Oldvatr
Expert
- Messages
- 8,453
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Over the past 5 or so years, while I have been following the principles of a Low Carb Diet, there have been some foods that have spiked me significantly higher than the listings on the label would account for, I also have a meter that seems to be more sensitive to some food component that other meters I have used do not reflect. I have for some time now suspected an added ingredient in the food that is not what I as chief chef and bottlewasher would normally use.
I used to think it was Monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is used as a thickener in gravy and is one of those items that has to be declared in the USA but not in European or UK listings. It is a hidden sugar that gets added to processed meals, and which is often listed as emulsified starch or stabiliser.
But my recent (n=1) experiment has identified another component that gets added as a stabiliser and sweetener that does not have to be declared as such and which is not classed as a sugar or a carb. It is a common substitute for both sugar AND fat so is more useful than MSG, especially with the current search for Low Fat, Low Sugar . Low calorie foods.
My experiment comprised a beef steak with veg which would not normally raise my sugars by much. I repeated the same meal the following night, but omitted the gravy. My results were
With Gravy my pre meal / 2hr PP /4hr PP results were:
With my Navii meter = 6.7 / 9.3 / 6.6
With my Caresense = 5.7 / 7.8 / 5.4
Without gravy the readings were
With my Navii meter = 6.6 / 7.4 / 5.6
With my Caresense = 5.4 / 6.9 / 4.5
The pre meal starting points were both similar, so this reduces error differences due to %age reading systemic effects. As can be deen the gravy seems to be responsible for adding about 1 mmol/l offset to both of the post prandial results on both meters. It also seems to push my Navii readings up by an extra 1 mmol/l which the Caresens ignores. This is an effect I have been noticing on both my Navii and my SD Codefree when compared against my Caresense (and historically my previous meters)
Back to the OP. Gravy contains a component that raises my blood sugar. So I looked up the ingredients, and discovered that number #2 on the list of ingredients is maltodextrin and since ingredients are normally listed in order of importance, it would seem that maltodextrin is a significant player.
I fould this treatise on Maltodextrin which seems pertinent to my connundrum
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/the-health-hub/food-drink/food/what-is-maltodextrin/
I also discovered that Maltodextrin is also listed as an e number in the range e1400 - 1500 which is allocated to the dextrins as a group. They are all starch derivatives used in the food industry as stabilsers, flavour enhancers, and they are also shown as high GI (range 80-120) compared to table sugar at 69
Now I know why my chow mein dinner the other night spiked me and why chop suey is so deadly. It is not the noodles, it is the sauce.
Remember that these additives are not classed as sugar, so do not appear in the nutritional section as sugars, they are also not classed as carbs. The chow mein meal I had the other night was listed at 10 gm per pack carb, and 0,5 g sugar. Ny Navii registered a 13.4 peak which is way above what I used to register for this same meal in the past. It tasted different, and I suspect it has been doctored to meet some new audience other than weight watchers. Now I know why my faggots or liver + bacon meals are no-no's as are my beef slices in gravy.
I used to think it was Monosodium glutamate (MSG) which is used as a thickener in gravy and is one of those items that has to be declared in the USA but not in European or UK listings. It is a hidden sugar that gets added to processed meals, and which is often listed as emulsified starch or stabiliser.
But my recent (n=1) experiment has identified another component that gets added as a stabiliser and sweetener that does not have to be declared as such and which is not classed as a sugar or a carb. It is a common substitute for both sugar AND fat so is more useful than MSG, especially with the current search for Low Fat, Low Sugar . Low calorie foods.
My experiment comprised a beef steak with veg which would not normally raise my sugars by much. I repeated the same meal the following night, but omitted the gravy. My results were
With Gravy my pre meal / 2hr PP /4hr PP results were:
With my Navii meter = 6.7 / 9.3 / 6.6
With my Caresense = 5.7 / 7.8 / 5.4
Without gravy the readings were
With my Navii meter = 6.6 / 7.4 / 5.6
With my Caresense = 5.4 / 6.9 / 4.5
The pre meal starting points were both similar, so this reduces error differences due to %age reading systemic effects. As can be deen the gravy seems to be responsible for adding about 1 mmol/l offset to both of the post prandial results on both meters. It also seems to push my Navii readings up by an extra 1 mmol/l which the Caresens ignores. This is an effect I have been noticing on both my Navii and my SD Codefree when compared against my Caresense (and historically my previous meters)
Back to the OP. Gravy contains a component that raises my blood sugar. So I looked up the ingredients, and discovered that number #2 on the list of ingredients is maltodextrin and since ingredients are normally listed in order of importance, it would seem that maltodextrin is a significant player.
I fould this treatise on Maltodextrin which seems pertinent to my connundrum
https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/the-health-hub/food-drink/food/what-is-maltodextrin/
I also discovered that Maltodextrin is also listed as an e number in the range e1400 - 1500 which is allocated to the dextrins as a group. They are all starch derivatives used in the food industry as stabilsers, flavour enhancers, and they are also shown as high GI (range 80-120) compared to table sugar at 69
Now I know why my chow mein dinner the other night spiked me and why chop suey is so deadly. It is not the noodles, it is the sauce.
Remember that these additives are not classed as sugar, so do not appear in the nutritional section as sugars, they are also not classed as carbs. The chow mein meal I had the other night was listed at 10 gm per pack carb, and 0,5 g sugar. Ny Navii registered a 13.4 peak which is way above what I used to register for this same meal in the past. It tasted different, and I suspect it has been doctored to meet some new audience other than weight watchers. Now I know why my faggots or liver + bacon meals are no-no's as are my beef slices in gravy.
