Very confused re seeds? Are they low carb?

[gilmoregirl]

Hello Ladies

Please can you shed some light on this as I am most confused:

Tesco Wholefoods Pumpkin Seeds 150G are labelled as having 17.8 g of carb per 100g

Tesco Wholefoods Pumpkin Seeds 250G are labelled as having 4.7g per 100g.

I emailed Tesco and this is their response: "they are different seeds from different suppliers therefore different raw material, which is why there is a difference in the nutritional information."

This does not make sense to me! Surely there would only be a small variation. They are saying that they use one kind of seed in a small bag and a different kind in a big one????

That does seem like a huge variation for what is essentially the same product! One must be a mistake, maybe look at different brands of pumpkin seeds to see what the carb content is?

Hi Thanks Magpie

I had a google and can see others with 15.g per 100g on the Holland and barrett website - interestingly all of their products have 15g - not dependant on the pack size! Sainsburys have 4.7g per 100g. waitrose 10.7.

Hmmm probably best to avoid them as no idea what the accurate carb content is then.

How many seeds are you eating in one go? Unless you're on a no carb diet, then, even if there's 15g of carb per 100g of seeds, you're only going to be getting a few grams from a handful. By avoiding those few grams, you're also rejecting a good source of protein, minerals and good fats.

I haven't eaten any of them yet as I couldn't work out if they were too high carb. Would only have a wee handful so guess I am ok then : )

This is a link to organic pumpkin seeds sold by a long established and very reputable wholefood supplier (Suma). Scroll down and it gives detailed nutrition values for raw pumpkin seeds, using UK labelling system (carbohydrates approx 15 g per 100 g, the same as wholefood company Holland and Barrett, quoted by poster above).
I'd believe a specialist wholefood supplier, who is used to selling seeds etc - and who has customers who are likely to study nutrition labels - rather than a supermarket:

www.amazon.co.uk/Suma-NU209-Organic-Pumpkin-Seeds/dp/B005M2AKT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410255803&sr=8-1&keywords=organic+pumpkin+seeds#productDetails

They're not really 'low' carb, but they are certainly lower than, say, the equivalent weight of crisps!

They make a really good and nutritious snack. Whether they are too high in carbs really depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you're on Atkins, or the first two weeks of Bootcamp (here on MN) then they are too high. If you're just trying to cut carbs/eat better, then they're fine.

(Oh, and I think Tesco's labelling is just wrong )

It rather depends on how many you want to eat doesn't it? Some people can happily trough down a 100gr packet watching TV and that would be a big impact. A few on a salad or in your Greek yoghurt makes a difference to how enjoyable you find the WOE and they would only be a few grams in weight so pretty negligible really. Nuts/seeds can stall some people so if you do see your weight loss dropping off then maybe check your intake of them first.