Counting Starch

bevie19
bevie19 Posts: 26 Member
edited November 28 in Health and Weight Loss
I learned that a carbohydrate is composed of three things: sugar, starch, and fiber. MFP counts the sugar and fiber (but does not break it down to soluble and insoluble) but not the starch. Hey MFP, can we include starch to be counted as well? Thanks!

Replies

  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    This is a message board and unfortunately, not generally monitored for things like this.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    How would you measure the starch content of potatoes? I guess it changes quite a bit with how bigger they grow, maybe bananas as well as they ripen. I don't think this is even half feasible. What reason do you see for tracking starch?
  • Seffell
    Seffell Posts: 2,244 Member
    Maybe you don't realise that the entries in the database are made by other users. So even if MFP adds a starch category, how would you or other people know the starch content of foods so that you can enter it in the database?
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,563 Member
    bevie19 wrote: »
    I learned that a carbohydrate is composed of three things: sugar, starch, and fiber. MFP counts the sugar and fiber (but does not break it down to soluble and insoluble) but not the starch. Hey MFP, can we include starch to be counted as well? Thanks!

    What benefit do you see in tracking starch?
  • TonyB0588
    TonyB0588 Posts: 9,520 Member
    bevie19 wrote: »
    I learned that a carbohydrate is composed of three things: sugar, starch, and fiber. MFP counts the sugar and fiber (but does not break it down to soluble and insoluble) but not the starch. Hey MFP, can we include starch to be counted as well? Thanks!

    I mainly come here to count calories. Rarely look at those other things at all.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Why do you want to track starch?
  • RAinWA
    RAinWA Posts: 1,980 Member
    bevie19 wrote: »
    I learned that a carbohydrate is composed of three things: sugar, starch, and fiber. MFP counts the sugar and fiber (but does not break it down to soluble and insoluble) but not the starch. Hey MFP, can we include starch to be counted as well? Thanks!

    If you have some reason for tracking starch, couldn't you just subtract the sugar and fiber from the carb column and what is left over is starch?

    I'm not sure that's really accurate but might get you somewhere close.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    RAinWA wrote: »
    bevie19 wrote: »
    I learned that a carbohydrate is composed of three things: sugar, starch, and fiber. MFP counts the sugar and fiber (but does not break it down to soluble and insoluble) but not the starch. Hey MFP, can we include starch to be counted as well? Thanks!

    If you have some reason for tracking starch, couldn't you just subtract the sugar and fiber from the carb column and what is left over is starch?

    I'm not sure that's really accurate but might get you somewhere close.

    Yep, that's how you get it. Carbs-fiber-sugar=starch
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    What would counting starch specically benefit? Is there some medical concern where just knowing the total carb, sugar and fiber content is not enough?
    As others have pointed out it is not on nutrition labels but you could figure it out if you had to.
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    That’s um, that’s not how weight loss works. Just eat fewer calories than you burn and you’ll be fine.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited August 2018
    bevie19 wrote: »
    Thanks all. Yes, Carbs= Sugar + Fiber + Starch. And subtracting the sugar and fiber from the Carb equals the remaining the starch. My understanding (what I've learned at Kaiser's Healthy Balance class) is that starch increases your body temperature and if not utilized for that purpose, it is then stored as fat. I was curious as to why if 2 of the components of a carbohydrate is shown on a food label why the third one wasn't.

    Kaiser should be ashamed for teaching that kind of nonsense. There is no net fat storage when you are in an overall caloric deficit, regardless of the macro composition of your diet. Nor do I know of any evidence that starch increases your body temperature.
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