Low sugar amounts

[tomtat]

How much sugar should I be looking for on packets of cereal etc. I asked the nurse today & came out more confused then before. All she would say was that the muesli & fruit shreddies were too high but didn't say what figure I should look for.
Can someone please explain what I should be looking for before I go mad 😱

 

[brett]

I think anything is considered to be low if less than 4g per 100g. This isnt to say it is low in carbs, just that its low in added sugar. You may find a product with 2g of sugar but has 60g or more of carbohydrates which will be converted into sugar. Nearly all labels say a carb amount and then of which sugar amount. The two need to be considered. Hope this helps

 

[Robster65]

Bear in mind also that products that contain fruit, such as muesli, will show the fructose as sugar. So it's not necessarily added but will still generally hit your bloodstream pretty quickly.

I try to aim for less than 10% (10g per 100g) of total sugars, providing it's wholegrain or with plenty of fibre. This should lower the GI further.🙂

Rob

 

[Ellie Jones]

I would concentrate on Carbs rather than sugar..

As if sugar is high then the carb amount per 100g's will be as well..

But you really need to gauge what amount of carbs are suitable for you, say pick a breakfast cereal, then you test BG to see what it does, if it sends it high you got two choices, either reduce the portion size down until you hit a good BG result or stick it on the 'can't have' list.

 

[Northerner]

I was told that 'High' is over 15g of total sugars per 100g and'Low' is 5g of total sugars or less per 100g 🙂

 

[sweetsatin]

Northerner you are correct 🙂

I was told as follows
Sugars 5g or less, no more than 15g occasionally
fat 3g or less, no more than15g occasionally
saturates 1.5g or less, no more than 5g occasionally
salt 0.30g or less, no more than 1.5g occasionally

 

[Mark T]

Northerner you are correct 🙂

I was told as follows
Sugars 5g or less, no more than 15g occasionally
fat 3g or less, no more than15g occasionally
saturates 1.5g or less, no more than 5g occasionally
salt 0.30g or less, no more than 1.5g occasionally

Assuming that is per 100g that means you have about 90g to share between protein and non-sugar carbohydrates.

 

[sweetsatin]

Sorry yes it is per 100g

 

[Caroline]

I was told to watch out for things taht state no added sugar. If it is a cereal containing fruit, no sugar will have been added, but there is sugar in the form of fructose there already.

 

[caffeine_demon]

It's definitely not just about sugars though - bran flakes will spike me much more than crunchy nut corn flakes (and even frosties!!)

 

[Ruth Goode]

It's low at under 5g and high at 15g so I usually get stuffs at around 7-8g! 🙂

 

[tomtat]

Thanks for all your help, you're much better than my nurse she was no help at all. I asked about a monitor but she said it wasn't necessary on Metformin so I've no idea which foods are "good or bad". Would anyone advise buying one?
Sorry about all the questions.

 

[Northerner]

Thanks for all your help, you're much better than my nurse she was no help at all. I asked about a monitor but she said it wasn't necessary on Metformin so I've no idea which foods are "good or bad". Would anyone advise buying one?
Sorry about all the questions.

You can get a free meter from Abbott at http://www.abbottdiabetescare.co.uk/free-meter-signup

However, the test strips are expensive for all meters, so it is worth trying to get them prescribed. Some people find that, if they invest in a couple of pots and then take the results to their GP to show how you are using them to improve your blood sugar control and learn how to manage your diabetes, then the GP will prescribe some strips.

Have a read of Diabetes UK's position statement on self-monitoring. Also, read Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S for a good guide to testing efficiently 🙂

Testing is the only way of quickly getting to know what foods you can tolerate well and what should be reduced or excluded from your diet. It is wrong to say that you will not benefit from testing if you are only on metformin, this is usually said to save money and to avoid having to educate people on how to interpret the test results.