At first, carbohydrate counting can seem overwhelming, but once you become familiar with reading labels, portion sizes and understanding the reason for carb counting, it will become second-nature. First of all, it is important to know who should be carb counting. Carb counting is not for everybody with diabetes. That’s right, I said it. Just because you have diabetes does not mean you need to carb count. How many times have you read a nutrition facts label and have been totally confused Total carbohydrates, fiber, sugars, sugar alcohol What does it all mean When someone is carb counting the only items to worry about on a nutrition facts label is serving size and total carbohydrates.
understanding carbohydrate counting for people with diabetesWho should carb count
People on meal time insulin i.e. Humalog, Novolog, or Apidra. The point of carb counting is to know how much meal time insulin to take with meals. Once you can show you are counting correctly you eventually will receive an insulin-to-carb ratio. What is an insulin to carb ratio Using a special formula your endocrinologist or diabetes educator will determine your insulin to carb ratio. People have different ratios depending on their glucose response to food, and how much insulin they take on a daily basis. For example, someone can have a 110 insulin carb ratio. What this means is that for every 10 grams of carbohydrates you eat, you need 1 unit of insulin. So if a person eats 60 grams of carbohydrates with breakfast he or she will need to take 6 units of meal time insulin. But again everyone has different ratios. Ratios can be different for each meal; the way to figure out what your insulin carb ratio is to contact your local Certified Diabetes
If you are interested in carbohydrate counting, start paying attention to labels, keep a food journal and record everything you are eating with the total grams of carbohydrates. If measuring and weighing seems unappealing, pour your cereal, rice or pasta out in a bowl and guess how much you think is in it. Before you start eating go back and measure it and see how accurate you are. If you do not guess correctly, this will reinforce the need to measure food properly. To ensure correct carbohydrate counting you will need to measure and weigh your food for at least a couple of days. If after carb counting a while - you find your glucose numbers are showing less control, I would encourage you to dig out your food scale and measuring cups to review portion sizes again.
Remember carbohydrate counting does not necessarily mean “healthy eating;” you still want to focus on healthy eating by choosing more whole grains. In order to tell if a starch is a whole grain, the first ingredient should have the word “whole.” For example, the package may say, “whole wheat flour,” “100% whole wheat flour”, or “stone ground whole wheat”. Other foods are whole grain but may not say it. These food items include quinoa, oatmeal, oats, popcorn, and corn. Not only do we want most of our carbohydrates coming from whole grains but we also want to include fruits, vegetables, and dairy into the mix. We also want to work on eating less processed carbohydrates like French fries, potato chips, fried foods, cookies, cakes, etc.
BDST: 2028 HRS, MAR 02, 2015
