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Net carb content of vegetables?

Alexandra100

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,802
Location
West Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I was shocked to come upon this list of the net carbs in vegetables and find that per 100g even avocados (2.22), mushrooms (2.26) and broccoli (4.04), which I had been regarding as almost carb free do contain a significant amountt of carbs, particularly from the perspective of anyone trying to live on 30 carbs or less a day. Do people following a keto diet abandon all vegetables except cucumber? Elsewhere I see that even celery "costs" 1 carb per stick. To me, celery is pretty unappetizing and only acceptable as a "free" gift.

http://mark3000.com/ketogenic-diet-experiment-overview/net-carbs-in-vegetables-per-pound-100-grams/
 
Alexandra100 said:
I was shocked to come upon this list of the net carbs in vegetables and find that per 100g even avocados (2.22), mushrooms (2.26) and broccoli (4.04), which I had been regarding as almost carb free do contain a significant amountt of carbs, particularly from the perspective of anyone trying to live on 30 carbs or less a day. Do people following a keto diet abandon all vegetables except cucumber? Elsewhere I see that even celery "costs" 1 carb per stick. To me, celery is pretty unappetizing and only acceptable as a "free" gift.

http://mark3000.com/ketogenic-diet-experiment-overview/net-carbs-in-vegetables-per-pound-100-grams/
Click to expand...

I don't call those carb contents significant amounts, and quite honestly everything has some amount of carb in it, if only a trace. (Lettuce has some carbs). In the days when I was counting carbs etc. I counted everything including vegetables. I still managed to keep my carb count down under 30g. It's a matter of portion control.
 
The "good" above ground vegetables can mostly be ignored when working out your carb unless you are also controling protain. The BG increase from excess protain is likely to be more then from most above ground vegetables.

After all it takes time to eat 1KG of broccoli!

I think this confuse doctors becouse when people say they are eating no carbs, some doctors take it to mean they are not eating any veg. When what we mean by no carbs is mostly nothing with more then 10% carbs and no refined carbs.
 
I must agree that 2-4g carbs/100g is pretty much negligible. You're listed as "other" wrt diabetes type, so how negligible that is ultimately depends on what type of diabetes you have, amongst other factors such as activity levels.

I also question your carb amounts. Here's some mushrooms from Tesco, which seem to have a lot less carbs than your example. The others aren't miles away though:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/280046682
 
Mushrooms can lose lots of water when you cook them, hence cooked mushrooms will have a lot more carbs per 100g then uncooked. Most other foods you don't need to check if it is cooked or uncooked carb count.
 
ringi said:
Mushrooms can lose lots of water when you cook them, hence cooked mushrooms will have a lot more carbs per 100g then uncooked. Most other foods you don't need to check if it is cooked or uncooked carb count.
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Fair point, the majority of carb based veggies and grains we eat will soak up water due to how they're typically cooked.

But still, if you were to eat the 300g punnet of mushrooms that I've linked - it would still only be 0.9g - that's a lot of shrooms... And still negligible, absolutely.
 
I count all carbs as all carbs will raise me. I DO NOT count net carbs because I don't see any difference with the fiber. They still raise me as if it were one carb
Most of my 20 or less a day come from avocado, nuts, lettuce leaves for sandwich fillings, some chopped green onion, radish, asparagus. Broccoli raises me more than many foods so I took that off my list sad as it is.

It is amazing how fast veggies can add up so I keep portions small and choose most of the lowest carb ones.
 
GrantGam said:
Fair point, the majority of carb based veggies and grains we eat will soak up water due to how they're typically cooked.

But still, if you were to eat the 300g punnet of mushrooms that I've linked - it would still only be 0.9g - that's a lot of shrooms... And still negligible, absolutely.
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OK, thanks very much, I shall be buying my mushrooms from Tesco from now on! These lists of carb content seem to me about as reliable as bg monitors. I found one site that claimed there was 0g fibre in broccoli, which is unbelievable. I wonder if people choose one list and stick with it through thick and thin, or shop around for the most favourable / lowedt carb count for each item?
 
Kristin251 said:
I count all carbs as all carbs will raise me. I DO NOT count net carbs because I don't see any difference with the fiber. They still raise me as if it were one carb
Most of my 20 or less a day come from avocado, nuts, lettuce leaves for sandwich fillings, some chopped green onion, radish, asparagus. Broccoli raises me more than many foods so I took that off my list sad as it is.

It is amazing how fast veggies can add up so I keep portions small and choose most of the lowest carb ones.
Click to expand...
Interesting, what you say about fibre counting. To be investigated. I'm still trying to get over the shock of the carb content of onions (and garlic, though a few cloves will not weigh very much). And this morning I discovered that broccoli is much higher than cauliflower, whereas I imagined the converse. As for radishes, as I only ever eat about 3, I shall continue to consider them carb-free. If I find lettuce has significant carb content, it's going the way of celery - to the compost heap!
 
Alexandra100 said:
If I find lettuce has significant carb content, it's going the way of celery - to the compost heap!
Click to expand...

But how much does a normal portion of lettuce weigh? Certainly nowhere near 100g. Yes, it does have some carbs, but so negligible that a whole large lettuce leaf will have an unrecordable amount.
 
GrantGam said:
I must agree that 2-4g carbs/100g is pretty much negligible. You're listed as "other" wrt diabetes type, so how negligible that is ultimately depends on what type of diabetes you have, amongst other factors such as activity levels.

I also question your carb amounts. Here's some mushrooms from Tesco, which seem to have a lot less carbs than your example. The others aren't miles away though:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/280046682
Click to expand...

Grant, I put "other" because I am officially pre-pre-diabetic ie my recent HbA1c was 41. I think I might change that to just "pre-diabetic". Indeed, I quite often see it argued that we should all be considered simply diabetic. (It seems to me that a more important distinction is between T1 and T2, because our lives are different in so many ways). Since being pre-diabetic is already dangerous for the heart, I am taking this very seriously and want to turn it around, if I can, NOW! So I am counting carbs, and currently aiming to keep well under 100 daily, with a view to going lower, reluctantly, if that doesn't bring my home test results down satisfactorily. Incidentally, what would you consider a good target for my bg? I try to be pretty active, which makes things more complicated.
 
Kristin251 said:
I count all carbs as all carbs will raise me. I DO NOT count net carbs because I don't see any difference with the fiber. They still raise me as if it were one carb.
Click to expand...

I think in the UK the carbs per 100g on food packets excludes fiber, but in the USA it includes fiber. So we are mostly using net carbs.
 
ringi said:
I think in the UK the carbs per 100g on food packets excludes fiber, but in the USA it includes fiber. So we are mostly using net carbs.
Click to expand...
Yes, I realize that. This is perhaps the ONE time I like the US better haha. I just count total carbs and adjust insulin accordingly. At DX I was told I could subtract half the fiber. At least I have options.

Alexandra100 said:
Interesting, what you say about fibre counting. To be investigated. I'm still trying to get over the shock of the carb content of onions (and garlic, though a few cloves will not weigh very much). And this morning I discovered that broccoli is much higher than cauliflower, whereas I imagined the converse. As for radishes, as I only ever eat about 3, I shall continue to consider them carb-free. If I find lettuce has significant carb content, it's going the way of celery - to the compost heap!
Click to expand...
I use boston( Bibb / butter ) lettuce. It's lower than romaine but for me it's just softer and easier to wrap around my food and it's not as bitter. Believe it or not a salad of just romaine spikes me. I stay perfectly steady with a boston wrap. I'm not sure if it's the carbs, the fact it bulks out a meal and makes it a larger portion of food or because it's a faster digesting food. No way to know for sure but I do much better with the wraps. Portion control too. My stomach does not appreciate lots of veggies. Lettuce being a primary. If my stomach isn't happy, my bs isn't happy.

I find the softer faster digesting veggies to be more of a problem like lettuce, cucumber, zucchini etc than some of the heartier ones like mushrooms, green beans ( though kind of high carb for me) asparagus ( works great). The rate of digestion tells a different story so it's not just about carb content. If only it were so easy...

As for onion and garlic you could try the powdered. I use garlic infused olive oil ( stomach again) and I only need a little onion for flavor.

Brussel sprouts are ridiculous too. One medium is one carb. One could take me out of a mild hypo. Lol.
 
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