Peanuts & Carb Count
Hey Guys,
I'm in love with raw nuts of all kinds and peanuts, too. I just checked nutritiondata.com for peanuts (thanks, Dx for the link long ago!) and it shows about 3 grams of carb per ounce:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c218F.html
The catch is, peanuts have a glycemic load of 0 and I remember that peanuts are the lowest on many glycemic index charts.
My main question is, subtracting the fiber weight from the carb count leaves me three grams per ounce of remaining carbs, but if they glycemic index is 0 or even 1, are these carbs really of any use? Do they really provide energy as carbs and if not, does this mean I can eat as many as I want on a low carb diet without penalty?
Thanks in Advance,
Dave
Addendum:
From what I'm able to tell, a glycemic load of 0 would mean that a diabetic could eat peanuts all day long in any quantity without getting high blood sugar. So, logic would tell me that I could eat these all day long without them turning into blood sugar.
Please let me know if this logic is mistaken.
Thanks,
Dave
Dave, They do produce blood sugar, but just not at a rate than would spike blood sugar levels. Checkout-
“Example - How the Glycemic Index can encourage overeating:
Apples have a GI of 38 (as shown in the table above), and a medium-size apple, weighing 138 grams, contains 16 grams of net carbohydrates and provides a Glycemic Load of 6. This is a low GL, and most would consider the apple to be a very appropriate snack. But now look at peanuts. A 4-oz serving not only weighs less than the apple, but has a much lower GI (14), and provides an even lower GL of 2. Based on Glycemic Load alone, you would have to believe that the peanuts were a better dietary choice than the apple. But if you take a look at the Calories contained in these two foods, you'll see that the apple contains approximately 72 Calories, while the peanuts contain more than 500! Those 400+ extra Calories are NOT going to help you lose weight.
Best Wishes- Dx
Dave, They do produce blood sugar, but just not at a rate than would spike blood sugar levels. Checkout-
“Example - How the Glycemic Index can encourage overeating:
Apples have a GI of 38 (as shown in the table above), and a medium-size apple, weighing 138 grams, contains 16 grams of net carbohydrates and provides a Glycemic Load of 6. This is a low GL, and most would consider the apple to be a very appropriate snack. But now look at peanuts. A 4-oz serving not only weighs less than the apple, but has a much lower GI (14), and provides an even lower GL of 2. Based on Glycemic Load alone, you would have to believe that the peanuts were a better dietary choice than the apple. But if you take a look at the Calories contained in these two foods, you'll see that the apple contains approximately 72 Calories, while the peanuts contain more than 500! Those 400+ extra Calories are NOT going to help you lose weight.
Best Wishes- Dx
Dx,
That really clears up a lot for me. The peanuts are way higher calorie than the apple and could be a source of weight gain or lack of weight loss. I might have to watch intake of these in the future. I've been eating about a cup of nuts a day and about three tablespoons of flax oil. Combined with protein it makes you strong as a bear, but eventually I'll probably gain weight with it. Good news is, I know what to cut or change should that happen.
Come to think of it, I must be about to OD on Omega-3 I still eat a lot of dark fish and sashimi on top of all of those nuts!
Will check out glycemic index.com. I have my checkup coming soon and I want to see the effect all of the nuts and low carb have on my bloodwork.
Thanks very much, as always!
Dave
