Carb counting

[suepledger]

How do you count carbs. Say if it’s 37g carb which sugars 5.3. What numbers to I actually have to copy? I’m having a disagreement about this. Take Shreddies for instance. It says per 100g is 68.7 which sugars 0.7. My argument is this.if the serving is 40g and that is what you have then why do you look at sugars. I was told that you look at the total carbs per serving and not take any notice of the sugars? Some help please?

 

[helli]

It is the total number of carbs. The “of which is sugar” part is not relevant as all carbs break down to glucose in the body.
If shredd are 68.7g carbs per 100g, a 40g portion has (68.7 x 49/ 100) 27.48g of carbs.

 

[suepledger]

It is the total number of carbs. The “of which is sugar” part is not relevant as all carbs break down to glucose in the body.
If shredd are 68.7g carbs per 100g, a 40g portion has (68.7 x 49/ 100) 27.48g of carbs.

That’s exactly what I thought. She insists that you look at what sugars, the much lower figure. I said if you’re having a 40g bowl of cereal which is say27carbs, then that’s it!

 

[Leadinglights]

That is exactly why the 'traffic light' system on packaging is as much use as a chocolate teapot for diabetics and you have to look for the TOTAL carbohydrate usually on the back in small print.

 

[rebrascora]

She insists that you look at what sugars, the much lower figure. I said if you’re having a 40g bowl of cereal which is say27carbs, then that’s it!

Is the "she" you refer to, your diabetes trained nurse at the practice by any chance or a Desmond educator?

 

[suepledger]

The ‘she’ is my sister in law and the person who she is taking her advice from is her Diabetic practitioner. I’m trying to find out about the Desmond Project. Went on one years ago, but would like to go on another, just to add to my motivation¡

 

[suepledger]

Hi Dave, I wasn’t talking about the traffic light system. You’re right, you do have to look at everything (it’s a pain in the butt). I’m slowly getting used to it. My Hbc1a was 50. Put on Glucophage. Terrible side effects so have now gone on to Glucophage slow release. I’m only on a. Minimal dose 500mcg once daily. To be honest the side effects were soo bad I stopped taking it and rested my stomach. I’m just about to recommence taking the slow release again. See if it doesn’t impact my stomach too much.

To be honest, I struggle with knowing how many carbs I should eat a day and I think for a non-diabetic it’s 130g daily. But for a Diabetic it’skeeping it under 90g! Ouch...

Comments welcom d...PLEASE?

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Dave, I wasn’t talking about the traffic light system. You’re right, you do have to look at everything (it’s a pain in the butt). I’m slowly getting used to it. My Hbc1a was 50. Put on Glucophage. Terrible side effects so have now gone on to Glucophage slow release. I’m only on a. Minimal dose 500mcg once daily. To be honest the side effects were soo bad I stopped taking it and rested my stomach. I’m just about to recommence taking the slow release again. See if it doesn’t impact my stomach too much.

To be honest, I struggle with knowing how many carbs I should eat a day and I think for a non-diabetic it’s 130g daily. But for a Diabetic it’skeeping it under 90g! Ouch...

Comments welcom d...PLEASE?

I think you will find that the suggested amount of carbs per day for people who decide to follow a low carb diet is 130g per day, this would compare to non diabetic folk who may well be having 250-300 g per day but even for then that may not be all that good for them.
Many people do settle on somewhere between 50g and the 130g as being the amount they can tolerate.
I am surprised that you have not been given the opportunity to reduce your HbA1C but dietary changes before being put on metformin as you are only just into the diabetic zone. Metformin only helps the body use the insulin it produces more effectively but still requires dietary changes.
Since you are having problems with the metformin I would ask for 3 months to try by making the lifestyle changes, getting more exercise and reducing carbohydrates.

 

[rebrascora]

Less than 130g per day is considered "low carb" but many people find by self testing that they need to go lower than 130g. How much lower depends on your body and it's response to the carbs that you eat and even when you eat them can make a difference. Many people find they are much more insulin resistant on a morning, so opting for a very low carb breakfast can be helpful and having the majority of their carbs later in the day when their body can deal with them better. I think between 70-100g is a reasonable range for most people but some people find that they need to go much lower/keto and are happy to do so and really enjoy their food at this levels and eat well. Other people find that going down to 20-40g a day is just not sustainable for them and and need a combination of moderately low carb and medication to manage things. It is very much an individual thing which is why we encourage and advocate self testing to discover how your body responds.

Sadly it sounds like your sister in law is being badly advised and her diabetes management may well suffer as a result.

 

[trophywench]

Excuse me, but what is meant by 'a diabetic practitioner' ?

Usually either a person's GP or a hospital diabetes clinic (consultant/DSN/specialist dietician) 'looks after' them.

 

[rebrascora]

Excuse me, but what is meant by 'a diabetic practitioner' ?

Usually either a person's GP or a hospital diabetes clinic (consultant/DSN/specialist dietician) 'looks after' them.

I imagine the "diabetic practitioner" mentioned to be the nurse practitioner at the GP surgery who has received some inhouse training in diabetes management.... often referred to as a DN here on the forum (ie Diabetes Nurse) not to be confused with the highly specialist trained DSNs who work from the diabetes clinic at the hospital.

Most Type 2 diabetics are under the supervision of the DN rather than a GP at their surgery and sometimes a DSN comes from the hospital clinic to support them and provide that in house training. DNs usually have the ability to prescribe diabetes medication and test strips etc and often have more knowledge than GPs but no where near the depth of knowledge and training of a DSN. They may also have a direct line to discuss new cases with the consultant at the hospital if there is a patient presenting with symptoms/results they feel are possibly beyond their remit..... this is what happened with me during the early weeks of my diagnosis.

 

[trophywench]

See that's where we differ. To me a diabetic practitioner is a practitioner of something or another, not restricted to anything medical, who themselves happen to have diabetes. Anyway since the 'advice' is being relayed not by a medical professional, I'd ignore it and try and find out for myself what's what - and everyone on this forum and at Diabetes UK as a whole, agree it's total carbs that matter in the UK.

 

[Drummer]

@suepledger The amount of carbs to eat is the amount you can cope with - so you do not get spikes after meals and your metabolism can recover - I recommend sourcing them from low carb foods full of vitamins and minerals, flavour and texture, and the more variety the better.
I have been eating low carb for over 5 years now and although my diabetes is not important any more, as I could eat more carbs and cope with them, it is buy happily stacking them into my cells, so my weight would go up and take some time to go down again if I was to push the boundaries.
When I was first diagnosed I used a blood glucose tester to see what I could eat.
I knew that my carbohydrate level for recovering from a 'healthy' high carb diet was 50 gm a day, so that is what I ate, and the diabetes level Hba1c of 91 was back to 42 in 6 months.
Anyone who tells a type 2 diabetic how many gm of carbs they can eat in a day and 'be fine' has not got a clue about how these things work.
There are small problems such as me eating peas or beans - the amount of carbs seems to be wrong - I weigh, I cook, I measure blood glucose - and it would only be that high if the carbs were at about 180percent of the listed amount.
You have to set your own menu, so you can go on eating the same way until you notice that things have changed.
For me that was realising I'd lost lots of weight - but it was only when my trousers started falling down that I twigged.