Walnuts... am I missing something?
 

I was recently in the grocery store trying to get some nuts for a snack. I'm new to LC so I'm constantly being amazed at the carb counts of things.

Well, I went up and down the snack aisle checking out the nut section and found that all varieties and brands have some sugar count. Even the much beloved macadamia had 2g sugar per serving.

Being in atkins induction i want to avoid all added sugar if at possible. And yes, I know technically im not supposed to have nuts at all yet but i'm away from home for extended periods during the day and need to have something on hand to snack on that doesn't require any sort of refrigeration (and i hate pork rinds lol).

Anyway, just by accident I passed the diamond walnuts in the baking aisle and found that they had ZERO, yes 0, net carbs per serving. 3 g carbs total and 3g of fiber.

my question is... what am i missing? a 0 net carb snack that has fiber AND protein? why the hype over macadamia when walnuts beat the pants off them?

i figure there must be a catch somewhere.....

Hi worldfalls, welcome aboard.

Actually, what the manufacturer has done is .. they've pre-subtracted the fiber. So, those walnuts have 3 grams of digestible carb in them AND 3 grams of fiber in addition. (ie, 6g total).

This is the new way that labels on food products are headed, so low-carbers need to get used to the idea that soon, we will not need to subtract the fiber grams, it will already have been done for us. The actual carbs in the food that contribute calories and have an impact on blood sugar and insulin will be plainly shown on the label, and any fiber, which is not digested and therefore does not contribute calories or affect blood sugar, will be listed separately.

This trend is part of the FDA's and consumer groups' mandate to have labels that more accurately reflect the nutrient content of foods. The only problem is that not everybody is doing it yet, and it's very confusing. You need to be a detective to determine if the fiber has been pre-subtracted ... but generally, a net carb count of zero for a food that you think should have carbs in it will be a clue ;)

BTW, nuts and vegetables and fruits and salad greens even .. all contain a small amount of naturally occurring sugars -- ie, simple carbohydrate, not quite the same thing as white table sugar ;). So it's those sugars that are showing on the label. It's the added processed and refined sugars, and high glycemic veggies and fruits that you should watch out for. The high fat content and fiber in nuts helps to offset the small amount of natural "sugar".

hope this helps :)

Doreen

thanks....
 

for the reply. I knew there was more to it. Now, if we can just get those pesky food companies to just tell us, without any more games, exactly WHAT is in the food we eat I'll be happy camper.


these kind of shenanigans would NOT be tolerated in the world of business finance....

thanks again for the info...

world

Actually, my opinion is that it's not shenanigans for the manufacturer to pre-subtract the fiber before calculating the calories, carbs etc. That is the more accurate method, and will give consumers a clearer picture of what's in the food they're buying. It will eventually become law in the US and Canada ... and then everyone will be doing it, and there'll be consistency. And low-carbers won't have to stand there doing mental math at the grocery store .. the subtracting will already have been done ;)

The shenanigans are those manufacturers who still include the fiber in with the carbs AND also include those fiber grams in the calories.

:bash:

Doreen

variations to the walnuts
 

My husband and I both enjoy walnuts as a snack. The biggest loss to my taste buds was the salty carbs-chips, fries etc. Not being a pork rind eater either (UGH!), I was searching for something to satisfy my salt tooth on occaision. So here is what I have found.

Melt a little butter and add salt (seasoned or plain). Place the desired amount of nuts in a zip lock, add seasoned, melted butter and shake, shake, shake. Pour out onto a cookie sheet and bake at 200 for about 20 min. I keep an eye on them, because I don't like them too brown. I have also experimented with a couple drops of worcestershire. ( I got this idea from the homemade chex mix I used to enjoy.) Also, I buy my walnuts at a wholesale store for much, much cheaper than what the grocery stores provide. I just keep them in the freezer to help with freshness. If you don't have a wholesale store that carries them, usually buying in the bulk food section is less expensive.

BTW, thanks to Doreen for the info on the Carb content. I thought these were carb free as well. I now have a few more "too good to be true" items to check.

I love walnuts, too. My sister has two English walnut trees and she gives me a 5 gallon bucketful of walnuts every year. I shell lthem and keep them in the freezer.

Walnuts are the only nuts with omega 3 oil in them. :thup: