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Confused about carbs!

T

Thecrazy_1

Well-Known Member
Messages
47
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all

I have been diabetic about a month or so. I started metformin, which is great as it has curved my appetite dramatically.

I am still a little confused bout carbs.
I have bought some gallon sugar free wafers. I think per 100g there is 63g of carbs and 0.5g of sugar.
I also looked at gluten free crispbread, again there was 76g of carbs and 0g of sugar. So, what is the significant of carbs v sugar? What should I be looking at?
Thanks
 
@Thecrazy_1 well done you have found the key! Seriously not taking the mickey BUT finding the correct figure for itmes is the key, now you just need to add them up and keep to the target set by your team. As a type 1 it appears I have more leeway so won't be quoting my figures on here! I personally have also been shocked at the high carb figures on many items however, but if you can think is this made from/with flour then you just need to remember carbs are converted to sugars within the body hence why keeping them under control is essential to a healthy BS level
 

You have to remember that carbs and sugars are the same and will create spikes because the glucose derived from the carbs will boost your blood glucose levels up quickly.
If you lower your carb total for the day, the spike will be lower and the control of fluctuating blood glucose levels will benefit your diabetic levels, this will take time, but will be worth it!
Have a good look at the low carb forum, the success stories forum and how dietary advice is critical in control of your health.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Thecrazy_1 said:
So, what is the significant of carbs v sugar? What should I be looking at?
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It is the carbs you need to know, that is the important info as all carbs turn to sugar anyway. Things like bread, pasta, rice and spuds tend to have a lot of carbs in them.
Gluten-free stuff seems to often have more carbs in that non-gf stuff (as someone who has to avoid gluten I know this )
 
So if eat something that has 20g of carbs and 18g of sugar that is still better than something that is 70g of carbs and 1g of sugar?
 
This evening I had chicken with soy sauce and wholewheat egg noodles at 36g per serving and 2.7g of fibre. I know some people spoke with rice, noodles, pasta etc but I do like a little starchy carbs. So adding everything I have on a day. I have had 114g of carbs. Now, does sound high? I know everyone is different but just looking for an idea.
 

Everyone needs to find what level of carbs they can tolerate and the only way to find that out is to test before and after a meal. Do you have a blood glucose meter? Personally I started by keeping under 100g/day on diagnosis, but gradually reduced to under 50g/day. That’s the level I need to keep to to maintain non diabetic HbA1cs.
 
It depends on where your starting from. At diagnosis I was really high and after a lot of research I felt I needed to be a little more radical. I went keto and restricted carbs to 20g per day. If you want your blood glucose levels to improve then ditch the carbs.

Try Oomi noodles instead.
 
Assuming those are net carbs, that's about 3 days worth of my menu.
If you can keep your blood glucose and Hba1c down to normal levels on those foods that is absolutely fine.
I don't eat grains, legumes or starchy vegetables, and only the lowest carb fruits. I do eat a lot of low carb foods, vegetables and fruits - but my metabolism is a lot better now than at diagnosis.
 
I can only echo the above. Ignore the “of which sugars” and look at the carbs figures. Sugar is just one type of carb and all carbs matter to a diabetic. All carbs (and sugars) pretty much instantly become glucose in the digestive system and that’s what matters. Find the level of carbs that maintain a decent blood glucose level without spikes (so testing is essential at least in the short term to determine this) and then you know what your daily/per meal limit is. Many of us need to go down as low as 20-30g per day. Some do ok on 100g per day.
 
HSSS said:
Find the level of carbs that maintain a decent blood glucose level without spikes
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I found that once I stopped eating fat free yoghurt, and sugar free "this and that" things started coming good. I knocked of the main culprits spuds, rice, pasta and bread.

Things got a lot better quick, got to my target weight, and my bgl came down steadily, till I got stuck into cheap bananas and blew my good bgl work to the pack.

I can now eat low carb bread spudlites, and pasta ala Micheal Mosely style. Rice is a no go for me as are bananas. My hba1c levels are flatlining at 34 for the last three or four tests.
 
That is the hardest adjustment. I have spent my life eating a balance diet including potatoes, pasta rice etc. I have now concluded that rice is a big NO, Asta is ok in very small amounts and bread is ok if I have one slice but I try to avoid. I don't know about bananas. I assume I test after eating one banana?
 
Thecrazy_1 said:
I don't know about bananas. I assume I test after eating one banana?
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When I said about eating bananas I was eating two or three at a time, however I was not testing my blood very regularly, it was only at a hba1c blood test that showed the damage was done.

Test on one or two and see happens to your levels, you might be lucky.
 
When I was trying to get my head around the carbs, then the "of which are sugar", I tried to train myself to think of carbs as being pre-sugars, so they're on the way to becoming sugar (in our systems). OK, that's incredibly simplistic, but as a rule of thumb it helped me get over that "Eh?" moment.

As you might expect, there are exceptions to this rule for Polyols. Polyols are a sugar alcohol, classified as carbs, which for most people cause no impact on their blood sugar scores.

Polyols are noted in the nutritional information on labels etc, such as this example from ASDA:

https://groceries.asda.com/product/...gy/phd-smart-bar-caramel-crunch/1000016765384



(It took me ages to find that, as I don't bother with protein bars or the like.).
 
Listlad said:
Were you doing the Banana Diet at the time?
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No fad diet, bananas were cheap as the year before they were around $18.00 a kilo due to the crop being mostly destroyed during a couple of tropical cyclones.

People would not pay that price, and the following year and the price started high but still no sale so the price was dropped down to $00.50 a kilo, that's when I bought in.
 
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