Understanding food labels and Peanutbutter

(James) #1

Hi,I’m new around here. Thanks for having me, it’s great to be around fellow dieters. Before i get to my question, here is a bit about me.

My wife is disabled and wanted to go on the keto diet. I know how tempting it can be to see someone eat a meal you can’t so I went on the diet with her. Ok enough about my story, here is my question(s).

I am trying to wrap my head around food labels. Some sites say "UK NET carbs are already counted and nor displayed. Yet I thought we had to do that ourselves if NET carbs are not shown?

Last question, I promise!

Peanut butter! My wife loves it, so I am attempting to make the journey for her a bit easier. I have looked around and the only peanut butter I found, it’s from Morrisons (out of stock). It has 7.1 grams of carbs per 100g. Yet I can not find one with the same or less amount of carbs.

So if you could, if links are not permitted, please pm me the link. Amazon would be proffered, or at least a UK seller.

Thank you for reading. And as you too maybe on the same journey. Good luck to you and your goals.

Have a great day/evening!

James

#2

In Europe the label has the net carbs (allegedly… the fiber is subtracted and possibly shown separately but I think it’s not the case with sugar alcohols…? but maybe you are like me and never buy stuff with sugar alcohols. I did it once and I remember the carbs were super high due to the sugar alcohols, the sugars showed the truth but if the stuff had starches too, I wouldn’t have known how to count).

Peanut has lots of carbs, peanut butter can’t be a very low-carb item. But it may fit into your keto, it’s about amounts (and carb limits and what else you eat).

('Jackie P') #3


I use this one. A tbsp swirled in some yogurt laced with double cream is delicious!
Good wishes to the both of you.

(Bob M) #4

At least you can compare based on 100g. In the US, we get things like “1 tablespoon”, which makes comparison useless. Since they can round down, I’ve seen salsa (uses 2 tablespoons) with basically no carbs, fat, anything.

Also, for chocolate in the US, none of them use the same serving size. So, comparisons are difficult unless you want to break out a calculator.

Anyway, good luck finding a peanut butter.

(James) #5

Hey, thanks for replying! Yeah we have tried to stay away from sugar alcohols for the same result you found. Still trying to work out carbs on labels, all apart of the journey, I guess haha.

Thanks again, have a great day!

(James) #6

Hey, thank you for the link and advice. Have just ordered two of them, just incase ahaha. All the best to you. Have a great day!

(James) #7

Hey, you’re right. It does seem to be easier to work out carbs on UK food labels. I looked at Keto Milk Chocolate. But silly me I forgot you need dried cream powder, which is i can not find in the UK. I found a US product - dried cream powder, keto friendly, but it would be very costly to get it sent here.

Anyways, thanks for replying and good luck to you on your journey!

(Susan) #8

Welcome to the forum, @JamesB --I wish you and your wife all the best on your Keto journeys. I think that it is lovely that you are doing this with her. I think as a couple doing it together that is brilliant and that you will be a great encouragement to one anotheir.

Please do not be afraid to ask questions here! Most of us did the same when we were new to Keto and the forum (I sure know I did!). There is an awesome bunch of fellow Ketoers here that are happy to share their experiences and knowledge and to encourage new people that find this special place on the world wide web.

Just one more thing that I would like to share with you is to try to think of Keto as a lifestyle way of eating --changing from the old to the new, instead of a “diet”. This will help you enjoy your food more; and adapt to this fabulous way of eating a lot easier if you do that. I have been doing Keto for 2 years now; and I love it so much. I am pleased for you and your wife that you are now going to experience this new adventure as well.

(Jane) #9

You are an angel to support your wife!

My own “angel” did the same thing but as he went through carb withdrawal complained bitterly to anyone who would listen. The waitress taking our order “I can’t have that” in a grumpy voice.

But he stuck to it to support me and now no regrets and is totally on board. They can bring a basket of rolls to the table and we just ignore it (instead of him looking longingly at them LOL).

He was a TOFI - thin on the outside fat on the inside - and has experienced so many health benefits from keto that he and I will never go back to a SAD diet. I wish you and yours the best.

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

  1. In the U.K. and Europe, the nutrition label lists net carbohydrates and fibre separately. If you want to count net carbohydrate, you need do nothing, just use the number of grams shown. If you want to count the total amount of carbohydrate you eat, you must add the amount listed under “carbohydrate” and the amount listed under “fibre” to get the total.

    In North America, the nutrition label lists total carbohydrate. The amount of fibre is included in the amount shown under the “carbohydrate” header. If you want to count total carbohydrate you need do nothing, just use the number of grams shown. But if you want to count only net carbohydrate, you have to subtract the amount listed under “fiber” from the amount listed under “carbohydrate” to get the net amount.

    There is some debate among proponents of the ketogenic diet, whether to count total or net carbs. The rationale for the latter is that fibre is indigestible and therefore need not be counted. The rationale for the former is that it is easier to be sure to stay under your limit if you count total carbs. The whole point of counting carbohydrate intake is to avoid eating enough to elevate one’s insulin level more than necessary, so many people feel safer tracking total carbohydrate intake.

  2. As for peanut butter, one solution is to look for brands at the whole foods shop that do not contain added sugar. The whole foods place near me grinds peanuts to order, so that you can be sure that nothing is added. It’s not quite the texture of peanut butter, but it’s quite tasty. However, even ground peanuts contain a fair amount of carbohydrate, so you don’t want too much, in any case.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #11

Be very careful with peanut butter. The peanuts themselves have carbs, but there may also be added carbs and specifically added sugar or one sort or another. So read labels! Also, the fat profile of peanut butter is not very good, no sat fat, 2/3 MUFA and 1/3 PUFA. Many peanut butters have added seed oil as well which just increases the PUFA content. Yes, mounting evidence suggests you want to reduce your PUFA intake overall (search PUFA on this site). @ctviggen may advise about PUFAs.

My opinion is peanut butter is better ditched along with all the other so-called ‘nut butters’. A far better alternative is ghee (clarified butter) or plain old butter. When I started keto I ditched all my previous carb-loaded foods and didn’t miss them a bit. Still don’t. There is life without peanut butter. :crazy_face:

(Bob M) #12

I’m in agreement with @amwassil here about PUFAs, nuts, and nut butters: they’re best not eaten or eaten on a limited basis.

On the other hand, if you’re just starting out and you NEED peanut butter to be a success, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d rather see someone eat low carb + peanut butter than go off the diet.

And I still eat nuts sometimes. My wife last night made “chicken fried steak” (which, oddly, is made from beef), a meal you only see in diners in the US. Or at least that’s the only place I’ve ever seen it.

It was beef dredged in almond flour + pork rinds + other stuff, and pan fried in beef tallow (from suet, homemade). It included a sausage “gravy”.

It went over like a lead balloon. I didn’t mind it, but the kids weren’t enthused. I ate some today for lunch, too, as I hate for food (it’s beef!) to go to waste. It has to be absolutely terrible for me not to eat it.

So, I still eat nuts, their flours or butters, but try to make them infrequent treats.

As for the original poster’s wife, if you two make it 2-3+ months from now, see what happens when you actually eat peanut butter or nuts. What I found (for nuts, as I didn’t eat the nut butters) was that there was no or very little “off switch” for nuts. I could eat and eat and eat… So, I gave them up.

(Joey) #13

@JamesB Greetings, James! Sweet man to join your wife in forming a ketocracy.

Yeah, as said above, peanut butter is a tough call, given the inherent carbs - and often added items.

You might check out Almond Butter - looks the same and tastes pretty similar, if not better than Peanut Butter. I’ve found the all natural 100% no additive versions of Almond Butter to be far lower carbs (net) than most other products in this category.

Best wishes to you both :vulcan_salute:

(Karen) #14

Does your wife like almond butter as i thinknit has fewer carbs and with it being a bit drier one is less likely to want too much.

When I first started keto I was making my own. I would shell a bag of peanuts (much cheaper than bying a jar of peanut butter) and put them in my nutribullet. Didn’t add anything as the peanuts are ouly enough. Warning home made is more delicious than shop bought and too moreish. I tried it with almonds but not as good. Also tried with the cheap packets of salted, unsalted and dry roasted peanuts from Lidl. Quicker but again so moreish. Almost addictive.

Since going zc carnivore i have stopped eating it and probably done me good and I don’t crave it now either.

(Joey) #15

@Karen18 Putting aside the craving “moreish” issue (which is very real for many folks), there is something to be said for the nutritional value of an appropriate amount of nuts - given the protein and fat sources they can offer.

But, yeah, controlling the “dosage” takes some forethought. I pour out a pile of pistachios or macadamia nuts that I intend to eat and put the containers away BEFORE I start. This seems to help since I’m not going to allow myself to go back to the trough for more. :wink: