How many carbs.... Really?

Just hit me a couple of days ago. All these food products list the same amount of carbs. in the nutrition label. For example milk always seems to have 12g. per 8 oz. Which got me to thinking; is all milk the same or even all foods for that matter. Different breeds of cows produce different amounts of sugar, plants produce different amounts depending on soil and climate conditions, etc. So I wonder if at the end of the day if it really is the alignment of the planets or whatever making our BG high or is it the different levels of carbs. within our food. We counted 12 for 8 oz. when it might had been 15g for example. The FDA takes random samples and that's how they come up with the number so all you really have is an average amount of carbs.

This is one of the key reasons that low carb diets help, smaller errors counting carbs lead to small errors in blood sugar swings. Even packaged food can have up to 20% errors in listed nutrition info compared to actual contents. That piled on top of our crappy 20% accurate meters and it is a surprise that we can ever keep our blood sugar controlled.

If you could like the taste of almond milk, I get almond milk that is unsweeten and vanilla flavor is only 4carbs a cup it is great in cereal really keeps carbs down and much healthier

To add to the confusion, unsweetened almond milk I use is 2 carbs for 8 oz.

I don't trust nutritional labels. Often, their totals don't add up. There are unaccounted for hidden carbs. Here's a calculator to check labelshttp://www.lowcarb.ca/low-carb-tools/hidden_carbs.html.

Just lately unsweetened almond milk has disappeared from our supermarkets. I can see how fresh cows' milk can alter in content depending on state of the grass/hay and time of year, plus weather conditions, breed of cow. I suspect because of the cost of packaging some of the nutrition labelling is based on averages.

CARBS ARE NOT THE ONLY THING THAT AFFECTS BLOOD SUGAR SO DOES IRREGULAR DIGESTION...ABSORPTION OF INSULIN...SITE...STRESS...ILLNESS...EXERCIZE...ETC...YOU NAME IT...

that is so true, as far as absorption I find where I place my pod has varying degree also stress is a big blood riser....

there are about 10 million different factors it seems, but a lot of doctors feel that if you listen to what they say, it's easy breezy. I don't drink milk myself as it skyrockets my BG, but was just using it as an example. Also can't eat cereal, white bread and a whole long list.

MAYBE YOU DON'T BOLUS ENOUGH FOR WHAT YOU EAT OR DRINK OR NEED A HIGHER BASAL.

It's more simple than you think. Yes, the FDA does suggest what should account for good nutrition, and companies follow that for the most part. So carbs tend to be similar due to the "serving" sizes they calculate to match good nutrition.

And, milk by the way doesn't stay the same more due to processing than the cows. There are many different ways to process milk to change the taste which is most important to the milk producers. These changes also can affect the carbs etc etc.

Oh, and the FDA doesn't calculate the carbs in the products. The companies that produce the food do that work. And, yes they do average.