The second chapter of the food labels decryption is the Nutrition Facts. Although we were never trained to read this information, once a diabetic, we become non-certified nutritionists as well! In later articles, I will discuss more to the point the macro and micro nutrients. For the moment, we will just dive in the subject and try to understand this label.
Dissection of the nutrition facts
This is the label of some veggie crisps. As you can see, there are three sections:
- first information regarding the portion of reference, in this case 18 crackers, roughly 30 gr of product. There is also the value of the energy the crackers will provide.
- second group regards the macro nutrients information : fats, protein and carbs
- third one is about the micro nutrients, aka minerals and vitamins
- you also have the two most discussed values of cholesterol and sodium
Our main interest is in the second group!
The macro nutrients:
° Fats: as a diabetic, you need to know that there are two types of fats that you want to limit or to avoid completely: saturated fats as they increase your insulin resistance and trans fats as they are the main cause of high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature: animal fats like ghee, butter, lard, and plant fats like coconut oil. The latter is an exception as it contains lauric acid only found in maternal milk and has numerous health benefits. Trans fats are an absolute no-no, to avoid at any cost: margarine, shortening, industrial vegetable oil, industrial palm oil, hydrogenated oils.
Bottom line is that you want to have as little as possible of saturated fats and zero trans fats!
° Carbohydrates: are your main concern! You want them to be under 30 gr when the portion size is 100 gr, so in this case it would be less than 9… But it is 20, so it’s too much. Fiber, as well as sugars, are a part of carbs as well as sugars. While fiber is not of any concern, sugars should be as low as possible, under 3 when the portion size is 100 gr, under 1 gr in this case. Here it is 2 gr.
Net carbs is a very complicated denomination, even scientists have different opinions on what net carbs actually are and what is their role! In the US, people count the net carbs although the ADA (American Diabetes Association) does not recommend it! In Europe, “net carbs” is a totally alien concept. How do we count net carbs? By subtracting dietary fiber and sugar alcohols from total carbs. In this case 20-2=18. So you have 18 gr of starches and sugars that are called net carbs and will be digested differently by your body.
In case of whole grains, the total carbohydrates will be around 70 gr per 100gr portion size. That’s okay as long as you don’t exaggerate the amount that you want to eat and you do add a double or even triple portion size of veggies!
° Protein: you do want your food to contain protein whether it is plant or animal. However, since protein needs pancreatic enzymes to be digested, you want to give a break to your over-warn pancreas and keep your daily intake within the recommended values: 0.8 gr of protein for 1 kg or 2.2 lbs of body weight. If you are over 60 then you need 1 gr of protein for 1 kg or 2.2 lbs of body weight. And if you are an athlete or do work out consistently, you might increase up to 2 gr of protein for 1 kg of body weight. But if you have colon problems or kidney insufficiency, you should reduce or even avoid animal protein intake as much as possible.
Just for the sake of fun, here it is an American product in a French supermarket! As you can see, the nutrition facts are less complicated, easier to read and of course they come in different languages.
In Europe, all labels give the data reference to 100 gr, sometimes they also add a portion size. In this example the fats are okay but the there is an enormous amount of carbs and sugars. Definitely not a diabetic friendly product!