Some questions about food nutrition labels

[Kal20]

Hi guys,

First I would like to start off with saying that although I am posting on this forum I dont have diabetes however I try to ensure that I'm frugal with my sugar intake, especially after my weight loss journey I'm trying to ensure I know what I'm putting in my body.

I am however having some difficulty reading some of the nutritional value labels e.g ASDA Mexican Style Classic Medium Salsa has 3.7g of sugars per 100g (4.7g carbs) however also contains Modified Maize Starch which I have heard is the same as sugar. In this case does the 3.7g of sugar include the modified maize starch? If not how do I evaluate if this item of food is ok or bad for me to eat.

Another thing I noticed over on the Diabetes categories was people mentioning things like Shredded wheat has made their blood glucose level spike up, I have shredded wheat on a daily basis as the label indicates 0.7g of sugar per 100g however the carbs is 69g per 100g, does this mean that it is just as bad as eating some sugary cereal like Crunchy nut clusters which has 67g of carbs (31g of sugar) ?

As you can see , Im a little confused with the food labels.

P.S Apologies about the formatting of this post.

 

[Resurgam]

Sugar and starch are both digested and become glucose in the blood and then are stored as fat in our cells, so yes, most cereals are about 2/3rds carbohydrate, and for most purposes the total carbs is what to take note of.

 

[catinahat]

When carbs are digested they turn to glucose, sugar is a simple carb which gets digested and into your blood as glucose pretty quickly. Shredded wheat on the other hand is a more complex form of carb that your body takes longer to process.

 

[Resurgam]

As digestion of carbs starts in the mouth - I would not put much hope in it being a longer process.
I digest starches pretty quickly - a matter of minutes.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Hi guys,

First I would like to start off with saying that although I am posting on this forum I dont have diabetes however I try to ensure that I'm frugal with my sugar intake, especially after my weight loss journey I'm trying to ensure I know what I'm putting in my body.

I am however having some difficulty reading some of the nutritional value labels e.g ASDA Mexican Style Classic Medium Salsa has 3.7g of sugars per 100g (4.7g carbs) however also contains Modified Maize Starch which I have heard is the same as sugar. In this case does the 3.7g of sugar include the modified maize starch? If not how do I evaluate if this item of food is ok or bad for me to eat.

Another thing I noticed over on the Diabetes categories was people mentioning things like Shredded wheat has made their blood glucose level spike up, I have shredded wheat on a daily basis as the label indicates 0.7g of sugar per 100g however the carbs is 69g per 100g, does this mean that it is just as bad as eating some sugary cereal like Crunchy nut clusters which has 67g of carbs (31g of sugar) ?

As you can see , Im a little confused with the food labels.

P.S Apologies about the formatting of this post.

You can ignore the "of which sugars" and just go by the total carbs (which includes the sugars). The sugars are digested more quickly, so that information can be useful to those who are matching their insulin injections to their food.

 

[Kal20]

Thanks guys, is Modified Maize Starch and other sugar alternatives and sweeteners included in the 'Carbs' value on a nutritional label? So If I see an item of food with low carbs and low sugars however it has sucralose in its ingredients list does that mean the food item has a low amount of sucralose?

 

[Mr_Pot]

Thanks guys, is Modified Maize Starch and other sugar alternatives and sweeteners included in the 'Carbs' value on a nutritional label? So If I see an item of food with low carbs and low sugars however it has sucralose in its ingredients list does that mean the food item has a low amount of sucralose?

The total carbs only includes digestible carbs so Sucralose is not included.

 

[TriciaWs]

Although we count total carbs in the UK as all sugar plus other digestible carbs, the USA food labels include indigestible fibre in their total carb count, so you need to subtract their fibre g/oz from the USA total carbs.