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Mackerel

fatary said:
Is smoked mackerel high in carbs and what about other oily fish?
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Holy Mackerel!!!! Sorry couldn't resist, it's a common expression in my neck of the woods. :-) The thing about Mackerel is it's very oily but it's good fat not bad fat so assuming you like the taste - your body will likely thank you for that. We eat baked mackerel and it has no affect on my Blood Sugars.
 
Mackerel is probably one of the best fish for you - but definitely check the tinned stuff which may be covered with high carb sugary sauces! It's good for you - full of oils including a high percentage of omega 3, and is ideal as part of an LCHF diet. It's also easy on the pocket, usually being one of the cheapest of the fresh oily fish that you can buy - others being salmon, trout, tuna.

@fletchweb - baked mackerel with onion and tomato used to be a staple dish on my basic (but well pre-diabetes!) diet when I was first married and completely broke!

Robbity
 
If I want to know how many carbs in a certain food, I just google "carbs in ...". The results are usually pretty good. Although one thing that has caught me out is food that is high in fibre. For example, dates are 75% of carbs but 8% of this are fibre which is not digested. So, you only need to consider 67% of carbs.
I know this is still high in carbs (and most of it is sugar) so not ideal for a LCHF diet - it is just an example. Bran flakes is another example ... but less yummy.
 
Smoked mackerel is high calorie [typically 302kcal/100g] but is very filling, aids satiety and is a useful part of a LCHF diet. It also provides typically, 2g of EPA & DHA per serving. The omega-3 content could be useful if you're totally Statin intolerant, such as myself. My main reservation is that smoked foods should not be eaten too often as the smoking process is carcinogenic.

I think tinned mackerel, in tomato sauce is a good option. A 125g tin contains no added sugar, only minimal C/H from the tomato and 168kcal/100g with 3.4g omega-3 per can.

I would avoid tinned mackerel in oil, which is likely to be sunflower oil [omega-6].
 
helensaramay said:
If I want to know how many carbs in a certain food, I just google "carbs in ...". The results are usually pretty good. Although one thing that has caught me out is food that is high in fibre. For example, dates are 75% of carbs but 8% of this are fibre which is not digested. So, you only need to consider 67% of carbs.
I know this is still high in carbs (and most of it is sugar) so not ideal for a LCHF diet - it is just an example. Bran flakes is another example ... but less yummy.
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You need to be aware that the US and UK measure the carbs in their food stuffs differently - the USA include fibre in their total, and this then gets to be subtracted to give "net carbs". In the UK we record fibre separately so it shouldn't ever be subtracted from our total carbs figure. It can sometimes make a big difference, so you really need to know which system you are looking at.

Robbity
 
fletchweb said:
Holy Mackerel!!!! Sorry couldn't resist, it's a common expression in my neck of the woods. :) The thing about Mackerel is it's very oily but it's good fat not bad fat so assuming you like the taste - your body will likely thank you for that. We eat baked mackerel and it has no affect on my Blood Sugars.
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That's great because I love and eat it at least 3 times each week. Thanks.
 
mist said:
Tinned tuna is my go to..:D

Praise be John West..:p
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Ha ha! I always remember a few years ago when I took a mackerel and tuna salad into work - the reactions of my colleagues were hilarious - couldn't stand the smell! Mind you, I do remember a lady who used to bring hard boiled eggs in for breakfast - yuk! To each their own!
 
Nicksu said:
Ha ha! I always remember a few years ago when I took a mackerel and tuna salad into work - the reactions of my colleagues were hilarious - couldn't stand the smell! Mind you, I do remember a lady who used to bring hard boiled eggs in for breakfast - yuk! To each their own!
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I like to spread mayo onto half a hard boiled egg and then roll it it tuna chunks..:D

It's a fishy scotch egg! :p
 
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