All About Carbohydrate Counting

1 All About Carbohydrate CountingAmerican Diabetes Association 1 800 DIABETES (342 2383) 2009 by the American Diabetes Association, Inc. 2/14 Carbohydrate Counting can help you choose what and howmuch to No. 14 What is Carbohydrate Counting ? Carbohydrate Counting is a way to plan your meals. Itcan help you manage your blood glucose (sugar).Carbohydrates, or carbs, are one of the three mainenergy sources in food . The other two are protein andfat. It s the balance between insulin in your body andthe Carbohydrate you eat that determines how muchyour blood glucose levels rise after you eat. With theright balance of Carbohydrate and insulin, your bloodglucose level is more likely to stay in your target range.

2 Counting Carbohydrate can help you reach your bloodglucose goals and prevent diabetes complications. Youcan learn to count carbs to choose what and how muchto eat. If you take insulin, you can count carbs todecide how much insulin to foods have Carbohydrate ? Starchy foods, sugars, fruits, milk, and yogurt aremostly carbs. See examples in the chart below. Thesefoods affect your blood glucose much more than otherfoods, such as meat and meat substitutes, vegetables, or foods (Carbs) bread, bagels, biscuits,chapatti, muffins,crackers, matzoh, andtortillas beans (such as black,garbanzo, kidney, lima,navy, or pinto beans),lentils, and peas (such asblack-eyed or split peas) ready-to-eat cereal orcooked cereal barley, bulgur, couscous,grits, kasha, pasta, andrice fruit (canned, dried,fresh, and frozen)

3 Andfruit juice starchy vegetables suchas cassava, corn, peas,plantains, potatoes, andwinter squash, and sweetpotatoes buttermilk, milk, soymilk, and yogurt sweets, such as candy,cookies, cake, brownies,doughnuts, ice cream,frozen yogurt, honey,jam, jelly, pie, pudding,sugar, and syrup pancakes and waffles popcorn, potato chips,pretzels, and rice cakesHow many grams of Carbohydrate arebest for me?The recommended number of servings is based on yourweight, activity level, diabetes medicines, and goals foryour blood glucose levels. Your dietitian or diabeteseducator, can work with you to make a personalizedplan. A general guideline is to have 45-60 grams of Carbohydrate at each meal 15-20 grams of Carbohydrate servings at each snackWhat About other foods such as meats,vegetables, and fats?

4 To have a balanced meal plan, you ll want to includeprotein foods (such as meat, chicken, and fish),nonstarchy vegetables (such as salad and broccoli), anda small amount of healthy fats (such as olive oil andnuts). Talk with your health care team About what toeat for your meals and should I pay attention to servingsizes for Carbohydrate foods?The amount of Carbohydrate you eat can make a bigdifference in your blood glucose. If you eat more carbsthan you normally do at a meal, your blood glucoselevel is likely to be higher than usual several hoursafterward. The chart at the bottom of this page shows the size of 1 serving for each food listed. One serving equals15 grams of carbs.

5 You can check serving sizes withmeasuring cups and spoons or a food scale, or by usingthe Nutrition Facts label on a food to use the Nutrition Facts on foodlabelsTo decide on a serving size, check the label for thenumber of Carbohydrate grams (g). One serving isequal to 15 grams of carbohydrates. If the total Carbohydrate is 15 grams,as in the boxon the left, then check the top of the food label for theserving size for 1 Diabetes Association 1 800 DIABETES (342 2383) 2009 by the American Diabetes Association, Inc. 2/14 Toolkit No. 14:All About Carbohydrate Countingcontinued If the total Carbohydrate is more than 15 grams,asin the box in the middle, then divide the total by example, a food with 30 grams of carbohydratecontains 2 Carbohydrate servings, because 30 dividedby 15 equals 2.

6 If the total is less than 15, as in the box on the right,then multiply the serving size so that your servingwill have 15 grams of do I get started with carbohydratecounting?Ask your health care provider how you can learn moreabout Carbohydrate Counting . You can also get moreinformation from the American Diabetes , call 1-800-DIABETES (342-2383), or email Serving sizes for some Carbohydrate foods (each has About 15 grams of carbs)apple:1 small (4 ounces)milk, fat-free or reduced-fat:1 cupbagel: large (1 ounce)orange juice: cupbanana:1 extra small (4 ounces)pasta or rice (cooked): cupbread:1 slice (1 ounce) or 2 slices reduced calorie bread (1 ounces)green peas: cupcake (unfrosted):2-inch squarepinto beans or kidney beans (cooked): cupcereal, unsweeted (ready-to-eat): cuppopcorn (popped):3 cups cereal, cooked: cuppotato, mashed: cupcookies:2 small (2 inches across)potato chips.

7 Ounce ( About 9 to 13)corn: cuppretzels: ouncecrackers (saltines):6rice: cupfruit, canned: cupsugar:1 tablespoonhamburger bun: bun (1 ounce)sweet potato: cupice cream (light): cuptaco shells:2 (5 inches across)jam or jelly:1 tablespoontortilla, corn or flour:1 (6 inches across)Nutrition FactsServing Size:6 crackersTotal Carbohydrate :15gOne Carbohydrate serving is 6 FactsServing Size:4 cookiesTotal Carbohydrate :30gOne Carbohydrate serving is 2 FactsServing Size:1 graham cracker squareTotal Carbohydrate :5gOne Carbohydrate serving is 3 graham cracker By