Healthy Living: Carb Control

If you're working on healthy eating habits, you NEED to come to our monthly nutrition classes with Judy Palken, Registered Dietitian. She offers clear, and easy-to-follow advice on a variety of health topics to help you improve the way you eat, and in turn, improve your health. Our next class is Healthy Holiday Eating on November 9 at 1pm in the Banx Room. Register HERE.

We hosted Judy on October 12th, for her Stay Healthy with Carb Control class. Here is the information and advice she presented on how to make carb control part of your daily diet.

Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Why Control Carbs?

Eating an excess of carbohydrates can contribute to:

• Weight gain
• Metabolic syndrome
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases
• Inflammation

How Many Carbs Should I Eat?

According to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the daily intake of carbohydrates should be 45-65% 

Below are 4 types of carbohydrate diets (information from Today's Dietitian November 2018)

• Very low-carbohydrate diet – 21-70 g per day   
• Ketogenic diet – < 50 g carb per day (sometimes 20-30 g carb per day). The body burns stored fat for energy, and ketone bodies are produced as a byproduct.
• Atkins Diet – 20-40 g net carbs per day (net carbs = total carbs minus fiber)
• Moderately low-carbohydrate diet – 30% - < 40% of calories as carbohydrate
• Moderate-carbohydrate diet – 40% - 65% of calories as carbohydrate 
• High-carbohydrate diet - > 65% of calories as carbohydrate 

   

Judy's Tips for Controlling Carbs  

• Measure out breakfast cereal
• Bagel – eat half, or scoop it out 
• To serve with spreads – cucumber rounds, carrots, celery, high fiber crackers   
• Spiralized veggies instead of regular pasta     
• Cook your own pasta sauce, or buy a low sugar variety  
• Choose a small potato, or a half of one  
• Ice cream – serving = ½ cup
• Choose high-quality carb sources – whole grain foods, legumes, fruits, vegetables  

Judy's Book Suggestion

The Hungry Girl Diet: Big Portions. Big Results., by Lisa Lillien offers ideas for low carb snacks, such as Baked Kale Chips, Easy Cheesy Noodles, Veggie Egg Mug, Deli Rolls, Feta-Stuffed Strawberries, and Upside-Down Cream Pie on pages 200 and 201.

How Many Carbs are in the Foods I Eat Everyday?

Frame of reference:  Table sugar – 1 teaspoon has 4 grams of carbohydrate  

Fruits and Vegetables

• Apple – medium - 25
• Orange – 17 g
• Banana – medium - 27
• Blueberries – ½ cup - 11
• Raisins – 2 Tbsp - 16
• Carrot – raw, 1 medium - 6
• Celery – 1 medium stalk – 1.2 
• Broccoli, raw, chopped, 1 cup – 6  
• Butternut squash, baked – ½ cup cubes – 10.8   
• Potato, white, with skin, baked - 1 medium – 36.5 
• Sweet potato, baked - 1 medium – 23.6  
• Corn, yellow, boiled – ½ cup – 15.6  

Protein

• Chicken – 3 oz - 0
• Egg, 1 large - 0.4 
• Peanut butter, smooth – 2 Tbsp – 7.1   

Grains

• Bread, whole wheat – 1 slice – 13.7  
• Post Shredded Wheat – 1 ¼ cup – 47 
• Brown rice – cooked, ½ cup - 23
• Spaghetti, ½ cup packed - 23
• Bagel –  small (3”) - 36   
• Bagel –  med (3.5-4”) – 55 
• Bagel –  large (4.5”) – 68.6  
• Muffin – Dunkin Donuts, Blueberry - 76
• Crackers – Ritz x5 – 10 
• Saltines (5 crackers) – 12   

Dairy

• Milk, 8 fl oz – 13
• Yogurt – plain, nonfat, 6 oz – 13.1 
• Yogurt – fruit, nonfat, 6 oz – 32.3

Dessert

• Cupcake, w/ buttercream frosting - 30
• Ice cream, chocolate - ½ cup – 18.6  
• Frozen yogurt, chocolate – 18.8   
• Gummy bears, x15 – 46 

Sugary Drinks

• Coke – 8 fl oz - 27
• Punch – 8 fl oz- 30
• Orange juice – 8 fl oz - 29

Sweeteners

• Table sugar – 1 Tbsp - 12
• Maple syrup – 1 Tbsp – 13.4
• Honey – 1 Tbsp – 17.3

Shortcuts for estimating carbs

• Bread – 15 g carb
• Fruit - 15 g carb  
• Non-starchy vegetable - 5 g carb    

Nutrient Analysis from: 

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

https://www.sparkpeople.com/    

Information provided by Judy Palken, MNS, RD, LDN
Crystal Clear Nutrition jcpalken@gmail.com
Crystal Clear Nutrition Facebook page; request to join!