Lost in translation

hep632
hep632 Posts: 7
edited September 19 in Food and Nutrition
I was raised to read labels by my health-nut mom, so counting calories is pretty easy for me, but because I am using this site from the UK, I am adding quite a few foods to the database, and some of the information on the labels here is a bit different from the form used on this site.

In the UK, the label will list "Total Carbohydrates" and then often "Percent of which is sugars". If it lists "Fibre" (the UK spelling!) it will be further down the list and not connected with the carb information.

Is this "Fibre" the same as "Dietary Fiber" on the database form? And here is the stupid part of the question -- I thought I was supposed to avoid big carbs, but if I need fiber, what is the alternative?

Thanks for any light you can shed on this,
Holly

Replies

  • hep632
    hep632 Posts: 7
    I was raised to read labels by my health-nut mom, so counting calories is pretty easy for me, but because I am using this site from the UK, I am adding quite a few foods to the database, and some of the information on the labels here is a bit different from the form used on this site.

    In the UK, the label will list "Total Carbohydrates" and then often "Percent of which is sugars". If it lists "Fibre" (the UK spelling!) it will be further down the list and not connected with the carb information.

    Is this "Fibre" the same as "Dietary Fiber" on the database form? And here is the stupid part of the question -- I thought I was supposed to avoid big carbs, but if I need fiber, what is the alternative?

    Thanks for any light you can shed on this,
    Holly
  • banks1850
    banks1850 Posts: 3,475 Member
    I was raised to read labels by my health-nut mom, so counting calories is pretty easy for me, but because I am using this site from the UK, I am adding quite a few foods to the database, and some of the information on the labels here is a bit different from the form used on this site.

    In the UK, the label will list "Total Carbohydrates" and then often "Percent of which is sugars". If it lists "Fibre" (the UK spelling!) it will be further down the list and not connected with the carb information.

    Is this "Fibre" the same as "Dietary Fiber" on the database form? And here is the stupid part of the question -- I thought I was supposed to avoid big carbs, but if I need fiber, what is the alternative?

    Thanks for any light you can shed on this,
    Holly

    to answer your fibre question, I believe so, the difference may be that dietary fiber is the amount of soluable fiber in food, which is different from total fiber, there are certain types of fiber the human body can't break down (well, the body doesn't really metabolize fiber at all but...). but that's ok cuz fiber isn't used for energy, it's used for other things, it aids digestion and it helps clean out the intestinal track.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,788 Member
    Nothing wrong with carbs. It's refined products (refined flour, sugar) that you should avoid. IMHO
  • PedalHound
    PedalHound Posts: 1,625 Member
    What most people fundamentally mean when they refer to lower carb diets, is actually lower grain. Vegetables and fruits are carbohydrates!! You should avoid refined grain products as the previous poster said (white breads, cereals and crackers, white rice etc) and you should eat some selection of complex carbohydrates at each meal, as well as some selection of protein. So, whole grains, fruits, vegetables...
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