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Working out the carbohydrate content of food

chinta

Well-Known Member
Messages
101
Location
Normandy, France
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I started reading Dr Bernstein's book the other day and, if I have understood it correctly, he is saying that it's your net carbs you need to worry about and that this is the carb content of food less the dietary fibre content, so for example 100grams of potato is 17g of carb less 2.2g of dietery fibre, making the net carbs of 100grams of potato 14.8grams.

I have tried doing the very low carb diet for a week but it's too hard. The LCHF diet on here, keeping to less than 120grams per day sounds much more realistic to me but is that carbs or net carbs? I don't want to think that I'm being really good, only to discover that I should be counting carbs and not net carbs.
 
In the UK it's total carbs you count not net carbs. USA label their food differently.
 
chinta said:
Great, thanks.
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You are more than welcome do make sure of the carb content for the different ways of cooking spuds though as all different.
 
I had heard that. ANy idea what a 100g jacket potato would be? I just had one for dinner!!
 
jacket potato will have different values dependant on eating or not eating the skin
i work on about 21 carbs per 100 for a jacket potato with skin
 
Is it less if you don't eat the skin then? I would have thought eating the skin would be good for fibre.
 
I would count a baked spud as 25 gms/100
 
If you have the raw potato, and weigh it before cooking, the carb content will be the same post cooking. It will just weigh less due to losing water and therefore have a higher carb content per gram once cooked.
 
chinta said:
I had heard that. ANy idea what a 100g jacket potato would be? I just had one for dinner!!
Click to expand...

Link in my signature to myfitnesspal , which will tell you the content of loads of stuff, also has a handy app for the phone that scans barcodes for the content of foods.....................
 
Just had a look in my copy of Carbs & Cals to find carb value of cooked jacket potatoes
They are on a 26cm dinner plate so gives you a rough size of what the potatoes looks like
I would imagine most would eat a potatoe shown in the middle row of the photo
 
According to Collins Gem Calorie Counter

100g weight of Baked potatoes with flesh and skin are 31.7g carb, 3.9g protein, 0.2g fat, 136 calories, 2.7g dietary fibre
 
iHs said:
According to Collins Gem Calorie Counter

100g weight of Baked potatoes with flesh and skin are 31.7g carb, 3.9g protein, 0.2g fat, 136 calories, 2.7g dietary fibre
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If that's the case then the carbs and cals is way out
 
When I was first diagnosed years ago. I was given a handy carb booklet by the dietician and I remember her explaining to me that a 4oz uncooked potato was 20g carbs. I asked her how big 4oz was and she said to imagine it as a large egg! I protested that that was a tiny potato : D

4oz is just over 100g but I find it easier to remember in ounces for potatoes - a 4oz is 20g carbs, 6oz is 30g, 8oz is 40g carbs, etc
 
I was always taught hens egg size was 10 carbs
 
CarbsRok said:
I was always taught hens egg size was 10 carbs
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We obviously have mutant hens where I live Or maybe she meant a duck egg?? I was so horrified by the tinyness I didn't ask : D

Seriously, I think your version is more accurate probably I always weigh my potatoes if I'm at home because I find they're quite 'dense'. I've often picked out a potato that I've thought was 6oz, only to find out it was closer to £oz when I weighed it.

I'm wondering if some of the differences in carb counts above are because some are raw weight, some cooked? The weights I gave were all raw weight.
 
I had a look on the net an also in the different books I have and all give slightly differing amounts (cooked) So the question is which one is right lol ?
 
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