An Easy Way to Calculate Carbs to Sugar

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

The human body converts all carbohydrates into sugar. How Much Sugar? How do you calculate?

The fact is that carbs and sugar are the same thing and ALL carbs become blood glucose. Even “good” carbs metabolize into blood glucose (sugar), maybe not immediately like “bad” carbs from foods like starchy white bread, white rice, and sugary beverages – but the “good” carbs will also metabolize into sugar in about 40 minutes.

How much sugar? How many teaspoons’ equivalent? Easy: Divide  by 4.

That is, divide the number of carbs you’re eating by 4, and that’s the number of teaspoons of sugar those carbs will metabolize into: in about 40 minutes if they’re “good” carbs, faster if they’re “bad” carbs…but it’s still the same divide-by-four.

Because 4 grams of carbs OR 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar.

If (sneaky) food labels or  recipes list only the # grams of carbs, take that number & divide by four. For example, a granola bar admitting to 24 grams carbs on its label — divide those 24 grams by 4. That granola bar contains the equivalent of 6 teaspoons of sugar!

A cereal label may list 22 grams of carbs per cup. Divide those 22 grams by 4: That cup contains what will quickly metabolize into 5 1/2 teaspoons of sugar.

1 thin slice whole wheat bread: 115 calories; 20 g carbs (divide by 4) equal 5 tsp of sugar. Two slices equal 10 tsp sugar.

For a healthy, high-energy snack: A medium-sized apple contains 21 grams of carbohydrates. Divide those 21 g by 4 = over 5 teaspoons of sugar. Sweet! And that sugar metabolizes fast because it’s already in solution.

Consider carbs & sugar as the same thing.
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