Lisa,

For the apple bran muffin - it says 330 Cals and fat is 8g. That would mean that 72 cals coming from Fat alone and the rest should come from Protein and Carbs. If protein is around 3 or 4g (at the max) - that will be another 16 cals (assuming 4). Which means that 330-(72+16)=192 cals should come from carbs. 

Of that carbs, Since you have mentioned that 7g comes from Fiber - calculating net carbs - would be - 41g. I cannot imagine - however healthy a person is - eating 53.5g of Carbs (whether it is Low or High Glycemic) and thinking the effect that would have on his Blood Glucose. Whether a person is Diabetic or not - it does not matter. How can you justify as a RD - the roller coaster Blood Sugar increase (when he/she consumes this) is good for a person leave alone his heart?

I am not sure of the serving size though...I tried checking the Starbucks website for nutritional information - but I was not able to do so.

Expecting a reply.

Thanks

Venkat

Venkat

9/ 9/08 7:29pm

Lisa,

 

The calculation should say the following:

 

Type

Grams

Cals

Total Cal

 

330

Fat

8g

72

Protein

4g

16

Carbs

60.5g

242

Fiber

7g

28

Net Carbs

53.5g

214

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN, Health Pro

9/ 9/08 10:40pm

Hi Venkat,

 

Glad to see I got you thinking!  You are right - a bran muffin will contribute a significant shot of carbohydrates and affect blood sugar levels.  If you are diabetic, struggle with energy highs/lows, and or have high triglycerides it would be important to balance this high carbohydrate load with a protein to slow the breakdown of carbohydrates to glucose and reduce the blood sugar spike.

 

I would not recommend eating your breakfast at Starbucks on a regular basis, but if you want to treat yourself once in awhile, it's good to know they are improving menu options.

 

All the best,

 

Lisa Nelson, RD, LN

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