Carbs or "of which sugars"?

[Shazza41]

Hi all. Quick question guys. On food packets / labels, when I am lower carbing do I pay more attention to the carb figure or the "of which sugars" figure? Thanks everyone

 

[ally1]

i,ve no idea but am keen to know

 

[tim2000s]

The Carb figure. Carbs are made up of Sugars and slower acting carbs and you need to count them all.

 

[Shazza41]

Thanks. I'm not no carbing but eating less carbs and it seems to be helping. I had 3 pieces of milk roll and 2 boiled eggs for breakfast and 2 hours later I was 8.9 which is good for me. I'm wondering if I could manage a pitta bread for lunch. I can but try

 

[Kezzer4321]

Hi Shazza, if you have a meter let that be your guide... test before a meal and 2 hrs after and then you can see the affect it has on your BS. I know a lot of people on here can eat things like pitta bread etc if they add things like full fat mayo or butter - the fat seems to slow down the spike.

 

[Ian DP]

I no longer take any notice of the sugar content, just the carbohydrate content. All the sugar content is included in the carb total.

 

[Lamont D]

Add it up of what it says on the packet and if it is over 10% of the total carbs per packet, then put it back on the shelf. If it is under 5% per 100g then that is fine for that item of food then add it to whatever else you are having for that meal. That's if you are low carbing. If you are reducing carbs, then between 5% & 10% are fine. But it all adds up throughout the day.

If you stay away from the high starchy & grain carbs, your actual blood glucose levels will be better.

Use your meter to help you decide if you can tolerate any foods.

Hope that helps.

 

[Shazza41]

Thanks guys. This is so complicated. My sugars were 8.9, 2 hrs after breakfast, 3 slices of milk roll, 2 boiled eggs, low fat mayo and butter. Had nothing since expect for tea / coffee and now it's gone up to 9.3, about 3 and half hours after the 8.9 reading. I would of expected it to go down but what do I know. I've had my pitta bread, ham, cheese and onion so I'll check them again about 5.30 and report back. Thanks everyone.

 

[Lamont D]

Thanks guys. This is so complicated. My sugars were 8.9, 2 hrs after breakfast, 3 slices of milk roll, 2 boiled eggs, low fat mayo and butter. Had nothing since expect for tea / coffee and now it's gone up to 9.3, about 3 and half hours after the 8.9 reading. I would of expected it to go down but what do I know. I've had my pitta bread, ham, cheese and onion so I'll check them again about 5.30 and report back. Thanks everyone.

It's probably the bread that's doing the spike, there are alternatives. If I have bread its Bergen, which is soya and linseed, only a few carbs per slice. It could be the milk in your tea as well, do you use sweeteners or sugar in it?
Did you exercise by going for a walk after you ate, that generally helps.

 

[Shazza41]

I have sweeteners and I didn't do any exercise. How many g of carbs in a slice of Bergen please

 

[Lamont D]

Without looking at the packet it is below 10gm per slice.

It doesn't affect my blood glucose levels at all.

 

[Shazza41]

There are 8g in a slice of milk roll but maybe the soya and linseed in the Bergen lowers the affect of the bread. I can't live without bread. I work in an office. It's just convenient for lunch etc

 

[Ian DP]

Thanks guys. This is so complicated. My sugars were 8.9, 2 hrs after breakfast, 3 slices of milk roll, 2 boiled eggs, low fat mayo and butter. Had nothing since expect for tea / coffee and now it's gone up to 9.3, about 3 and half hours after the 8.9 reading. I would of expected it to go down but what do I know. I've had my pitta bread, ham, cheese and onion so I'll check them again about 5.30 and report back. Thanks everyone.

If you want to get your BG levels down, delete the bread. Eg Egg and bacon with mushrooms and a tomatoe for breakfast will help. Drinking tea with milk within 2hrs of testing will give a higher BG reading (also best to use full fat milk as it has less sugar in it).

 

[Lamont D]

There are alternatives to sarnies
There have been many threads about lunch options at work. I work alone and it is a pain to change your habits for meals, anything from homemade soup, salad etc.
Use your imagination and have a look around.d the forum.

 

[Shazza41]

Thanks all. I think it's about looking for alternatives and breaking those habits. I'll have a good look on the forums

 

[Ali H]

Google swedish low carb buns, they are low carb but high in cals so you have to decide at this juncture whether you are going to go low carb high fat or not as you can't eat high carbs and high fat/cals or else you will gain weight!! To control your blood sugar you do need to lower the carbs though, so if just switching to things like Bergen is sufficient, great.

 

[Shazza41]

Sugars have gone up to 11.4. 2 hours after pitta bread. Don't know if that's good it not. I'll look at those low carb buns. Thanks

 

[Bluetit1802]

Just a tip for testing out whether certain foods are OK or not.

Test immediately before you eat, then again at 1hr after first bite, then again at 2hrs after first bite. Look at the rise. At 2hrs you should be well on your way down again and no more than 2mmol/l higher than when you started. Ideally under 1.5mmol/l. If it's more, then that food needs tweaking, either a smaller portion or none at all. Don't worry too much about a spike at 1hr as everyone would spike then after a carb meal (non-diabetics too) it is the 2hr that is important when you are first starting out.

 

[DeejayR]

11.4 ... ouch. I agree with the aforesaid, you would be better off dumping the bread altogether and then testing for different low-carb varieties till you find one (if you find one) that suits you. I don't eat bread at all because I get spiked by almost all grains. There are always alternatives.

 

[Winnie53]

I like the 1 minute flax bun recipe that mehhh2015 taught me. I slice it and make a sandwich with it: 1 thin slice ham, 2 thin slices provolone cheese, 2 long, sliced sandwich pickles. No need for mayonnaise because the flax and cheese provide the fat.

This sandwich and a variety of salads are my go to foods for work, because I only have 15 minutes to eat.

Recipe...

I put 1 T butter in a small glass measuring cup. I melt the butter in the microwave, typically 15 seconds then 10 more seconds to avoid splatter. Add 1 egg, then 2 T milled flax seed - (I grind 1 T flax seed in a coffee grinder for make 2 T milled flax). Then add 1/4 tsp baking powder, and a pinch salt. Stir thoroughly with a fork, pour into a microwave safe container. I use a round, 5 inch wide porcelain dish with 1 inch sides. Any shape will work. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. It's fun watching it poof!

I remove it from the dish, let it rest for a minute or two, then slice it in half. Sometimes, if I haven't already had a flax bun, I'll toast it and spread cream cheese on it. Yum!