Is red lentil pasta better than whole wheat?

[Mollyc1995]

From doing a lot of research I’ve read that lentils, beans and pulses are better carbs as it has high fibre which doesn’t spike blood sugars, I saw at work we do a red lentil fussili, all it contains is red lentils and water and has 19g protein per portion, 44g carbs, 0.9g fat...

Is this a much better alternative to wholewheat pasta?

 

[Antje77]

Do you have a meter? If you have, simply test before eating and 2 hours afterwards, and again for the other pasta. To make sure you could do an extra tes at 3 hours as well.

 

[hankjam]

Possibly but at 44% that's still a lot of carbs. 50g would still be a 22 g shot of carb, which would max a lot of low carbers. The thing to check would be to try it and see how your readings are.

 

[Caeseji]

From doing a lot of research I’ve read that lentils, beans and pulses are better carbs as it has high fibre which doesn’t spike blood sugars, I saw at work we do a red lentil fussili, all it contains is red lentils and water and has 19g protein per portion, 44g carbs, 0.9g fat...

Is this a much better alternative to wholewheat pasta?

Always eat to your meter, that's the best advice! Might be worth replacing the pasta with courghetti if it does spike you too much.

 

[Resurgam]

44gm per portion? Wow
More than I eat in a whole day - I far and away prefer to have the loads of fresh salad and veges I concentrate on rather than one portion of beans.
As for containing fibre so it doesn't cause spikes - (hollow laughter) it hasn't met anything like my insides yet, then - 'cos most fibre rich foods stand no chance at all against the digestive power I can bring against them.

 

[Nexus6]

The only "low" carb pasta I have ever found was edamame:

https://www.explorecuisine.com/en/buy-it-now/edamame-spaghetti.html

Costco used to sell it here (Canada), but stopped (BOO!!). Other than that, I am yet to find anything even remotely close. Open to suggestions!

 

[Member496333]

Of course relying on a meter to tell you whether a food is suitable for your level of insulin resistance completely ignores the nature of insulin resistance. Specifically, its cumulative effect. What’s good today might not be good next week, and might be even worse the week after that. This is the issue with being obsessed with the symptom of insulin resistance - excess glucose - and ignoring the cause - excess insulin.

I do realise I’m in a minority with this viewpoint though so I’ll happily take any flak on the chin

 

[Mollyc1995]

Possibly but at 44% that's still a lot of carbs. 50g would still be a 22 g shot of carb, which would max a lot of low carbers. The thing to check would be to try it and see how your readings are.

I used my meter last night to check...my fasting reading was 5.5, after an hour it was 6.3, after two hours 7 and then after 3 hours 5.9.....so it never went Above 2 mmol, do you think my body responded well to it?

 

[Guzzler]

The other angle is nutritional value. As well as thinking 'What possible detriment could X foodstuff have?' one should also have an eye on what are the possible benefit/s of having X foodstuff.

 

[Mbaker]

Of course relying on a meter to tell you whether a food is suitable for your level of insulin resistance completely ignores the nature of insulin resistance. Specifically, its cumulative effect. What’s good today might not be good next week, and might be even worse the week after that. This is the issue with being obsessed with the symptom of insulin resistance - excess glucose - and ignoring the cause - excess insulin.

I do realise I’m in a minority with this viewpoint though so I’ll happily take any flak on the chin

I'm in your minority then. It is important to give all perspectives, for newbies who have been sold the line since birth about "heart healthy grains", blunting the spike still requires the insulin hit over a longer period of time, so less fat burning - the less a Type 2 can use the pancreas the better. Once this is understood informed choices can be made to suit ones position, rather than the free pass all of these items get.

 

[Mr_Pot]

Is this a much better alternative to wholewheat pasta?

I think it is safe to say it is a better alternative, whether it is a much better alternative remains to be seen. I belong to the group who try to have as much variety in my diet as possible without raising my blood glucose too much. I have lentil pasta sometimes, but also lentils themselves and other legumes. If you going to experiment then keep to small portions as that seems to be critical. As regards red lentil pasta I have found the Waitrose LOVELife version to be the best, the rest of the family are happy to eat it as well.

 

[Mollyc1995]

I think it is safe to say it is a better alternative, whether it is a much better alternative remains to be seen. I belong to the group who try to have as much variety in my diet as possible without raising my blood glucose too much. I have lentil pasta sometimes, but also lentils themselves and other legumes. If you going to experiment then keep to small portions as that seems to be critical. As regards red lentil pasta I have found the Waitrose LOVELife version to be the best, the rest of the family are happy to eat it as well.

Thanks!, I will have to try the Waitrose one....I did weigh and one serving out which was 75g and to be honest I was quite full so next time I’ll at least take a third away as it was extremely filling....at the moment I’m too trying to have as much variety in my diet and not to spike blood sugar levels up as well as losing weight

 

[KK123]

Of course relying on a meter to tell you whether a food is suitable for your level of insulin resistance completely ignores the nature of insulin resistance. Specifically, its cumulative effect. What’s good today might not be good next week, and might be even worse the week after that. This is the issue with being obsessed with the symptom of insulin resistance - excess glucose - and ignoring the cause - excess insulin.

I do realise I’m in a minority with this viewpoint though so I’ll happily take any flak on the chin

I'm not sure you are in a minority actually. There is so much more information out there now explaining how you shouldn't make it all about the excess glucose and there being so many other hormones/factors that come into it. I agree with you in that I think it does start with excess insulin and would love to see the NHS tackling that. As for the cumulative effects of food, I personally find that is spot on. I know if I eat a portion of roast potatoes (I know, I know, VERY rarely) then I can count on my levels being raised by up to 2 points over the next 3 days even when I have used the correct amount of insulin for them (shown by my levels dropping down to normal 2 hours after eating them).

 

[bulkbiker]

at the moment I’m too trying to have as much variety in my diet and not to spike blood sugar levels up as well as losing weight

In that case you'd probably be better replacing pasta of any kind with some green veg?

 

[Ledzeptt]

Like many people, I tend to make my “pasta” by spiralising courgettes.

However, I’m currently experimenting with Shirakati noodles - they’re quick to cook and have zero carbs. The downside is they have zero taste too! Therefore you have to flavour them with a pasta sauce (or sesame oil if making an Asian meal).

I haven’t seen them in a supermarket: I bought them online (reasonable price if bulk buying).

 

[Brunneria]

If you love pasta then there are a good number of alternatives to try.
Of course, none of them are quite the same, but as a sauce soaker, and a different texture, then all of these are worth trying:
Courgetti
Butternut squash spiralised noodles
Oomi Noodles
Konjac noodles
Spaghetti squash (only available in Autumn)
Some people seem to be OK with buckwheat noodles too, which are not a grain noodle
If you can tolerate buckwheat, then it can come in very useful for pancakes too. It has a lovely flavour. Almost nutty and wholegrain, while being neither.

I haven’t tried the lentil noodles, since i seem to get high bg readings with all the lentils and pulses, but if you tolerate them, and your meter is OK about them, then enjoy!