Carbs and sugar

[Rodgearing]

At a recent NHS presentation we were told by the diabetic nurse that 30 g of sugar is the optium intake of sugar from food sources a day. She also said that this sometimes is a bit unachievable so don't worry if it goes to 50g.
Then somewhere else they are talking about carb intake a day.
I'm confused.
I know carbs are made up of fats, starch and sugars so can some one tell me or point me in the direction that will help me understand carbs and sugar levels and what I should be monitoring please

 

[ColinUK]

I’d think they meant all carbs rather than just sugar.

There are books and apps which give a rough guide to carb content and they might be useful perhaps.

 

[Leadinglights]

At a recent NHS presentation we were told by the diabetic nurse that 30 g of sugar is the optium intake of sugar from food sources a day. She also said that this sometimes is a bit unachievable so don't worry if it goes to 50g.
Then somewhere else they are talking about carb intake a day.
I'm confused.
I know carbs are made up of fats, starch and sugars so can some one tell me or point me in the direction that will help me understand carbs and sugar levels and what I should be monitoring please

I think you have a misunderstanding about what carbohydrates are as they do not contain fats. There are simple carbohydrates which are sugars as in sucrose, fructose, glucose and complex carbohydrates which are starches found in grains, starchy vegetables etc. But they all convert to glucose, it is the simple carbs convert more quickly than the complex.
Limiting all carbs forms a treatment option for Type 2 diabetes, how much carb is very individual as everybody's tolerance is different. However, the suggested amount is no more than 130g per day Total carbs.

 

[Rodgearing]

I think you have a misunderstanding about what carbohydrates are as they do not contain fats. There are simple carbohydrates which are sugars as in sucrose, fructose, glucose and complex carbohydrates which are starches found in grains, starchy vegetables etc. But they all convert to glucose, it is the simple carbs convert more quickly than the complex.
Limiting all carbs forms a treatment option for Type 2 diabetes, how much carb is very individual as everybody's tolerance is different. However, the suggested amount is no more than 130g per day Total carbs.

Thanks thats what I wanted to know what sort of level of carbs should one be aiming not to exceed. Fish and chips tomorrow 😉

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks thats what I wanted to know what sort of level of carbs should one be aiming not to exceed. Fish and chips tomorrow 😉

I hope you enjoy them, not too many chips I hope.
Clearly it is not a good idea to have more than an amount of carbs than can be tolerated at a one meal which is where testing with a blood glucose monitor come into its own. Sometimes people find that the same amount of carbs if it is bread can increase their blood glucose more than if that same amount of carbs is in a portion of rice for example.
Be careful if your Fish is in batter as well as chips and if you also add mushy peas that may well be pushing your luck.

 

[Docb]

Hi @Rodgearing. Trouble when you try and simplify something is that you can make it more complicated!

I get irritated when people talk about sugar and sugars particularly in the current climate where such things can be demonised. Much better to talk about carbohydrate which is a generic term for a whole range of chemicals which have the same general chemical formula and includes two big sub groups, simple carbohydrates which are commonly referred to as sugars and complex carbohydrates which are commonly called starches.

If you then make the simple assumption that ALL carbohydrate is broken down to produce glucose in the gut then it follows there is no point in trying to differentiate between the sugar sub group and carbohydrate group. To my mind that assumption is good enough for most decision making that PWD have to do. OK, it is a simplification because some carbohydrates are processed faster and more completely than others and it may be that the simple carbohydrates are processed fastest of all but you will get brain hurt if you get too much into the detail and in any case you can only talk generalities because individuals do not process carbohydrate identically.

So if you are thinking about blood glucose control, then think about total carbohydrate and think about how your system reacts to it.

If you are thinking about other things like tooth rot, calorie intake or demonising big food producers who use sweetness as a cheap way to disguise their their failings to produce palatable products then think about sugar in its various forms.

It is not good to get them confused - you just end up with the sort of unhelpful stuff that the nurse at the presentation came out with.

 

[notmez]

. Fish and chips tomorrow 😉

I don't have it often but I'm looking forward to some in a couple of weeks after it was suggested. I'll get a good sized portion of fish, tiny portion of chips with a big salad with lime. That how I plan to do it and now I can't wait. I do miss not having fish cakes but they pushed my numbers too far.