Rich Tea Biscuits

S

sachin

Member
Messages
11
Hi all,

I just joined this forum a few minutes ago so I hope I'm welcome here.

I was diagnosed, a few weeks ago, with Type 2 diabetes and still have lots of questions. For my first question I wanted to talk about biscuits. My nurse told me that it was okay for me to have Rich Tea biscuits but not any other ones. I have been eating quite a few rich tea biscuits since she told me this and have been avoiding all other types. My problem with this is that looking at a packet of McVities Rich Tea biscuits just now I noticed that even they are just over 20g grams sugar per 100 grams. Does anyone have any facts and figures about the maximum number of Rich Teas one can have per day?

Thanks.

Sachin
 
T

timo2

Well-Known Member
Messages
613
Dislikes
Glycemic excursions
Re: Rich Tea Bizcuts

Hello Sachin,

Your nurse may well be sponsored by McVitie's. Unless your life will fall to pieces without them, you'll probably be better off dodging the Rich Tea as you do other bissquits.

Regards,
timo.
 
S

Steve57

Member
Messages
8
My Diabetes dietician at the hospital said Digestives and Hobnobs were OK. Not the chocolate varieties of course:<) I guess it's because they are wholemeal.

Everything in moderation of course

Regards

Steve
 
S

sugarless sue

Master
Messages
10,098
Dislikes
Rude people! Not being able to do the things I want to do.
Biscuit now correct! :D :D
It's an urban myth amongst health care professionals that diabetics should only eat rich tea biscuits!! :D
There are 7.7 carbs in a rich tea biscuit. I prefer wafer biscuits which are only 4.6 carbs per biscuit.You should check the total carbs per biscuit on the packet. I suggest the Collins Gem Carb counter book for information on carbs in your food.
 
C

cugila

Master
Messages
10,272
Dislikes
People who are touchy.......feign indignation at the slightest thing. Hypocrites, bullies and cowards.
Steve57 said:
My Diabetes dietician at the hospital said Digestives and Hobnobs were OK. Not the chocolate varieties of course:<) I guess it's because they are wholemeal.

Everything in moderation of course

Regards

Steve
Click to expand...


Hi Steve.

Each Digestive biscuit is 10.3 carbs, Hobnobs are a bit better at 6.4 carbs. So I think you have been mislead here ?
 
A

Andy A

Well-Known Member
Messages
56
sachin said:
Oh okay guys thanks for the information. I'll not eat any buscuits then. :(.

I'll just eat bits of old carpet or something.
Click to expand...


Welcome to the forum, and dont eat Wilton, its high in carbs... :lol:
 
T

timo2

Well-Known Member
Messages
613
Dislikes
Glycemic excursions
Ah, the biscuits or bits of old carpet dilemma - never an easy choice. :D
 
Y

yipster29

Well-Known Member
Messages
200
Probably best to bin the biscuits and eat the cardboard packaging, far fewer carbs and probably higher fibre :lol:

Oh.... and whilst we're on snacks... avoid plums... had 1 today, soooo nice that I then had 2 more :oops: BG up to 14 from 5 in minutes and I had to have my 1st ever correction dose... Sooo cross with myself :evil: damned fruit!! :(
 
C

chocoholic

Well-Known Member
Messages
831
Well, according to the packet in front of me, one McVities Rich Tea biscuit has 5.9g of carbs.
As a competition fanatic, I have to have REAL willpower at the moment. I literally have a drawerful of various McVities biscuits stored in my back bedroom at present. My biscuit tin only comes out when we have visitors or when hubby is not at work.....so one packet of biscuits lasts about a month in our household. The drawerful probably equates to two years worth of biccies but mostly they were bought on BOGOF, so didn't cost too much and it'll be worth it if I win just once.
I'll probably end up giving them away...hubby manages a local charity,so they won't go wasted....but my willpower HAS to be strong.
I don't think, Sachin, the odd single Rich Tea, at 5.9g each, would do you much harm but obviously eating half a packet would be inadvisable. :lol:
 
S

Steve57

Member
Messages
8
cugila said:
Steve57 said:
My Diabetes dietician at the hospital said Digestives and Hobnobs were OK. Not the chocolate varieties of course:<) I guess it's because they are wholemeal.

Everything in moderation of course

Regards

Steve
Click to expand...


Hi Steve.

Each Digestive biscuit is 10.3 carbs, Hobnobs are a bit better at 6.4 carbs. So I think you have been mislead here ?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure Ken

I don't think the discussion at the time was specifically about carbs, we were focusing on GI foods. Digestives biscuits, Hobnobs and also Ginger Nuts are all medium GI and therefore better than high GI biccies.

http://www.diabetes.org.au/gi.pdf

Regards

Steve
 
phoenix

phoenix

Expert
Messages
5,671
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I think its better to look on biscuits as a treat, they are high density foods with very little 'food' value, they're not good (in any quantitiy) for anyone, diabetic or not. If they are a treat and only eaten occasionally then I think it makes sense to choose something far more interesting than a Rich Tea.
I had a very long swim (1km) yesterday and had absolutely no guilt about eating a biscuit, (no insulin necessary because of the exercise) It was not much higher in carbs than a rich tea ( 8.9), covered in dark chocolate and contained a few dried cranberries -so even had some food value. I enjoyed every bite, but far more so because I don't eat them every day.
 
C

cugila

Master
Messages
10,272
Dislikes
People who are touchy.......feign indignation at the slightest thing. Hypocrites, bullies and cowards.
Hi Steve.

I too also use the GI/GL values when calculating my food intake along with lower carbs. I have done for a long time.

I have to say Phoenix is spot on here. A biscuit of any sort for me is a treat. I used to happily munch my way through the Digestives, Hobnobs etc until I realised just how many carbs were actually in them. Half a dozen Digestives can add 60g + of carbs which makes a nonsense of reducing my carb intake which I have, of around 60g per day ? I would be having double my stated aim !!

It makes not a jot of difference that they are lower GI/GL to me. It adds more carbs to my diet than I need each day. So I steer clear of them. Going back to the values stated on packets and those often quoted in the Little Gem Books, there are discrepancies in all of them. The publishers conveniently so far have ignored my requests as to why this should be. So take the figures in the books as a guide and not a definitive figure. Rich tea is shown as 5.9g in two of the books and in the other two as 7.9.g per biscuit. Confusing or what ?? :?
 
A

ally5555

Well-Known Member
Messages
850
ahh - I despair on times.

I discourage all pts to steer clear of biscuits what ever they are. I think this has come from the old days when diabetics were encouraged to have snacks - remember that was before BS meters!
In my part of the world ginger nuts seem to be a particular problem !
ally
 
A

ally5555

Well-Known Member
Messages
850
just a note on the confusing carbs figures - depends where the figure are from . I would always suggest using UK figures - not american.

That is why the carb and fat bible is better - trouble is it is too big to carry around!
 
C

cugila

Master
Messages
10,272
Dislikes
People who are touchy.......feign indignation at the slightest thing. Hypocrites, bullies and cowards.
Hi Ally.

In my part of the world ginger nuts seem to be a particular problem
Click to expand...

Yes, I had heard the reputation of the Welsh redheads ?? :lol: :lol: :lol:

A couple of things, I agree about the Calorie, Carb & Fat Bible. I have the latest one and use it frequently. It might not fit in the pocket but at least I don't need a magnifying glass like I do with the Collins Gem Books !!

Secondly, do you have a source for carb values etc which can be trusted. ? I can't seem to find much online which isn't connected to the same researchers that Collins and others quote ? The same mistakes are everywhere.

Ken.
 
Top Bottom