Most of the carbohydrates you consume on a daily basis come from starchy foods, such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice and breakfast cereals, or sugary foods, such as soft drinks, sweets and desserts. When looking at food labels, the total carbohydrate, sugar and fiber content is always indicated, but the starches are usually not listed. However, you can easily calculate the amount of starches found in a serving of food if you know how to.
Step 1
Look at the food label. The first thing you need to do is find the nutrition facts for the food you want to calculate the starch content. Many starchy foods have a food label, including breakfast cereals, granola bars, rice, pasta, frozen entrees and couscous. However, fresh potatoes, baked goods or foods found at restaurants usually do not have a label. If you want to know the starch content of a food that doesn't have a label, find its nutritional value in an online food composition table. Most restaurants also have the nutrition facts for most of their meals on their website.
Step 2
Find the serving size. The serving size is the very first information you should find in the nutrition facts table; you will find the serving size at the top of the table. It is important to note that the serving size indicated on the label may not correspond to the serving you would normally eat. If the label of a box of spaghetti says that a serving corresponds to 1 cup of cooked pasta and you normally eat 2 cups of cooked spaghetti, you will need to double the numbers found in the nutrition facts table to determine the amount of calories, carbohydrates, fiber and other nutrients you will consume.
Step 3
Subtract the fiber and sugar from the total carbohydrates. It is mandatory for food manufacturers to list the amount of total carbohydrates, sugar and fiber, but not the starch content. Because the total carbohydrate content of a serving of food corresponds to the total grams of sugar, fiber and starch combined, you can easily calculate the starch content by doing a simple subtraction. For example, if 1 cup of cooked spaghetti has 42.8 g of total carbs, 2.5 g of fiber and 0.8 g of sugar, it will contain 39.5 g of starch. To calculate this, subtract the 2.5 g of fiber and 0.8 g of sugar from the 42.8 g of total carbohydrates. If you eat the equivalent of 2 cups of cooked pasta, you will need to double the amount of starch, which means that you will eat 79 g of starches from the spaghetti at your meal.
Tips and Warnings
- Not all starchy foods have the same influence over your health. Choose slowly digested starches, such as beans, qunioa, oats, whole grain pasta, barley, fruits and nonstarchy vegetables, over quickly digested starches, such as breads, breakfast cereals, rice, potatoes and baked goods.
- Consult a registered dietitian for help determining the right amount of starch you should include in your diet, especially if you have diabetes. Starches can raise your blood sugar levels just like sugar does.
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