Does Any One Understand Carbs?

[Mokkijo]

I have recently been told I am border line diabetic, and need to follow a low carb diet. I have been reading articles until I'm blue in the face! Information on the rear of foods shows Total Carbs, Carbs from Fibre and Sugars from Carbs. Sugars from Carbs I understand are the ones I need to watch. BUT if you add these up they do not total the 'Total Carbs.

I have tried adding the protein, fat and salt to sugars and Fibre but this still does not add up.
I just feel I need to grasp the whole picture. If anyone can help I would appreciate it. Thanks

Borderline T2D means your BS levels are on the high side of normal, but if you don't drastically reduce your simple carbs (packaged,processed garbage & sugar), you will soon be on your way to T2D. I am moderator of a FB Group & invite you to join. We have pre-D's, T2D's &T1D's, & everything in between. https://www.facebook.com/groups/188088054632922/
In this group we have a food list---lots of recipes, support & ideas on how to manage a low carb diet in today's world of over-processed food choices. Our recommendation is: under 50 grams carbs/day, some of us even do under 30 grams, & some over 75. But you must test several times/ day the first several months (& beyond) to get your own meal plan. The blood sugar targets that we recommend are: FBS under 100, & nothing PP past 120, & low 100's- 110 to be safe. You will find these easy to reach on an under 50 grams carbs/day diet. PLEASE don't listen to anyone telling you wheat bread is a healthy choice: read "Wheat Belly" by Dr. Davis. We also have a reading list.
Weight loss is something that will happen when you get on a low carb,moderate(good) fat diet. And an exercise plan, as simple as you want at first, will greatly reduce your insulin resistance which is a component of pre-D. please ask any questions, don't stress & change your life! You CAN do it.

 

[briantaffy]

Depends how many g of carbs you can tolerate. There is no one answer to this. Some get on quite happily on 130g carbs daily, others less than 100g or there are very low carbers at 20g or less. Only way to find out is to test so get yourself a meter and strips.
As far as bread is concerned there are lower carb alternatives for example, Lidl do a high protein roll (The dark brown triangular shaped roll) which is very good. Another is Tescos high protein loaf and Hovis have just introduced 3 lower carb loaves - seeded, wholemeal and white. Also Bfree do a loaf which is quite good although their other items are a lot higher in carbs.
You'll also find a Low Carb Diet forum on here where we post what we have had to eat, share recipes and the like. There are some excellent web sites covering the low carb way of life - Diet Doctor is one of my favourites. There 2 week low carb challenge is a good introduction to low carb eating.

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Gosh, I am pleased when I manage to eat below 200 g carbs per day. I have a sweet tooth and eat gluten-free bread, as I am allergic to wheat and gluten. been Type 1 for 20 years. Only my regular exercise keeps my weight stable and my A1C reasonable. My wife cooks me wonderful filling dinners every evening. I only have one warning sign of an imminent hypo - a good one; my eye registers a hot white image, like I have just looked away from the sun. Plus a little flutter with my eyes shut. I also have 2 other auto-immune conditions but...what the heck! Chin up and remain positive.

 

[Bananas 2]

The proper metric is NET CARBs.... not total carbs.
NetCarbs = total carbs minus fiber.

Fiber does not translate into glucose as it passes right through the gut and must be factored out when calculating insulin requirements (for who require insulin, obviously). Insulin dependents can get into serious trouble not accounting for this in high fiber foods, which is probably what you should be eating, as fiber actually slows glucose absorption. Type-2s dont need to worry so much about lows, unless on serious medication, which might explain why some are misinformed about fiber.

 

[Bluetit1802]

The proper metric is NET CARBs.... not total carbs.
NetCarbs = total carbs minus fiber.

Fiber does not translate into glucose as it passes right through the gut and must be factored out when calculating insulin requirements (for who require insulin, obviously). Insulin dependents can get into serious trouble not accounting for this in high fiber foods, which is probably what you should be eating, as fiber actually slows glucose absorption. Type-2s dont need to worry so much about lows, unless on serious medication, which might explain why some are misinformed about fiber.

That is true for food labelling in the USA but not for Europe. In the UK the fibre is already deducted and is listed separately, so we just look for "total carbs".

 

[Alexandra100]

The blood sugar targets that we recommend are: FBS under 100, & nothing PP past 120, & low 100's- 110 to be safe. You will find these easy to reach on an under 50 grams carbs/day diet.

My latest A1c was 37 and I am eating under 30, and sometimes under 20 grams carbs daily but I am still not finding it at all easy to reach your targets. Indeed it is often simply impossible for me, and, I am sure, for others. It is discouraging not to say heartbreaking to make so many sacrifices and still not reach the bg levels which, I agree, are desirable. Please be careful not to hold out false hopes to beginners. Low carb may work like magic for them, but at least in some cases it may not.

 

[Bananas 2]

That is true for food labelling in the USA but not for Europe. In the UK the fibre is already deducted and is listed separately, so we just look for "total carbs".

Interesting. That's good to know, and actually makes more sense than the US practice.
Thanks for sharing that.

 

[cristis]

That is true for food labelling in the USA but not for Europe. In the UK the fibre is already deducted and is listed separately, so we just look for "total carbs".

wow, no idea Europe and US are so different! I was about to ask the same question as @Bananas 2 . And just FYI, I live in Canada, and food labels are similar to US. For us it is net carbs that counts.

 

[Alexandra100]

wow, no idea Europe and US are so different! I was about to ask the same question as @Bananas 2 . And just FYI, I live in Canada, and food labels are similar to US. For us it is net carbs that counts.

I often consult the USDA site to check nutritional content of foods. It shows total carb content (which they call "carbohydrate by difference") and fibre separately, so you can subtract the latter from the former. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/...ds=Standard+Reference&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=

 

[Bluetit1802]

Interesting. That's good to know, and actually makes more sense than the US practice.
Thanks for sharing that.

Glad to be of help!

 

[cristis]

I often consult the USDA site to check nutritional content of foods. It shows total carb content (which they call "carbohydrate by difference") and fibre separately, so you can subtract the latter from the former. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/...ds=Standard+Reference&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=

Just so you know, Alexandra, you have in Google two nice shortcuts to display the Nutrition Information label on the same page, for virtually any product. Type "nutrition avocado", or "carbs in avocado" and look at the right of the same search page. Of course, you can replace avocado with any other product, fruit, vegetable etc.

 

[bulkbiker]

Just so you know, Alexandra, you have in Google two nice shortcuts to display the Nutrition Information label on the same page, for virtually any product. Type "nutrition avocado", or "carbs in avocado" and look at the right of the same search page. Of course, you can replace avocado with any other product, fruit, vegetable etc.

Except of course that Google usually show totals carbs including fibre (US measurements) whereas for UK consumers the fibre is not included in the carb count which can lead to confusion. For UK members it's better to look at UK supermarket websites which show carbs (excluding fibre) per 100g so you have a consistent measurement easily converted to a percentage.

 

[cristis]

Except of course that Google usually show totals carbs including fibre (US measurements) whereas for UK consumers the fibre is not included in the carb count which can lead to confusion. For UK members it's better to look at UK supermarket websites which show carbs (excluding fibre) per 100g so you have a consistent measurement easily converted to a percentage.

If you look just 2-3 comments before, you'll see we already became aware of this difference. I tried to repro it for google.co.uk from my browser (I was expected as you said a different result), but it was hard to force Chrome to do that and I gave up. I can easily see what's returned only for google.ca and google.com

 

[bulkbiker]

If you look just 2-3 comments before, you'll see we already became aware of this difference. I tried to repro it for google.co.uk from my browser (I was expected as you said a different result), but it was hard to force Chrome to do that and I gave up. I can easily see what's returned only for google.ca and google.com

But as the use of different units of measurement can easily cause confusion it's worth restating that different locations have different ways of viewing things.

 

[Bluetit1802]

It is also worth noting that food companies sometimes put different ingredients in the same foods, depending which country they are exporting to. They pander to the taste buds of the country as a whole, and also have to comply with different food regulations. Some countries for example have more added sugar, and different preservatives, oils, etc. For UK residents it is more accurate to use the various supermarket websites.

 

[Mr_Pot]

This little graphic might help somebody understand the difference between carb labelling in the UK and US.

 

[Incyb]

I use the MyFitnessPal app to track food and weight. I always put in the name of a UK supermarket in my search eg "Tesco blueberries" so that I get the correct info. That makes it nice and easy.