Eli5: How come Konjac is almost zero calories? Does it not contain any carbs or fiber?

Question

Eli5: How come Konjac is almost zero calories? Does it not contain any carbs or fiber?

In: 115

Answer 1

Konjac is almost entirely comprised of fiber. Fiber by definition is stuff in food that you don’t metabolise when eating it – though confusingly fibers are often carbohydrates. Not all carbs are equal – sugar, flour, starch and wood are all carbohydrates. You can metabolise the first three (albeit at different rates) but you’re unlikely to get much energy out of eating a 2×4.

Edit: Myself and OP are talking specifically about [konjac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konjac) flour products, the most predominant of which is shirataki noodles, often rebranded and sold as a health food or weight-loss alternative to carbs. [Cognac](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognac) on the other hand is a type of brandy, which does contain significant calories predominantly through alcohol content.

Source: I have dietary-controlled type 2 diabetes and differentiating ingredients based on how they affect my blood sugar (and therefore, generally speaking, their metabolisable carb content) is pretty important.