Carbs In Veg?

CF

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For those following LCHF ( my heads hurting working out what to eat, what not to eat etc) do you count the carbs in veg - beetroot and onions seem to be really high and are taking up most of my ‘allowance ‘
 
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Guzzler

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What is your allowance?
 

Metabolism_Boss

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For those following LCHF ( my heads hurting working out what to eat, what not to eat etc) do you count the carbs in veg - beetroot and onions seem to be really high and are taking up most of my ‘allowance ‘
Both onions and beetroot are root vegetables which store starches to power their growth for flowering the year after the plant developed the bulb or root that is the starch storage organ. Your body rapidly converts the starch from these roots into glucose. For this reason, those on a low carb diet avoid most root vegetables. Seeds also store starch and so peas and beans should be eaten in moderation. Cabbage, kale, broccoli, spinach, asparagus and other leafy green vegetables are fine. There is a further complication that some of the carbohydrate content of these leafy vegetables is insoluble fibre, which you can't digest, but are excellent for your digestive tract. For these vegetables look for "net carbs", as this is the figure for the amount of carbohydrate present that you can digest and convert to glucose. In a nutshell, leafy greens can be eaten as often as you like, peas and beans very moderately and the root vegetables in small quantities or not at all. You will need to test with your meter to find out how much you can tolerate.
 

Brunneria

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Short answer :D:
I counted carbs for just long enough to get my head around good/bad/hidden carb foods.
Then I stopped counting and started focusing on making my food as enjoyable as possible while keeping blood glucose in range.

On the very rare occasion I count carbs (periodic checks to avoid the dreaded carb creep) i am almost always under 20g a day.
When I stray, it is with full awareness and a meter to hand.

If you eat to your meter, you really don’t need to carb count. Just adjust your portion sizes up or down to get your blood glucose where you want it. No need to overcomplicate things. Unless you want to log everything on spread sheets and micro manage. Some people love that, and kudos to them. But it bores me to tears. Fortunately, I am diet controlled, so insulin and carb ratios are not (yet) a required part of my life.
 

Hotpepper20000

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I have had 42 or lower A1C since 6 months after being diagnosed and lost 50 pounds in 10 months without ever counting carbs in above ground vegetables.
I cut out all grains and most root vegetables.
I tested my BG before and two hours ( sometimes three) after meals and know what I can and can’t eat. Grains are off limits for me. No matter how little the portions.
Testing is the best way to know how you react to a specific carb.
 
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Robbity

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I very much agree with @Brunneria - and when I was first diagnosed I learned to watch, if not necessarily actually count, all the carbs in whatever I ate, veggies or otherwise. As far as I'm concerned carbs are carbs, whatever their source, so I avoid all higher carb food including starchy root vegetables.

After nearly five years I now know what and how much I can or should eat, and will generally only look at carb content if I intend to eat something new.

And as far as I'm concerned a meter is a vital tool in managing my diabetes. If you are T2 you may be given all sorts of (often daft!) reasons why you shouldn't test, so end up like many of us having to fund your own meter and test strips.

Robbity
 
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britishpub

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do you count the carbs in veg

The short answer is yes.

Word of caution, check the source of the nutritional information you are using, as if it is US based the carb figure quoted will be higher than it actually is because they include the fibre (fiber)

PS. 100g of Onion is between 6-7g of carb...............you must be eating a huge amount of Onions :hungover:
 
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rhubarb73

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Getting a meter and testing before and 2 hours after every meal will help educate you about how your body reacts to different foods. It is worth it. Codefree is a popular brand because of price but there are others. If you search the site there are several threads with guidance on buying and using meters.
Personally I don’t count carbs or calories. I do eat beetroot a bit and other roots. I don’t eat potatoes, grains, bread and minimal sugar.
This approach may or may not get you back in the green zone but you’ll need to test and experiment to find out. Lots of great food choices though so enjoy the ride.
 
M

Moggely

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If your doing LC. No rice, pasta, bread, cereals,cookies, and so on. But hey, I'm not that experienced .:hilarious: Ask the experts. Also agree with most of the above.
 

Mr_Pot

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And turnips at 2g/100 :)
I assume you mean these.....
images

Do you have a cunning plan how to cook them?
 

Terrytiddy

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daisy1

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@CF

Hello CF and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
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pollensa

Guest
For those following LCHF ( my heads hurting working out what to eat, what not to eat etc) do you count the carbs in veg - beetroot and onions seem to be really high and are taking up most of my ‘allowance ‘

As I understand, yes your probably correct, refer to onions in your post particularly, I did not realize at first the humble spanish white onion has some carbs, naive silly me, its all about trial and error and knowledge, I came across information that if one substitutes these in any dish with onion scallions, long onions with green tails, the fact the white bulb part at the end is smaller than using a standard onion, is better, as the green parts of the scallion, i.e. still onion and tastes as onion has very little if any carbs, so a good sound healthy compromise, what do I use now.....only scallion style onions......
 

Shirley N.

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24
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
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Not being able to walk in the Dales any more. Not being able to eat some of my favourite foods any more.
I think there are two alternatives when managing blood sugar levels on a low carb diet.

Either cut out anything with added sugar, bulk starch foods like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice and all root vegetables and see if you can maintain satisfactory blood glucose levels on that. Some people are lucky. This appeared to work for me at first and I lost a lot of weight but then my weight loss got stuck and my HbA1c reading went back up.

The alternative is to set a target daily intake of carbs and to weigh everything that contains any carbohydrate at all. One can eat what one likes within this restriction. Many tables of carb content are available online, I use fatsecret.co.uk and low-carbdiet.co.uk mainly. Usually one needs the carbs per 100 g figure. The formula, which one can set up on a spreadsheet to save time, is: carbs per 100 g x weight in g / 100, e.g. 25 g of lettuce has 2.8 per 100 g carbs i.e. 2.8 x 25 / 100 = 0.7 g carbs.

This degree of accuracy is necessary to stay within any seriously low carb limit. All vegetables have a significant carb content if one eats enough of them to satisfy hunger. This tends to push the diet towards increased fat consumption in order to maintain healthy energy levels without exceeding the target limit for carbs.

I agree this regime can be tiresome; one sometimes forgets to weigh things properly and has to estimate, which is very inaccurate when I do it. One does eventually get into a routine though and one learns the carb values of everyday foods of by heart even at my age (69). I am now losing more weight and my blood glucose levels are pretty good. The only thing that keeps a food off the menu is its price, not its carb content. I'm quite a good cook and am modifying old recipes to leave out the carbs. But I cannot yet make a decent cheese sauce without a little flour - it just goes too greasy.

Regular blood glucose readings act as an essential discipline to prevent back-sliding. It is easy to kid oneself one is keeping to a diet when one isn't really. And one does have some time off when one is on holiday or out for meals, when I will just leave out boring things like bulk carb foods, plus biscuits and cakes.

I know this will not be a short term fix but my way of life for the future. Hence the importance of getting blood monitoring test strips and lancets available to all people like me who have problems with a diet containing normal amounts of carbohydrates. We are saving the NHS money on medication in the short term and hopefully the cost of treating future complications. A stitch in time etc.

I wish I had known about low carbohydrate high fat dieting years ago, long before I had any health problems.