Tin of Tuna - calculate macros

Hondo_Man
Hondo_Man Posts: 114 Member
edited January 20 in Food and Nutrition
Right then, been a donkey's age since I posted anything on MFP, but this one has had me stumped for a good time now.

Hypothetical: A tin of tuna fish with olive oil has, per a 100g serving, 0 Carbs, 8gr of fat and 20gr of protein. The tin states the oil and fish weight combined are 160gr and the weight of the fish alone, or drained, is 112gr.

To empty the entire tin into a wee bowl, let's say is 160gr according to one's scale, but the macros would be off. The difference of 112 to 160 (48g) is only oil and carries no protein.

The only solution that makes a bit of sense / no sense is to input 112g of olive oil Tuna fish and add 48gr of generic olive oil.... but this can't do. Adding 48g of oil is about 40g of fat! The tin states 100 of fish and oil is only 8g. This is a right mess!

Perhaps one of you lot might have a better means to input this into one's diary.

Thoughts?

Cheers!


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Replies

  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    Well, the net weight ~should~ be the weight of the fish. It is likely that the nutrition information is just for the fish excluding the oil it is packed in even though some oil will come along no matter what you do.

    One option is to log:
    100 grams fish (as per the label)
    60 grams olive oil (if the total weight of what you put in your bowl is 160 grams)

    Yes, that's a lot of oil. There's a lot of oil in there. One US teaspoon of oil is about 4.5 grams, and 60 grams of olive oil is about a quarter cup US (66 ml).

    Often there's more in the can than is stated on the label. The US Food & Drug Administration allows them to be off by 20%.

    You can always look at the USDA's Food Data Central. Their data for "Fish, tuna, white, canned in water, without salt, drained solids" for a 100 gram serving is 128 calories, ~3g fat, ~24g protein.

    Make a well-reasoned choice and recognize it will never be perfect.
  • AmunahSki
    AmunahSki Posts: 219 Member
    🤯

    Glad I don’t eat tuna! 🤣
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    I usually eat tuna in water. Unless I'm on vacation in Southern Europe and do a longer hike. But yeah, the oil in tuna does add up massively.
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    If you want really good tuna, get the stuff that's canned (in a glass jar or a steel can) in its own juice.

    Most canned tuna is cooked and THEN canned and processed with either water, broth, or oil. Olive oil packed is better, in my opinion, than vegetable packed. If you get tuna that is put into the can (jar) raw and cooked while it processes, it's really good.

    Where I live, we get fresh Pacific albacore in season (July and August). Pacific tuna is lower in mercury because we harvest smaller fish. It's a great value, and if you have a pressure canner, you can make jars of goodness for the whole year. It's completely unlike the "regular" but very affordable cans on most store shelves.

    You will pay a lot more for this kind of tuna, so be prepared. Four six-ounce cans of Oregon's Choice ordered online will set you back $40 plus shipping. I can find this in stores locally for a bit less. If you can find Sweet Creek Farms tuna, you will be rewarded.
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  • Hondo_Man
    Hondo_Man Posts: 114 Member
    Some brilliant suggestions. Don't live in the US, so some parts of the above don't suit.

    Seems the best idea is to use the watered Tuna and just add the oil after. Sad that, but no alternative.

    Cheers!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 14,386 Member
    There HAS to be an alternative if you want better flavor. While I do buy water-canned tuna from time to time, it's lacking flavor. It's OK as an ingredient I guess. Where do you live? If your wallet can weather it, see about finding some tuna canned in its own juice and only processed/cooked once. You may not be able to find it in some stores, but you might find it if you look. It might be an order of magnitude more expensive.

    If you don't mind the bland flavor, go for the water-packed stuff. You'll probably add oil anyway, so if it's not palatable, get the olive oil-canned stuff and make an educated guess.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,836 Member
    Comparing apples to oranges. If 100 grams = 0 carb, 8 fat, 20 protein, then 160 grams (1.6 times 100) = 0 carb, 12.8 fat, 32 protein. What's in the other 115.2 grams? Beats me!
    ❤️
    Alternative answer. Next time, salmon. Or better yet, fresh fish. Even better, grass-fed beef. Yum. I think I'm getting hungry!

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