Understanding Thy Nutrition Label

Ok, I need a refresher in carbs. I’ve thought about this way too much today and have completely confused myself lol. How do the overall grams of sugar in a food reflect on the total carb count? I mean say you’ve something that’s 19g. carbs and has 15g. of sugar in it…is the sugar already factored into the carb since carbohydrates are a sugar themselves or would you count it as a whole nother carb? My blank mind thanks you. :stuck_out_tongue:

I just look at the carbs and that’s it. that count includes everything. I do look for things like high fructose corn syrup cause it’s not healthy but other than that I just look at the carb count :wink: Now to confuse you I’ve heard of subtracting fiber or something, but during nutrition class they didn’t say anything about that.

Thanks! That’s what I was thinking. Yeah, I also heard you subtract the dietary fiber from the carb count… it’d be nice if they did that automatically and didn’t make us do any more math. :slight_smile:

I think you may be getting confused by saying that carbs are sugar. Its more accurate to think of it the other way around (sugar is a carb). There are carbs in the “total carbohydrate” count that are not “sugar” such as fiber, or sugar alcohols, etc. but all types of carbohydrate are usually factored into your carb-to-insulin (or other med) ratio.

After all that rambling, I guess my point is look at the carbs, not the sugar on the label. Sugar is only one type of carb that can effect your dosing. (This is how I do it)

Some people do suggest subtracting fiber, however I’ve never done my calculations that way, and I’ve never been told to. Technically total fats and protein can effect the absorption of carbs as well so maybe we need to count everything!

Oh yeah I realize all this and that there are many other things in carbs like starches and gums etc. I just think of it as being a sugar since what’s in it can raise glucose levels. I wasn’t trying to be all technical like lol. Just trying to figure out if the sugar grams on the label were already added into the carb count since I have always just counted the carbs alone. :slight_smile:

Yep, all factored in already. As to the fiber thing, you don’t subtract them unless it’s 5g or more. Though I’ve never subtracted them at all, period. Never has made a difference for me that I can tell. For me, carbs are carbs are carbs! ;0)

I think the fats and protein make a bigger difference, and those are much harder to figure out! I know fats can make a difference for me, but I’m not so sure about protein. I can have a meal that’s low/lower in fat, and higher in protein, and very little, if any carbs, and not have a rise in BG. It can all be so confusing sometimes!