MFP sugar conversion

kmkappleidcom7919
kmkappleidcom7919 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
MFP logs 1 tsp sugar at 100 grams.
Why?
From my reading it’s 4.2 grams per tsp.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,148 Member
    kmkappleidcom7919 wrote: »
    MFP logs 1 tsp sugar at 100 grams.
    Why?
    From my reading it’s 4.2 grams per tsp.

    What MFP food database entry are you using specifically? The database is crowd sourced (entered by regular MFP users). Some of them aren't very conscientious or accurate about it.

    The best solution is to pick entries that you know are accurate.

    This one looks fine:

    tarz17f6e160.png

    But there are many.

    oqw83clj5bbi.png
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,119 Member
    In addition to the very good points made by Ann above, I'm wondering exactly what you're looking at that has you concluding that any MFP database entry for 1 tsp is being logged as 100 g, because I don't see how that's possible. While there are some non-user entries that give you a choice between a serving size by weight (e.g., grams) and a serving size by volume (e.g., teaspoon), you have to choose one. You either log a teaspoon or you log grams. Are you saying that you chose a teaspoon as a serving size, and the nutrients show 100 grams of sugars? Can you show us a screen shot of what it is you're seeing?
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 10,075 Member
    If you got an entry per 100 gr, and you know you only used 4.5gr then you can just log 0.045 and get the right calories. However, 4.5gr of sugar on a teaspoon sounds very low. I just tested a teaspoon of sugar for you, and it came up at 6gr. Yeah, it's only 6 calories more, but adds up if you have 6 cups of coffee with sugar per day.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,119 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    If you got an entry per 100 gr, and you know you only used 4.5gr then you can just log 0.045 and get the right calories. However, 4.5gr of sugar on a teaspoon sounds very low. I just tested a teaspoon of sugar for you, and it came up at 6gr. Yeah, it's only 6 calories more, but adds up if you have 6 cups of coffee with sugar per day.

    And that's why you should weigh instead of using volume measures, because it's easy to be overgenerous with a volume measure. According to the USDA, a teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4 grams. If you log your "teaspoon" as 1 teaspoon, you will be undercounting your sugar calories by 1/3 (33%).
  • paints5555
    paints5555 Posts: 1,233 Member

    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    And that's why you should weigh instead of using volume measures, because it's easy to be overgenerous with a volume measure. According to the USDA, a teaspoon of granulated sugar weighs 4 grams. If you log your "teaspoon" as 1 teaspoon, you will be undercounting your sugar calories by 1/3 (33%).

    Absolutely this - Measuring spoons, cups, etc available for household use are VERY approximate. You would think that a teaspoon is a teaspoon but they can vary a lot. Keep this in mind when all you have is a volume measurement for a particular food product and you don't have any information on what that volume is supposed to weigh.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 35,148 Member
    edited April 2023
    yirara wrote: »
    If you got an entry per 100 gr, and you know you only used 4.5gr then you can just log 0.045 and get the right calories. However, 4.5gr of sugar on a teaspoon sounds very low. I just tested a teaspoon of sugar for you, and it came up at 6gr. Yeah, it's only 6 calories more, but adds up if you have 6 cups of coffee with sugar per day.

    Yirara, was this a measuring teaspoon you used, leveled with a knife or equivalent?

    I'm asking because IIRC you're not in the US, where teaspoons are a standard volume measure . . . the spoons here are quite standardized. I know other parts of the world have them, but not as usual a measurement. Type of sugar does matter volume-wise (crystal size can differ), and home scales aren't very precise, but off by 50% seems extreme if it's a properly leveled measuring teaspoon and standard granulated white sugar.

    I tried it, got a 1 gram variability (5g if I weighed it as I dipped out, leveled; 4g if I weighed the spoon then dumped the sugar). I know my food scale is a little iffy within a gram or two, realistically.

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