Reliability of Carb/Fiber Counts

[diwitch]

I am determined to weigh, measure and calculate every single gram/ounce/cup etc of whatever goes into my mouth. I have one of those niftly digital scales that weighs in pounds/ounces/grams so I can be accurate on weight.
But I have been comparing carb/fiber counts from different sources, using the following resources:

USDA Nutrient database
Fitday.com
Mastercook
Packaging Lables

Most are fairly close, but in some cases I am coming up with wide variations. Any thoughts on which would be most reliable?

Thanks,

Di

[Buddyjay]

Hard to say. I posted a thread about ten days ago about a TV program that showed how the Carbs listed on many packages were WRONG. They randomly pulled off items from store shelves and tested them. The carb count was usually higher than listed, so......
Most people here use Fit Day.

[diwitch]

Yep, I was going to put packaging label at the bottom of my reliability list, lol.

Di

[attek]

I usually use whichever is higher just to be on the safe side. Occasionally my package is higher than Fitday.

[diwitch]

Originally Posted by attek

I usually use whichever is higher just to be on the safe side. Occasionally my package is higher than Fitday.

Yep, that is what I decided to do, unless I get one thats insanely high, like 20 net carbs for 1/2 cup of green beans or something like that.

I have been cooking and making stuff all day and got some real surprises on things I never checked before...well maybe I did and forgot, it has been 20 years lol. Things like garlic powder, who would have thought it had 5 grams of carb per tablespoon!

I have doing recipes on mastercook then checking then against Fitday and they come out pretty much the same. For me, for actual recipes (meatloaf for example) MC is easier to use, then I can just plug the values into Fitday as a custom food. Handy little thing that Fitday is. Didn't use it before, of course when I did Atkins back then, I didn't even know how to turn a computer on.

Di

[Buddyjay]

Originally Posted by diwitch

I have been cooking and making stuff all day and got some real surprises on things I never checked before...well maybe I did and forgot, it has been 20 years lol. Things like garlic powder, who would have thought it had 5 grams of carb per tablespoon!

Di

Garlic Powder... 5g per tbs?!#$%^&*$. That is my favorite spice in the world. I use it on just about everything. Never would have guessed.

[hubbys_girl]

Well, I never knew that the carb counts for spices would be that high. Maybe use fresh herbs and spices intead of dried? That could make a difference. Like fresh minced or pressed garlic instead of dried.

[diwitch]

Fresh garlic is .3 net carbs per gram..I used 5 smallish cloves in my meatloaf today, which weighed 11 grams and that equaled approx. 3.3 net carbs. I never thought of pressing them and just using the juice. I bet that would have alot less carbs than minced.

I googled garlic juice, could not find it on fitday or even in the USDA data base. Anyway, I found a place that has nutritional profile for it and it says the juice has no carbs. Not sure if that is true, but it does stand to reason that just the juice would have alot less.

Di

[hubbys_girl]

It can't hurt now can it? And goodness a life without garlic doesn't seem quite as nice now does it? LOL It may be less smelly, but a heck of a lot more bland!

[diwitch]

Oh I have no intention of doing with out garlic. After all it is one of the basic food groups, isn't it? Although I will be on the lookout for a good garlic press now. I have always used alot of garlic and I don't see that changing, I do have to keep reminding myself that my full spice/herb rack is open to me now, since the other diet I was on severely restricted herbs and spices. Wasn't even supposed to drink herbal tea except for dandelion root (now that is some nasty stuff, lol).

Monday I am going to call the company I found that sells garlic juice and see if they will tell where they got their nutritional information. If I have to resort to buying a bottle of the stuff I will. I would think they would have to tell me then.

Di