Carb levels on food labels

[ianbilly]

I'm new to this so please be patient if i'm asking silly questions. On food labelling where carbs are concerned what should i be looking for? Where it gives for example Carb =10g of which Sugars 1.3g what does that mean in common mans terms. Should i be avoiding anything with a high carb level and what is acceptable and when does the level on labels start being to high? I've never had to look before and its a little confusing so far. Thanks

 

[Ljc]

Hi Hope this helps. It's the total number of carbs for the portion you are eating you need to know , so you can ignore the *of which are sugars* bit. We turn carbs into glucose, sugar is just another carb.

 

[Deleted member 16779]

NB in the UK and Europe, the 'fibre' amount will be on top of the carbs, and you can completely discount it (as far as carb calculations are concerned anyway), but in the US and possibly other countries, it's also included in the total carbs number, so you can take it away from that as it's basically indigestible.

Also, look out for 'typical portion' - they usually have a per 100g amount and show the carbs in that, plus another column for an often mythical 'serving size' - like 2 squares of chocolate, or half a microwave meal.

 

[Robin]

It's a bit of an art, not a science, I always find. You have to weigh up in your mind what else you'll be eating with the food in question. If it's something to accompany an otherwise protein and fat meal, you can probably get away with something higher in carb than if you were putting it with something else high carb in the same meal. ( for example, having a carby sauce on top of a piece of chicken will raise your blood sugars less than if you put it on top of a plate of pasta)
So I'm afraid there's not a definitive answer, like, 'always go for under x number of carbs' and it's always a question of eating something, testing, and if it plays havoc with your sugar levels, don't eat it again!

 

[Deleted member 16779]

It's a bit of an art, not a science, I always find. You have to weigh up in your mind what else you'll be eating with the food in question. If it's something to accompany an otherwise protein and fat meal, you can probably get away with something higher in carb than if you were putting it with something else high carb in the same meal. ( for example, having a carby sauce on top of a piece of chicken will raise your blood sugars less than if you put it on top of a plate of pasta)
So I'm afraid there's not a definitive answer, like, 'always go for under x number of carbs' and it's always a question of eating something, testing, and if it plays havoc with your sugar levels, don't eat it again!

True, although having said that - I do have a rule of thumb, unless I know otherwise from testing myself, which is a max of 25g per meal and 50g per day and that seems to work consistently well. I often go above this, up to 100g per day or more if I'm going to be doing lots of exercise or it would be awkward socially not to. Or if there is cake.

 

[DeusXM]

The amount of carbs you eat is highly individual and should be based on your personal health goals. Typically the NHS seems to advice something like 200-300g of carbs a day, an amount that I think even the most carb-comfortable person with diabetes would find difficult. 'Average' seems to be something like 100-150g a day but many T2s find they need substantially fewer carbs.

I personally aim for less than 50g a day - any more than that and my control gets difficult. Some people aim for less than 24g a day.

By way of example, the average sandwich is about 40g.

What you need to be aware of is the TOTAL carbs you're eating.

 

[grovesy]

I personally fit into the 100-120 a day level and have been doing so and gradually losing weight and good levels for 3 years. If I tried to go lower I would not be able to maintain it.