Carbs That Don't Count!

ENDOCRINOLOGY & DIABETES UNIT Diabetes Clinic: 604-875-2868 Toll-free Phone: 1-888-300-3088, x2868 Fax: 604-875-3231 http://endodiab.bcchildrens.ca

CARBS THAT DON’T COUNT!

Carbohydrates include starch, sugar, and fibre. YOU DO THE MATH #1!  Starch and sugar will raise blood glucose levels, while fibre will If the label says…

not. When reading nutrition labels, subtract the amount of Carbohydrate 23 g fibre from the total carbohydrate to find the amount of Fibre 6 g available carbohydrate that is able to raise the blood sugar. Sugars 7 g  While sugar values may be indicated on a nutrition label, the then…

amount of starch is hidden in the total carbohydrate value. Available carbohydrate Subtract the sugars and fibre from the amount of total = total carbs – fibre

carbohydrate to find the starch value. = ____ g

Starch

Sweeteners = total carbs – fibre –

 In many foods today, a variety of sweeteners is used in place sugar

of table sugar to make a product sweet-tasting and sometimes = ____ g

being lower in calories and sugars.

 Note that some sweeteners can contain significant amounts of

carbohydrates (e.g. honey, lactose, fructose, and fruit juice YOU DO THE MATH #2!

concentrate). Others, such as sugars alcohols (see below) and If the label says…

non-nutritive sweeteners, such as sucralose (Splenda®), Carbohydrate 28 g acesulfame K, stevia and aspartame (Equal®) do not generally Sugars 5 g

affect the blood sugars. Sugar alcohols 7 g

then…

Sugar alcohols Available carbohydrate = total carbs – sugar  Sugar alcohols, also called “polyols”, are carbohydrate-based alcohols sweeteners that are very slowly and incompletely absorbed, so = ____ g they don’t generally raise the blood sugar.  In general, we no longer include the sugar alcohols in carb counts. Subtract all the value of sugar alcohol from the amount “NATURAL SUGAR” of total carbohydrate to find the total available carbohydrate. Many natural foods contain  Sugar or sugar alcohol? Sugar names end in “-ose”, such as a fair amount of sugar, glucose, sucrose, fructose, or lactose. Sugar alcohols typically particularly fruits. It is a end in “-ol”, such as isomalt, lactitol, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, common misconception that xylitol and erythritol. this sugar is healthier than  Eating lots of sugar alcohols can cause gas, bloating, and added sugar, or that it doesn’t cause a rise in diarrhea. The CDA suggests no more than 10 grams per day. blood sugar.

December 31, 2015 www.bcchildrens.ca/endocrinology-diabetes-site/documents/sugarsubs.pdf Page 1 of 2 Carbs That Don’t Count! (continued)

Fat substitutes IS IT A SUGAR OR A  As with sugar substitutes, fat replacements are also used to FAT? lower the amount of calories and fat that a product contains. Polydextrose (Litesse®) is a fat substitute that’s  Fat substitutes can be fat-, protein-, or carbohydrate-based. made from glucose and Some of the carbohydrate-based substitutes don’t have a sorbitol. BUT it has NO potential effect on your blood glucose. Others do, but they are significant effect on your

already counted as starch or fibre, so you don’t need to adjust blood glucose levels! The

your total available carbohydrate for them. polydextrose is included in  Carb-based fat substitutes that you might see in the list of the fibre content on the ingredients include: maltodextrin, carrageenan, guar gum, carob nutrition label. bean gum, locust bean gum, cellulose gum, methylcellulose and

other fibres, to name a few. FABULOUS FIBRE

Dietary fibre refers to the portion of the total carbs Low-carb vs. low-fat products that do not get absorbed  Be aware that products that advertise as being low-fat or fat- or raise the blood sugar. free may be relying on a number of different fat substitutes, There are different and are consequently high in carbohydrate. On the other hand, classes of dietary fibre, products that advertise as being low-carb may not necessarily and a mixture of these be low-fat or low-calorie. leads to improved gut health, better insulin  Take a look at the following ice cream examples to see how sensitivity and improved regular, low-fat, and low-carbohydrate products compare in blood sugar and cholesterol calories, fat, and carbohydrate for a ½-cup serving, as well as levels. in their ingredients (partial list).

YOU DO THE MATH #3! Regular Ice Low-Carb Ice No-Sugar-Added No-Sugar-Added Cream* Cream* Ice Cream* Light Ice Cream* Here’s one last challenge: If the label says… Carbohydrate 33 g Fibre 3 g Sugars 15 g Starch 11 g Sugar alcohols 4 g then… per ½-cup serving: per ½-cup serving: per ½-cup serving: per ½-cup serving: Available carbohydrate Calories: 170 Calories: 150 Calories: 90 Calories: 100 Fat: 10 g Fat: 10 g Fat: 3 g Fat: 0 g = ___ g Carb: 19 g Carb: 13 g Carb: 13 g Carb: 22 g #1: Available #1: #2 s #3: Available #3: *(all of which all is *(of which 10 g *(of which 5 g *(of which 12 g tarch : sugar) are fibre, sugar are fibre, sugar are fibre, sugar carbs Available

ANSWERS alcohols and alcohols and alcohols and g 10

polydextrose) polydextrose) polydextrose)

carbs carbs carbs carbs

17 g 17 21 g 21 The nutrition labels on common products can be confusing. 26 g. g. ; . Always read the label to make the best choice for you.

December 31, 2015 www.bcchildrens.ca/endocrinology-diabetes-site/documents/sugarsubs.pdf Page 2 of 2