low carb diet

Question
hi, my name is lubna. i have been diabetic for 4 years and recently have been put on a low carb diet. I would like to know if there is a book that contains all foods and their total carbs. Especially fast food and other resterant information. thank you..

Answer
Hello Lubna,
I have bought so many books trying to find the best one, with all the information I wanted.  But it seems like none of them are perfect.  I can save you some money, and time, and tell you the two I like best and wish I had found out about before the 10 others I bought.  

Dana Carpender's "Carb Gram Counter".  This is a good book since it gives total carbs, fiber, and usable carbs (the ones that will increase your blood sugar).  There is also a good section on restaurants and fast food places at the back of the book.  Also, Lubna, if there is a place you go to frequently, you should ask the restaurant for their nutritional information.  I know Burger King and Subway have one they can give you.  Always ask so that companies figure out that people are going to be watching what they serve and will provide more choices for people watching their carbs.

My other favorite book is "Living the low carb life.  Pocket Carb Counter".  This is a good book because it includes glycemic load ratings, which are always good to know if you are trying to pick one food over the other.  If you don't know about glycemic load or don't feel like learning about it because there are too many other things to learn, the author has a little "advice" picture at the end of each food that suggests how much of it is okay to eat.  For example one fork means to restrict the food and 3 forks mean to choose this food over others.  It is very, very handy, especially for people just getting to know about low carb eating.

These two books will serve you well.  I have one other piece of advice that I offer to a lot of people.  Avoid any foods with high fructose corn syrup or any other super-sugar.  Just this alone will make a big difference.  Corn syrup in any form is a very high glycemic sweetener and companies sneak it into everything since it is cheap.  It is in Dannon yogurt, for example.  Plain old sugar is a better ingredient for your goals than corn syrup.  Though of course, the less sugar the better no matter what kind it is.

I wish you well with your new diet.  Don't stress out about it.  You will be surprised at how much better you will feel.  
Arlene

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