Choose a custard cream or digestive by the total carbohydrate in the portion you intend to eat, not by the words ‘digestive’ or ‘sugar-free’ alone. Diabetes UK advises considering carbohydrate amount and portion size when planning snacks; a sugar-free digestive can still contain carbohydrate, while the figures for individual custard creams and plain digestives differ.
If you manage diabetes and want to include a familiar biscuit in a planned snack, the useful comparison is the carbohydrate in the number you will eat. Diabetes UK advises planning snacks around portion size and your overall eating plan.
If a sugar-free digestive appeals to you, compare its sugars with its total carbohydrate and read the sweetener ingredients. Diabetes UK notes that polyols contain carbohydrate; questions about counting them when adjusting insulin need individual advice from your diabetes team.
Start with the portion you expect to eat, then compare the exact packs on the same nutrition basis. A per-biscuit figure is convenient, but biscuits of different weights also need a per-100g or portion-weight check.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Portion carbohydrate | Read total carbohydrate per biscuit or per 100g, and check how many biscuits make up your portion. Asda lists 8.1g per biscuit for its 400g custard creams; Ocado lists 9.3g for a biscuit from the McVitie's Original digestive twin pack. | I want to plan the number of biscuits I will eat, rather than assume every custard cream or digestive has the same carbohydrate figure. |
| Sugars and sweeteners | Read sugars alongside total carbohydrate. Asda lists less than 0.5g sugars but 9.0g carbohydrate per biscuit for Gullón Zero Digestive Original; its ingredients include isomalt and maltitol. Check the pack's sweetener warning too. | If I choose a sugar-free digestive, I still want to know its total carbohydrate and whether its sweeteners affect how I use it. |
| Biscuit size | Check the biscuit or serving weight when comparing per-biscuit figures. For M&S Extra Cream Custard Creams, Ocado lists 68.2g carbohydrate and 40.2g sugars per 100g; use the weight of your portion before comparing it with a per-biscuit figure. | A thicker-filled biscuit may be the one I fancy, but I want to compare the amount I would actually eat. |
| Other label details | Check ingredients and allergens on the exact pack. If energy or saturates matter to your wider eating plan, compare those figures using the same per-100g or portion basis. | I may need to avoid a particular ingredient, or consider more than carbohydrate when choosing a snack. |
Asda lists 9.0g carbohydrate per biscuit for Gullón Zero Digestive Original despite listing less than 0.5g sugars. The product also contains the sweeteners isomalt and maltitol.
Compare total carbohydrate for your intended portion. If you adjust insulin and need to account for polyols, seek individual advice from your diabetes team, as Diabetes UK recommends.
Ocado lists 2.2g sugars and 9.3g total carbohydrate per biscuit for the McVitie's Original digestive twin pack. Asda lists 3.4g sugars and 8.1g total carbohydrate per biscuit for its 400g custard creams. The lower sugar figure is not the lower carbohydrate figure for these two packs.
Compare the exact products you are considering, including biscuit weight if you need to put their figures on the same portion basis.
Asda lists 11g carbohydrate per biscuit for its examined Free From custard creams, compared with 8.1g for its standard 400g custard creams.
Choose a free-from product for the ingredient requirement it addresses, then check its carbohydrate figure separately.
These figures describe the named packs, not every biscuit made by each brand. Check the pack you buy if its size, recipe or serving information differs.
Asda's standard custard creams provide a filled-biscuit comparison with a per-biscuit panel.
The Original digestives are an unfilled alternative to custard creams.
Gullón Zero Digestive Original offers a sugar-free digestive option, rather than a carbohydrate-free biscuit.
Sainsbury's custard creams offer another filled-biscuit panel for comparison.
Crawford's vanilla-filled custard creams provide a further per-biscuit comparison.
Extra Cream Custard Creams are an option when the thicker filling is the reason for choosing a filled biscuit.
These Joybuy options cover a sugar-free digestive and a gluten-free custard cream. For either one, check the exact pack's carbohydrate information against the portion you plan to eat.
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If you prefer a sugar-free digestive, compare the total carbohydrate for your intended portion of this 400g product; the sugar-free wording alone does not describe its carbohydrate content. Check its ingredients and any sweetener warning on the pack.
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If you are looking for a gluten-free custard cream, this 125g product matches that ingredient preference. Check its carbohydrate panel and the number of biscuits in your portion separately; gluten-free wording is not a carbohydrate comparison.
No. The name does not establish such a benefit; the UK listing for Gullón Zero Digestive Original explicitly says ‘Digestive’ does not mean the biscuit has digestive properties. Compare the exact pack's nutrition panel and your intended portion instead.
Do not treat ‘sugar-free’ as zero carbohydrate. Diabetes UK says accounting for polyols when adjusting insulin is not straightforward and recommends individual advice from your healthcare team.
Read the ingredients and allergen information on the exact pack you intend to eat, rather than relying on the biscuit type or brand. The examined custard creams and digestives have different ingredient requirements and declarations; a free-from label does not tell you the product's carbohydrate content.