A poster on the Healthy Eating forum gave this link. It provides a good summary of the carbs we should be eating and it also includes a number of other useful links.
Useful article about carb intake: A poster on the... - PMRGCAuk
Useful article about carb intake
Written by
Marijo1951
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
81 Replies
•
Thanks for the link. The 20-50g per day is the most realistic to keep losing weight. But whichever category you are in you can drop to the one lower for a while, then drop again. That way you don't feel any sense of deprivation.
If you gather knowledge of what foods are low carb, it's possible to overlay the calcium content so you can choose low carb that has high calcium. 🤞
iofbonehealth.org/osteoporo...
Marijo1951• in reply to
Thank you for this. As you say, a good idea to use the two together to work out what we should be eating.
Soraya_PMR• in reply to
Didn’t realise cress was such a goodie. Does this include water cress I wonder?
• in reply toSoraya_PMR
Watercress grows in rivers in limestone areas and limestone is calcium carbonate. It liked those conditions so suspect farmed watercress has similar needs.
wildplantguide.com/foraging...
Soraya_PMR• in reply to
Wonderful. Good thinking Poop, my synapses are not connected today. I believe there is a type that you can grow out of water (land watercress or somesuch) and as I live on chalk, I think I might try it.
Did they have to bring up liver flukes! Can’t something just be good for us without the constant down sides 🙄
• in reply toSoraya_PMR
Yes I couldn't cut and paste the first section because of pictures. I have foraged in the peak District streams years ago. Always washed well in a bucket for a couple of days. Must admit always made soup because of amount. I also forage wild raspberries, bilberry and strawberries. I recently found several lovely patches of strawberries well above dog height. Delish. I am waiting for fruits. Strawberries flowering.
That’s quite a good summary of low carb, and I love the way it is optimistic in style, ‘berries and full fat cream-yum’ doesn’t make it seem like a diet, more an opportunity to eat those things that you’ve denied yourself so long 😁
That said, I’ve never denied myself full fat! At the height of the ‘low fat’ nonsense it was difficult to find full fat yogurts etc on supermarket shelves. I used to annoy people buying all the diet foods with “I need all the calories I can get!” But take a peek at those low fat yogurts and they’re CRAMMED with sugar! I’ve also always stuck with butter, streaky bacon, full fat milk, and have never been an ounce overweight. My LDL is higher than recommendation, shock horror! But my HDL is 3 times recommendation, so ratios are fine and dandy. Bodies need cholesterol to function in every cell, and intake is barely going to affect levels. Your liver will churn out cholesterol as needed, so eat eggs aplenty and enjoy them, they’re very healthful, are cited as helping maintain blood sugars, and are carb free. Stick to free range to get all the benefits.
I love the closing paragraphs: “However, one of the great benefits of low-carb diets is that they're ridiculously simple. You don't need to track anything if you don't want to.
Just eat some protein, healthy fats and veggies at every meal. Throw in some nuts, seeds, avocados and full-fat dairy products for good measure. Choose unprocessed foods. It doesn't get much simpler than that!”
"However, one of the great benefits of low-carb diets is that they're ridiculously simple. You don't need to track anything if you don't want to."
My point exactly - you learn what carbs are what and what is NO carb. Nothing else needed except imagination to make yummy meals and never feel hungry!
I am a real fan of magazines but they are expensive so my husband bought me a subscription to Readly which seems to have access to endless magazines from all over the world. One I have found useful is Low-Carb Diet from healthyfood. I have found this very useful for low carb recipes and info. I'm not sure if it's in the shops and I think it may be a one off special.
Also very good is The Diabetes Weight-loss cookbook by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi. I think this has been mentioned here before, but just in case you missed it, it has a very good explanation of carbs and some lovely recipes.
I am always looking for something good that I can eat!
Low-Carb Diet from healthyfood. I found this in M&S, £5.99 issue 14, so not a ‘one off’.
I love the Caldesi book. I love his ‘cheats’ hollandaise 😋
I made the peanut butter cake, without the jelly, in cupcake moulds. I've frozen them so when I crave cake there's a small treat waiting. Very nice!
Not a fan of peanut butter, but was thinking of doing the orange cake as cupcakes. Tried the orange cake? Not done it yet as can’t find 2 hours to boil oranges!!!
Yep. Any cake gets tried first! Nice flavour but as my OH had a minor panic attack while I was doing it I forgot the butter and can't comment on the texture. You don't have to watch the oranges if you simmer them in enough water.
• in reply toSoraya_PMR
Would they have same result in an oven under water? I would be setting my timer and walking off!
I would think so.
But this can't be low carb surely???????????
But this
theguardian.com/lifeandstyl...
says "... both take the Claudia Roden approach and boil the fruits whole before blitzing them, skin and all, in a food processor to produce an orange puree that is then folded into the other ingredients. Forti does a similar thing with the flesh, which is quicker, but sadly it’s impossible to achieve quite the same aromatic edge without the whole fruit. If you’re fortunate enough to have a microwave, then the oranges can be cooked in it (according to Hornby, one should halve the fruit, put it in a bowl with a splash of water, cover with clingfilm pierced in a few places and then cook on full power for 10 minutes until soft). Phipps suggests they can be done in half an hour in a pressure cooker, but for the rest of us, a gentle two-hour simmer is necessary for perfection."
• in reply toPMRpro
Handy hint. I haven't seen the recipe yet. Unless freezable I don't attempt anything.
I assume everything will freeze - except salad leaves and mayo!
I thought there’d be a microwave alternative. Thanks 👍🏼
One cake, serving ten it suggests, is 9.7g carbs. (6.8g protein, 17g fat, 4.8g fibre, 229kcal)
Not bad - I've made Nigella's traditional version and it is wonderful!
Thank you for the link to Readly which I've never heard of before - have to see which knitting magazines it includes. I agree about the Caldesi book, excellent whether one has diabetes or not. I also like Robin Ellis's book 'Mediterranean Cooking for Diabetics' - yes, the dishy,though now elderly, original BBC Poldark. He's a good cook too. Over 30 years ago I was in the same French class as him at the City Lit, and now he lives in France...
Name dropper!
• in reply toscats
😂😂😂 there are so.many low carb books but few that are good veggie books.
scats• in reply to
I think that's improving. I've seen several recipes using coconut oil, can't remember where though. Healthy Supplies have lots of recipes on their site, it may have been there. I can pass hours searching on line but I soon become annoyed by the adds the cooking blogs carry.
• in reply toscats
There are lots online but it's not the same as recipe books. There are some new ones but cost a fortune by the time you have finished. Fortunately I like stir fried, or salad or veg soups. I tend to mix this up with Quorn, tofu and tempeh. Full fat greek yoghurt with soft fruits for pudding. Everyone has a fairly limited or regular diet. Once you have worked out carbs for a few meals that probably enough to maintain a low carb approach.
scats• in reply to
I find I tend to stick to a few favorites. I just wish the rest of the family would eat them, now that would make life easier.
• in reply toscats
I bet.
Why not the same as recipe books? I think the internet is better in lots of ways.
• in reply toPMRpro
I always end up with sticky hands trying to scroll through my phone because only half the recipe is shown. I have to keep looking at method with foggy head. My phone covered in veg juice, onions garlic etc by the time I have finished. If I had a printer it would be ok. But I also like reading recipe books.
Ah - I always use a small computer. Only have a basic phone ...
Oh yes - I READ recipe books and have a few I refuse to chuck whatever OH says!!
Soraya_PMR• in reply to
You have just identified a niche that needs filling!
“Low carb vegetarian cook book” by Poopadoop 👍🏼
• in reply toSoraya_PMR
Tired thinking about it.
I know, I'm terrible! Have I ever mentioned the time I sat next to Anne Hathaway in a café in Brooklyn?
Crikey, I didn’t know you were Shakespearean! 😮
Thanks for the tip about Readly scats. It looks great. I’m an avid magazine reader too but they are becoming quite expensive on a regular basis. I’ve just signed up for the one month trial- at 99p for the first month so I can see what is on offer and whether I like reading magazines online. Thanks for sharing this.
Also agree about the Caldesi book - it is really good too.
Linda
Thanks for posting this useful revision. I still can’t find a way to be allowed cake. ☹️
• in reply toSheffieldJane
You can have cake but you have to make it. There are low carb baking books out there.
• in reply toSheffieldJane
Btw I think that a bit of cake every so often should be allowed. I have the occasional bit of bought, homemade style, parkin. An individual portion. It does you no good long term to feel deprived. As soon as something is banned absolutely it becomes a centre of desire.
SheffieldJane• in reply to
Tell me about it. It’s the sheer boredom of no sugar hit. X
It would be nice to just be able to buy something occasionally!
• in reply toscats
Find somewhere that sells you one portion. Sometimes it's not the one bit....its following it the next couple of days because you don't want to waste it.
• in reply toscats
And I mean full on carb. Once in a while or occasionally isn't a bad thing!
scats• in reply to
Comforting, especially in winter.
Buy and freeze in single portions- you have time to rethink!
I usually make and freeze, I like to know what I'm eating. I was just agreeing with Jane because when I'm not up to making it would be nice to be able to buy ready made low carb treats.
Depends what you want I suppose - I could fancy a tub of mascarpone and berries - that would hit the spot!!!!
Me too, mascapone and anything really. We are bad when it comes to food. I need cheering up right now, just learnt both grandchildren are sick and won't be coming to stay tomorrow. I'm not sure cake is what I need tho, but I do have berries and cream in the fridge!
• in reply toscats
Go on. It's actually good for you as well as delish.
I love the bit where it says that the 20-50mg level is for the “metabolically deranged”. Sounds about right for Pred.
• in reply toSnazzyD
I decided it was a typo. But rereading it is not a mistake I don't think. I have always been metabolically deranged!
PMRproAmbassador
And just as an addendum - it has been found in the USA that many people are eating IRO 450g of carbs a day thinking that is a "normal" amount of carbs to eat. And wondering why they have a weight problem!!!!
The USA generally sunk hook line and sinker into the low fat nonsense. Quite possibly led by ‘Big Food’ and the government? And cranky science?
I'm just trying to visualise this - huge helpings of pasta, giant portions of fries, big platefuls of apple pie a la mode - not a very enticing idea...
I’d be asleep before the plate got to the sink!
When we are in the US we can't manage a plate between us! And a restaurant [sic] refused my husband the 4oz burger as it was a child's portion even though he offered to pay full whack. The amount on the plate just puts him off.
• in reply toPMRpro
My mouth literally fell open!
Thank you for the link, it was very helpful. Trying to lower my carbs and looking for info on how best to do it.
Maybe the best piece of advice that I received from here when diagnosed was to watch the carbs. It has served me well.
I’m a cookbook junkie. I love looking at recipes. However, I’ve transferred that love to food blog junkie. If you Google ‘12 Keto Blogs That Will Keep You Motivated When All You Want Is A Carb Fest’ by Everyday Health, you’ll discover some of my favorite blogs with beautiful pictures and recipes that are low carb. Most will have the nutritional information (calories, carbs, fat,, etc) with the recipe. Of course, you most likely will need to do some conversion in measuring systems.
everydayhealth.com/ketogeni...
(Beware, there are going to be advertisements to scroll past as they are how the blogger makes money from the blog. There will also be the narrative of how the recipe came about. Sometimes I read them, sometimes I don’t. Recipe is usually at the very bottom.)
It's the same on most of these food blogs, plenty to scroll through before you get to the recipe. I'll certainly take a look at these. At present I'm just delighted to have a good excuse to eat loads of asparagus and strawberries and cream.
PMRproAmbassador
Looks interesting - if you use an adblocker you can cheat some! Just makes it a bit jerky scrolling down.
Can I just say that it isn't KETO that is necessarily necessary, keto and low carb are not the same thing, i.e. the high fat bit is not essential. It is cutting your carbs to what you need that is important and keeping in plenty of vegetables makes the whole thing easier to adjust to. You are less likely to have the keto-flu, bad breath and constipation so many complain of if you reduce your carb load slowly, These sort of sites do provide ways of cutting carbs on one meal to allow a bit in another - with less of a sense of deprivation as a result.
So true! My goal has never been to be Keto compliant. I just want some low-carb casseroles that aren’t made with rice or noodles. I have learned to live without cakes, pies, etc (for the most part), but tell me I can’t have a casserole (and a small piece of chocolate) and I become DEPRIVED!
I've never made a casserole with rice or noodles!!! Veg rules!!! One slice of parsnip beats all the spud in the world...
Oh boy, I think you just opened another casserole door. Parsnips instead of potatoes! Why have I never thought of that?!!!? Thank you!
ONE slice - they have a LOT of carbs though a bit less than spuds!!!!!!!! Root veg need restraint! But a bit of parsnip has so much more flavour ...
Nice image for remembering:
dietdoctor.com/low-carb/veg...
Laughing, yes, after I posted that I Goggled their carb count and realized you literally meant a slice. Drats! Thanks for the information sheet. Will be a helpful reminder!
But you get such good value for that slice - the flavour gets everywhere ...
I don't think I could stick at a slice of parsnip. They've been my weakness since I was a child and my dad used to bring us huge, frost-touched specimens from his allotment. I love them roasted, in spicy soup or in delicious carb-laden breadcrumb-coated parsnip cakes (similar to potato cakes, but nicer). The truth is, at least while I'm trying a very low-carb diet, I shall simply have to give them up completely.
They are not easy to find here and I don't go to the shop that sells them regularly - but a pack a month seems fair ...
I always think that, much as the French deserve their reputation for cuisine, they can't be perfect as they feed parsnips to animals. I believe the same is true in other European countries. My daughter once told a German couple that she loved parsnips and turnips. When they found out what they were, they were very amused and said they were fed to pigs in Germany.
• in reply toMarijo1951
I like paprika, chills and ground black pepper. See below.
No they aren't, or at least not just! They have been available to buy from farmers markets for the best part of at least 40 years in Germany. They have other turnips as well. It's like Germans claim to be horrified by haggis - while selling Bauernleberwurst and the like. And I was once served Sour Lung as a midday meal in hospital!
I wouldn't fancy that. I remember my mum boiling 'lights' for the cat and they smelt disgusting. I was surprised when I heard about the German couple as I always associated root veg with middle European cuisine - maybe it's a regional thing.
My father loved the bits from the turkey at xmas!!! The rest of us just squirmed!!
Just different roots - and they are a bit parochial in some ways. Like most nations I suppose. Here in Italy it is different from one village to the next!
• in reply toPMRpro
I loved honeycomb tripe....🤢
• in reply toMarijo1951
Try roasting a seasoned cauliflower (whatever you like) and garlic cloves until softened, mash together with cheese of your choice and an egg. Make sure it's not runny and shape into cakes, you can put some seeds in or on f you like them but watch they don't burn. Fry or oven baked at your leisure.
Marijo1951• in reply to
Yes, I will try this, I promise. I've just eaten my dinner and now you've made me feel hungry again...
We never had them growing up. My mother-in-law; however, loved them and introduced me to them. I admit, I didn't like them at first, but grew to love them. She always added them to her roast beef along with the carrots, potatoes, and onions. Just thinking about that dish of hers makes me salivate.
Majijo1951, those parsnip cakes, sound delicious! Did you serve a sauce with them?
No sauce except maybe gravy if they were with meat. They were flavoured with a bit of mace or nutmeg. I got the recipe from Jill Norman's 'Winter Food', which is packed full of recipes that are delicious but unsuitable for a low-carb diet!
Not what you're looking for?
You may also like...
Need advice about low carb diets.
After writing that now I have steroid-induced high blood sugar and high blood pressure quite a few...
Questions, questions: To carb or not to carb?
Me again. Full of questions today. I'm learning how to rest my body, but my mind just doesn't...
Low carb diets
On top of everything else I'm now pre-diabetic. I wasn't prior to starting the steroids but as I'm...
Interesting article about Magnesium
Just came across this very interesting article and thought it worth sharing here.
Very worrying to...
Low carb cooking
SheffieldJane mentioned a low carb cookbook a few days ago and several people asked for more info....
Related Posts
Low carb diet?
Worried about gaining weight on prednisone
Another post on low carb eating - theory and evidence
low low carb diet while on prednisone 
Low Carb Diet makes a difference?Moderation team
SophieMBPartner
Fran_BensonPartner
