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Carbs in sardines???

Alexandra100

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,802
Location
West Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I have always believed that fish are totally carb free, so I was shocked to see that Sainsbury's Portuguese sardines in spring water contain 1.2 carbs per 100g. Is this because one eats the stomach contents? Please can anyone comment?
PS I have just checked, and Sainsbury's sardines in olive oil only contain 0.5g carbs per 100g, and in brine 0.8g carbs. So it can't be the stomach contents. And then, Sainsbury's also sell Riga Gold sardines which claim 0g carbs.
 
Switch to Tesco, all theirs are carb free! Even the ones in tomato are only 1.4g per 100g!
 
Rachox said:
Switch to Tesco, all theirs are carb free! Even the ones in tomato are only 1.4g per 100g!
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Yes, but I like sardines either in spring water or in olive oil, neither of which is in Tesco's range. And I just want to know WHY?
 
You could always call their customer care line and ask them the number is 0800 636262
 
Mr_Pot said:
They sell John West sardines in olive oil.
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They cost £1.50 for 2 tins, as against £50p for one tin from Sainsbury's. Also, I can't believe there is really a difference in carb content between different brands of sardines. I think JohnEGreen is right, I should ask Tesco, but somehow I doubt they'll give me a satisfactory answer. IMO we put too much faith in the info. on packaging and also on sites. But, as with our inaccurate meters, it's all we have.
 
The first issue is they are allowed to round down, so 0.8g could be stated as 0g. Then it will depend on the time of year you catch them, the fish you choose to test etc. Clearly other than any source that has been added all sardines are very low carb.
 
Why don’t you try the Sainsbury’s sardines in spring water and find out what impact they have on your BG?
I assume the purpose of knowing exactly how many carbs are in them is to avoid the spike. They may not cause a spike so the number becomes academic.
As has been said many times on this forum, we are all different and react differently to different foods so the best way to find out what works for you is to try it.
 
Oh dear - I don't think anyone's told nature she had to provide us with standard issue sardines!

But seriously I don't believe it's really possible/practical/reasonable to expect any nutritional data to be 100% accurate over all similar products, and what you're seeing is a very small difference. Even with the best will (or testing) in the world - it can't be gospel - it can only ever be a guide. There are too many diifferent variables both with the produce itself, and with different laboratories, standards. etc, to take into account, so it's more than likely that there will be different results, as @ringi has already suggested.

Robbity
 
I personally even Sardine in the amount of more than half a kilo raises my blood sugar after many hours

Because even if it is completely free of carbohydrates it has a high protein content it's can raises blood sugar
 
more than 500g!!! I consider a tin of 90g a meal,
 
Personally I am working to a different system from many of you here, who are able to observe the effect of individual foods on your bg. Since I have delayed and unpredictable stomach emptying, it is almost impossible for me to do that. Instead, I focus on keeping below 20g carbs daily. And as I keep saying, with only 20g carbs to last a whole day, I am motivated to take into account even half grams of carbohydrate. So when the rules say fish is carb free, I am annoyed to find that I have bought several tins of a fish that are not. And now I know that one brand of sardines is not carb free, I suspect that all the others are being economical with the truth when their labels read "0g carbs". It's sad, because hesitating to eat sardines means that my already seriously restricted diet just got even narrower.
 
I expect it has more to do with the day the testing was done then the brand....

Also the 20g recommendation is made by people who think sardines (other then the source) are carb free, so don't count them in the 20g.
 
ringi said:
I expect it has more to do with the day the testing was done then the brand....

Also the 20g recommendation is made by people who think sardines (other then the source) are carb free, so don't count them in the 20g.
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I'm not following a recommendation. I did start by following Dr Bernstein's recommendation of 30g carbs daily, but I found it was not low enough.
 
I am sorry to read about your additional problems. It must be very difficult to manage.

Unfortunately, there are many approximations and rounding up going on with carbs, BG, etc.
Our meter have a tolerance of +/-15%.
As others have said carb values on food are often rounded down.
The carb content is measured in a lab on a sample and the exact fish you are eating may have eaten a slightly different diet or lived to a different age or been stored differently or ...
I believe the way carb content is measured is setting the food alight and then weighing the carbon that remains.
(I have only tried this, accidentally, with my toaster.)

How did you come to decide your body can tolerate 20g carbs per day?
Was it through trial and error eating 25g per day for a week (our bodies are not consistent so a trial of one day is probably not enough), 22g per day for a week, ... until you got to what you calculated (based on the approximations I mentioned above) to be 20g?

I admire your dedication to counting every last half gram of carbs that a label says is in a food but, with all these approximations, maybe it is not necessary. Could you aim for a range instead?
 
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