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Bolus 4 · Episode 1727

Applesauce

Jenny stocks unsweetened applesauce pouches for vacation, for lunch boxes, and for her bike rides. Scott grabbed the one he knows, Mott's — and found high-fructose corn syrup as the second ingredient. Same size pouch, three brands, very different numbers.

Scott Benner and Jenny Smith, RD, CDCES, LD
Open the Bolus 4 estimator
Carb ratio1:10
Sensitivity—
Target—
Fat + protein50%

The estimator wasn't run on this one. Scott walked Meal Bolt out loud: a kid grabbing a pouch at a blood sugar of 120, one unit for every 10 carbs, 1.6 units for the Mott's. He didn't layer a correction, so neither does this page. There's no fat or protein in any of these pouches, so there's no extended wave. 8:27

01 · Bolus 4 · Episode 1727

A Mott's pouch

Jenny's are organic and unsweetened. Scott started with the one he's looking at: a 90-gram pouch of Mott's.

1:29

Mott's applesauce pouch · 90 g

14g of that is sugar
16carb
1.60u up front0.00u no wave1.60u total
No fat. One gram of fiber. Seven of the 14 grams of sugar are added. At 1:10: “it's 1.6 for the applesauce.”
Mott's label · 1:10 · blood sugar 120, no correction layered  ·  Click any item to hear that moment
Why unsweetened2:19

It's an apple that's been pureed.

It has natural sugar already, Jenny says. You don't put sugar on your apple slices. (She has a friend who sugars her watermelon. The friend doesn't have diabetes.)

Jenny uses it for lows5:44

To stop a slide, not to catch a crash.

Pouches don't need the fridge until they're opened, so they lived in the stroller when her kids were little, and now they ride in her backpack on the bike. It isn't as fast as dextrose, glucose, candy, or the gels and goos — but during exercise, applesauce can stop a slide down.

Nobody pre-boluses a pouch9:00

Scott: it's gone in fifteen seconds. Do you just pop the insulin in and hope, or over-bolus a little?

  1. Unsweetened applesauce doesn't have much of a kickIts glycemic index isn't very high — Jenny guesses somewhere in the thirties.
  2. Without a pre-bolus you'll see a little hitBut gentle, compared with watermelon, pineapple, or the other tropical fruits.
  3. If your ratio is right, it comes backYour blood sugar might go up, but it'll come back down — nothing else is being eaten with it. Up, down, and even.
02 · Bolus 4 · Episode 1727

Read the back of the box

Mott's website didn't make the ingredients easy to find. Amazon had the back of the box.

10:18
Mott's ingredients11:23

In order.

  1. Apples
  2. High-fructose corn syrupThe second ingredient. That's the added sugar — and Jenny says added sugar means a faster hit than apple sugar alone.
  3. Water
  4. Ascorbic acidVitamin C. It protects the color and helps preserve it — the same job lemon juice does when people can fruit at home.
Same size pouch12:09
The Mott's pouch has 90 calories. The organic Kirkland pouch, same size?
45
Half the calories, and about half the sugar.
03 · Bolus 4 · Episode 1727

Two unsweetened pouches

Both 3.17 ounces. “Who knew there was an exact amount that squeezable applesauce came in?”

12:40

Kirkland organic pouch

8g of that is sugar
10carb
1.00u up front0.00u no wave1.00u total
Organic apples and ascorbic acid. That's it. No fiber, no added sugar. The lowest-carb pouch Jenny has found — 10 grams a packet, and about 50 cents each.

GoGo squeeZ organic pouch

12g of that is sugar
15carb
1.50u up front0.00u no wave1.50u total
Three grams of fiber, no added sugar. Some flavors blend in spinach, peaches, kale or cinnamon.
Labels as Scott read them · 1:10 · not run on the recording  ·  Click any item to hear that moment
Mott's makes one too13:54

No sugar added: apples, water, ascorbic acid.

50 calories. Scott said the carbs were still a little higher than the Kirkland, but didn't read the number — so it isn't on this page. Unsweetened is the one to look for if you want the apple without the big hit.

04 · Bolus 4 · Episode 1727

Pork chops and applesauce

The way Scott's mom served it: a pork chop, mashed potatoes, green beans, and applesauce.

16:23
On a plate, it changes16:36

Sweetened applesauce on a slow plate.

The potatoes and the protein take time to break down. Put high-fructose corn syrup applesauce next to them and the shape of that meal changes. Scott's point: sometimes you don't think you're putting sugar on something, and you are — and then you wonder later why.

Take a picture of this one

Things to remember from this one

The numbers that transfer to the next one.

16gMott's
A 90-gram pouch, seven grams of it added sugar.
10gKirkland
The same-size unsweetened pouch. Jenny's lowest.
30sglycemic index
Jenny's guess for plain applesauce. Added sugar makes it faster.
slidenot a crash
Applesauce can stop a slide down during exercise. It's not as fast as glucose.

“It's just like eating an apple that's been pureed.”

Jenny Smith2:19

“So applesauce, you can probably get away with a little bit less of that concern about a really big huge spike.”

Jenny Smith9:52

“The second ingredient is high fructose corn syrup.”

Jenny Smith11:35

“Keep in mind that there's a world where you probably don't think you're putting sugar on something, and you are.”

Scott Benner16:54
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