to eat. Another quick way to know that this is unacceptable is that the sugar is higher than the total carbohydrates so it must be a bad food.

Exceptions

As with any rule, there are exceptions and dairy is that exception. Milk and cottage cheese have a high carbohydrate to sugar ratio, but the sugar is not the same type of sugar that is found in other foods. Sugar in dairy products is actually lactose. Lactose actually behaves like a complex carb and not a sugar, thus the exception to the 20% rule. This should not be confused with soy milk, which often does not meet the rule.

This is a quick way to know if the carb choice you are making a good one or a bad one and can help grocery shopping a much easier process.