Sugar in foods

[alfredrussell]

Since I am very new to this (3 weeks after type 2 diagnosis) I apologise if this has been asked before. I looked but did not see a thread.

When I read packaging I see the Carbohydrate values and the sugar values. I know that Starch etc is digested to Glucose eventually which will increase BG levels. But, this will be slower and it helps to control lipid absorption.

My concern is about the sugar content. What is high? What is low? I am trying to avoid actual sugar as much as possible. What are sensible levels?

Help!

 

[Northerner]

This should help Alfred:

http://www.crescentdentalhealth.co.uk/docs/thetrafficlightguidetosugarcontent.pdf

It gives low sugar content as below 5g/100g and high as above 15g/100g. 🙂

 

[DeusXM]

Starch doesn't control lipid absorption; it;s the other way around. Fats slow down the metabolism of starch to glucose.

With diabetes, you need to strike a sensible balance between your carb intake and your blood glucose - a potato will in fact raise your blood sugar by more and for longer than sweets, for instance. Pizza is probably the very worst food you can eat - little to no sugar, but the high level starch in the crust combined with the fat in the cheese means it just sits in your stomach for hours pumping out sugar into your blood.

The balance varies for every single person. Some people can eat 300g of carbs a day and get an A1c in the 5s; others need less than 30g a day to get the same result.

Your best bet is to abandon the thinking of sugar is bad, carbs aren't a problem and regard all carbs as potential issues. That also applies to supposedly 'good' sugars. There is this wonderful doublethink where people realise there is a lot of sugar in fruit but because it's 'natural' it apparently doesn't have the same effect as sugar in anything else.

That doesn't mean you can't eat carbs, but you will need to adjust your overall carb intake until your BGs get where you need them to be.

 

[alfredrussell]

Sorry, sloppy writing. I know that fibre slows lipid absorption. I know that all carbs end up as sugar and fructose etc are sugars.

I am trying to minimise carb intake but also minimise actual sugar as printed on packaging. Is this simply a conceptual error? My doc tells me I do not need to monitor my BG as diet and meds (metformin) will keep me OK.

I am not so sure about this.

 

[Mark T]

I suspect the "minimise sugars" bit is a bit of a conceptual error. But that's my opinion.

Possibly you should have a look at the Gylcemic Index concept (and the related Glycemic Load). Carbohydrates in food are absorbed by the body at different rates. White bread is actually very fast (GI=100) despite being low in "sugar". Table sugar is actually medium (GI=50) because it is 50% glucose and 50% fructose and the fructose slows everything down.

But this is where a meter will help you. I've personally found that a snack of 10g carbohydrate which is low/medium GI causes no more then a minor blip in my levels.