Carbohydrate free foods

[Willow]

My old doctor told me not to bother counting vegetables or salad, so I never did. But I've since found out that foods such as red/green/yellow peppers & some veggies do contain carbohydrates, so I now count them.

What foods are carb free? I know some cheese are but that isn't very healthy.

Thanks.

[DeusXM]

Peppers and some other vegetables do indeed have carbs since they contain sugars. However, the net amount is pretty much minimal so I wouldn't really worry about it.

As for carb free foods - obviously unprocessed meat is generally carb free. Sausages and burgers usually aren't because usually they've got rusk or something like that to bulk them, although if you're buying 'proper' produce, from a farm, say, then you're on more secure ground. Also ham or smoked bacon can have sugars involved in their processing at some point.

Cheese is healthy providing you don't stuff yourself with it. It's full of calcium, but essentially it is just a block of protein and fat. As part of a balanced diet though, it's fine.

I'm not sure really if any vegetables can truly be counted as carb-free since all plants have sugars present in them as a result of how they process their own nutrition, but really we're talking something like 0.0000000003g. Your doctor is probably just pointing out that peppers etc. have slightly higher levels of carb than other vegetables.

[Willow]

Thanks DeusXM for the info. I have a pair of Rosemary Connelly scales which are great as they tell you the exact content of fat, carbs, fibre etc in whatever you place on the scales.

Cheese, yeah as long as it is part of a balanced diet it is fine...but I love it too much! lol

[HeatherP]

Most proteins have trace or no carbs.

Easiest way to measure veggies is: 1 cup raw 5 gms/carbs & 1 cup cooked is 10 gms/carbs.

[KLD]

Heather just made a good point in that raw vegetables are lower in carbs than are cooked ones. And Deus is right in saying that there's no such thing as a carb-free vegetable.

There is a significant differences in the carb content of vegetables, though. As a type 2 diabetic who keeps my blood sugars completely normal with a low carb diet, I've become very aware of the differences. Here's a general guideline. The one that breaks my heart is corn - I love it but haven't eaten it for two years.

Low Carb Vegetables:

Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Asparagus
Green or Yellow Beans
Edible-pod peas (snap peas, snow peas)
Spinach
Turnips
Celery
Cabbage
Eggplant
Mushrooms
Zucchini
Summer squash such as spaghetti squash
Peppers (all colours)
All the salad greens

High Carb Vegetables:

Beets
Carrots
Corn (remember one of the primary uses of corn is in fattening cattle and pigs!)
Potatoes
Lima beans
Lentils
Chickpeas
Parsnips
Winter squash

I've probably missed a few things, but that covers most veggies. Tomatoes and onions are on the high carb side, but can be eaten by low carbers in small amounts.

Karen

[Deager]

Most poultry have no carbs. It is what you add to them...breading, etc......that adds the carbs. Turkey, turkey bologna, turkey ham and chicken, chicken lunchmeat....have save my bacon a lot lately. Ha...did I make a joke????

Diane

[Willow]

Thanks guys

[Lorna]

I've always got away with eating melons and strawberrys without counting them although they do have some carbohydrates.

[gettingby]

Does anyone know about cucumbers? I really love them and we have gotten alot of them from our garden. I think, if I remember correctly, they used to be considered free foods on the standard ADA meal plan.:confused:

[HeatherP]

According to my info, yes, they count. 1 cup is 5 gms/carbs raw (can't imagine eating a cooked one though.......)


Pickles depend on how they're prepared.

[amyjean]

I know carrots seem to be higher on the GI list, but is it bad to juice with them. I started juicing and carrots seem to be the base for alot of th recipes. I like juicing for breakfast because I can get extra veggies in and it helps with bathroom issues. I don't want to sound dumb, but if all I am doing is extracting the juice from the carrot will that raise my b/s as if I just ate a carrot?

Amy

[KLD]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Amy, but the juice of any fruit or vegetable will raise your b/s more than the fruit or vegetable itself. That is because the natural sugars are more concentrated in the juice. When I was first diagnosed and was referred to a diabetes clinic at our local hospital, the nurse/diabetes educator and the dietitian there both told us that diabetics should not drink juice for that reason - and they were not believers in low carb eating for diabetics. That was just their standard advice.

Karen

[HeatherP]

Karen's right. When eating fruits and veggies we are also getting fiber which slows down absorption of the natural sugars.

In juice the fiber is eliminated and you're just getting the sugar.

[DeusXM]

Its odd though because in my personal experience, juice raises my bg level by about 0.5mmol/l at the very most. That's why I always have trouble understanding people who use orange juice for hypo treatment - it'd do a big fat nothing for me! Although, of course, everyone's different - though I certainly couldn't do without my fruit juice (although why anyone would want to drink carrot juice is beyond me).

[HeatherP]

(although why anyone would want to drink carrot juice is beyond me).

I gotta agree w/ you there, Deus, lol!

I however am one of those folks that prefers juice to treat hypos. I find that it works fastest for me, faster than processed sugars such as those in soda and candy. It's also a bit of a treat because I don't normally get to drink it.

HeatherP

[lgvincent]

I always thought things like carrots and tomatoes were low in carbohydrates and considered them to be "free" foods that I could eat without worry. I'll have to check my blood sugar after eating these things now and see what happens.

[KLD]

Carrots are big no-nos for people on low carb diets, because they have a high sugar content. Tomatoes are border-line, so we eat them in very small quantities - a slice or two with a hamburger pattie, for example. Or if I'm making vegetable soup, I'll cut up one tomato in it.

I'd be interested to know what your tests show, lgvincent. Keep us posted.

Karen

[amyjean]

Thanks for the replys on the juicing. I really like juicing for breakfast because it's light and gets the veggies in. I guess I'll need to look for another breakfast choice.

For me a half a cup of orange juice will raise my b/s pretty quick if I am low. I guess we are all different.

Amy