# Questions about Carbs



## MummyRose2009 (Jan 30, 2012)

Hey everyone, trying to get my head around the whole carbs thing and was wondering if i am right in thinking that when carbs are mentioned its net carbs and not carbohydrates and that working it out its a case of deducting the fibre from the carbohydrates on the pack so for exampl

22g carbohydrates 
12g fibre 

would be 10 net carbs??? 

Just trying to understand it a bit better. Also with sweeteners am i right in thinking whatever it says carbohydrates you deduct the sweetener content from it soooo

30g carbohydrates
29g polyols (example) 

would be 1 net carb per serving???


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## Robster65 (Jan 30, 2012)

No. In the UK the carbs are shown gross.

ie. in your first example, it's 22g carbs. The fibre is shown, usually as part of the carbs, but whatever it says for the carb total, that's what you have to count.

Likewise sweeteners. The total for the carbs is what you have to use.

Rob


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## MummyRose2009 (Jan 30, 2012)

Sorry im soooo confused lol so whatever it says carbohydrates is basically what carbs is?? In that case im ultimately depressed cause everything is stupidly high in carbohydrates


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## margie (Jan 30, 2012)

MummyRose2009 said:


> Sorry im soooo confused lol so whatever it says carbohydrates is basically what carbs is?? In that case im ultimately depressed cause everything is stupidly high in carbohydrates



Don't get depressed your body needs glucose - a carb to live.

Not everything is that high in carbs - have a look at vegtables for instance. Some people make mash out of cauliflower as it reduces the carbs in the meal. See if you can get an appointment with a dietician  - there should be one attached to the diabetic clinic - they will be able to help you come up with a suitable diet for you.


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## MummyRose2009 (Jan 30, 2012)

Well good news is i'm on a mission to create and master low carb recipes for cakes and desserts and celebration cakes and also gluten free, dairy free, low fat etc Gonna take some time but im determined gives me something to do too


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## mum2westiesGill (Jan 30, 2012)

Appologies if i'm adding to your confusion here but have a look at the link below.

http://www.bdec-e-learning.com/welcome.asp?M=Log

Good luck.


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## Vicsetter (Jan 30, 2012)

You might find this page explains some things for you in terms of what is a carb.  Fibre is a carb.  
However I understood that polyols (like xylitol, maltitol) are used a non-glycaemic sweeteners and do not contribute to raising blood sugar levels.  You would need to try something with a polyol in it to see what effect it has on you.


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## Northerner (Jan 30, 2012)

Vicsetter said:


> You might find this page explains some things for you in terms of what is a carb.  Fibre is a carb.
> However I understood that polyols (like xylitol, maltitol) are used a non-glycaemic sweeteners and do not contribute to raising blood sugar levels.  You would need to try something with a polyol in it to see what effect it has on you.



Which page might that be Vic? 

This page seems to give a good explanation of polyols:

http://lowcarbpavilion.com/sugaralcohols.htm


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## Pigeon (Jan 30, 2012)

MummyRose2009 said:


> Well good news is i'm on a mission to create and master low carb recipes for cakes and desserts and celebration cakes and also gluten free, dairy free, low fat etc Gonna take some time but im determined gives me something to do too



Hi MummyRose,

Like you when I first got diagnosed 5 years ago it was overwhelming and at first I thought I had to cut out all sugar and unhealthy food. I got obsessed with labels and what I thought I couldn't eat. It all culminated with me breaking down in Sainsbury's one night as I tried to decide what treat I could have that wasn't too unhealthy. My sister bought me an American diabetes baking book which was full of recipes which replaced sugar with fructose and sweeteener. She was really well meaning, and the recipes looked nice, but they were all awful! Terrible texture and bitter aftertaste. Also I used to do things like have cheese and biscuits inctead of a sweet pudding, not realising the crackers would also increase my BG.

The best thing I did was learn to carb count - I went on a course at my hospital and did the online BDEC one too. I know it is early days for you now, but when your diabetes has stabilised you need to find an insulin regime that suits you and ask your clinic to educate you about carb counting - it literally gave me back my quality of life once I understood that I could eat normal things and my feet wouldn't drop off instantly!

In the mean time, try not to worry about it all too much, and I would say don't waste your efforts making things with substitutes that won't taste nice. If you want a treat that is low carbs try strawberries and creme fraiche - very low carb! Or a few squares of dark chocolate ( I like Maya gold). You can also get sugar free Instant Whip which I used to like as a pudding sometimes. If you're feeling naughty or it's a celebration chocolate eclairs (the cream cake not the toffee) are quite low carb too!

Hope things stabilise for you soon and you are able to enjoy food properly again.


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## Vicsetter (Jan 30, 2012)

Northerner said:


> Which page might that be Vic?
> 
> This page seems to give a good explanation of polyols:
> 
> http://lowcarbpavilion.com/sugaralcohols.htm



Couldn't you guess!  It's been a long day, thats 2 mistakes in 2 postings

Thank God for Firefox History.  Here is the page to which I referred:
http://www.healthyeatingclub.org/info/articles/diets-foods/fibre.htm


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## trophywench (Jan 30, 2012)

Oh God - I'm with Pigeon and especially Greg Wallace here! - bet he doesn't have the no sugar one like us though - Butterscotch Instant Whip !!!

I have loved it and it was instantly my favourite flavour, ever since they invented Instant Whip, think it was approx 1957 .......


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## Ellie Jones (Feb 1, 2012)

Carb counting in IMHO is a must for a diabetic...  But there are ways and means around keeping them in reason and controllable...

Cooking from scratch helps out a lot a pain to start with working out the carb count for each dish, but worth the time and effort for several reasons, a lot of pre-made meals carbs are boosted by adding sweeteners of various sorts and often you can either adapt a dish to reduce the carb count to a more controllable amount..

Such as lasagne, make your own pasta and you can roll out the pasta sheet thinner than brought, which drops the count low, you don't get the sugar to sweeten the sauce  I find that making my own pasta for any dish I don't get such a long delayed high impact hit on my blood glucose..

Then you get the little tricks like reducing the carb item of a meal, and boasting with something else that isn't carbs..  Such as lasagne, reduce the lasagne and add a nice fresh side salad..  or for a roast knock of a roast taddie, add another slice of meat and some more veg same size meal but less carbs involved..


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## Clarkey (Feb 6, 2012)

MummyRose2009 said:


> Sorry im soooo confused lol so whatever it says carbohydrates is basically what carbs is?? In that case im ultimately depressed cause everything is stupidly high in carbohydrates


Don't get depressed about it. I don't know if you are adjusting your insulin to meet the carbs but if you are then really the amount of carbs shouldn't be so much of a problem. Of course the tough bit comes when you buy something that doesn't have a label to tell you what the carbs are, I try to stay away from that for the time being until i've been on the DAFNE programme.


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