If you have Diabetes, counting carbohydrates can help you choose what and how much to eat when planning your meals. There are three main sources of energy in food: protein, fat and carbohydrates. But unlike protein and fat, carbs have a profound effect your blood glucose levels.
To keep your blood glucose levels within your target range, it’s important to balance the carbohydrates you eat with the insulin you take. Half of each day’s insulin is used to balance the carbohydrates you eat in foods. The other half meets your background insulin need, which remains relatively steady from day to day. Counting carbs will help you manage your blood sugar levels and prevent Diabetes complications.
Carbohydrate Servings
One carbohydrate serving equals 15 grams of carbohydrate. There is no set number of servings of carbs for diabetics. The amount of carbohydrates you need is based on your weight, activity level, diabetes medications and your target blood sugar levels. If you eat more carbs than usual at a meal and do not increase your insulin medication to account for it, your blood sugar level will likely be elevated for several hours after the meal.
A dietician can help you plan your meals and determine how many servings of carbohydrate you need. Many people find that having 3 or 4 servings of carbohydrate foods at each meal and 1 or 2 servings for snacks per day works well.
How to Count Carbs
There are several methods you can use to count carbohydrates:
- Books and software
- Food scale, measuring cups and spoons
- Nutrition labels
Books and software:
Cookbooks, nutrition books and software can help you estimate the number of carbs in your favorite foods and brand name foods. It helps to jot these down in your food log so you can quickly reference them in the future. Mobile-based software can be particularly useful if you’re eating out and need to look up foods on the menu.
Measuring equipment:
This may be the most accurate method for counting carbs, but also the most painstaking. It is especially useful when you are cooking at home or preparing foods that don’t have nutrition labels, such as fresh fruit or vegetables, grains or raw meat.
If you measure your food, you’ll need a gram scale, measuring cups and spoons, a list of carb factors (percentage of carbs in a food) and a calculator. First, use a gram scale to measure a food’s total weight in grams. Then find the food in your list of carb factors and multiply this percentage by the food’s total weight in grams to calculate the number of grams of carbohydrate that the food contains.
Nutrition labels:
One serving of carbs equals 15 grams. To determine your serving size, check the label for the number of carbohydrate grams.
- If the total carbohydrate is more than 15, then divide the total by 15. For example, a food with 40 grams of carbohydrate contains 2.67 servings of carbohydrate.
- If total carbs are less than 15, then multiply the serving size so that your serving will have 15 grams of carbohydrate.
Counting carbs may be tedious at first, but with practice you can get the hang of it and learn to quickly estimate carb servings. Carbohydrate counting can be easier to use than other methods of meal planning and is the most effective way to estimate how much insulin to take and keep your blood glucose levels in your target range.
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