How does carb counting work

A food that has 30 grams of carbs and 8 grams of fiber would be counted as 26 grams of carbs. If you use a rapid-acting insulin, you may want to consider sugar alcohols if there are more than 5 grams of them in the food.

Divide the number of sugar alcohols in half. Then subtract that number from the total carb count. Exercise affects blood sugar. It allows you to use less insulin than you would if you did not exercise. Keep in mind that timing makes a difference. If you exercise within 1 hour of a meal, your body may need less insulin for that meal than it would if you exercised 3 hours after the meal. To count carbs and eat a balanced diet: Talk with a registered dietitian.

He or she can help you plan how many carbs to include in each meal and snack. This includes sweets. Measure your food portions. You won't always have to measure your food. But it may help when you are first learning what makes up a standard portion. Count either grams or servings of carbs.

Eat standard portions of foods that have protein. Foods that have protein such as beans, eggs, meat, and cheese are a key part of a balanced diet. Limit saturated fats. A balanced diet includes a limited amount of healthy fat. Talk with a registered dietitian about how much fat you need in your diet. Know your daily amount Your daily amount depends on several things—your weight, how active you are, what diabetes medicines you take, and what your goals are for your blood sugar levels.

For most adults, a guideline for the daily amount of carbohydrate is: 45 to 60 grams at each meal. That's about the same as 3 to 4 carbohydrate servings. That's about the same as 1 carbohydrate serving.

Other helpful ideas Read food labels for carb amounts. Be aware of the serving size on the package. Check your blood sugar level.

If you do this before and 1 hour after a meal, you will be able to see how the food you eat affects your blood sugar. Record what you eat and your blood sugar results in a food record. You can review your food record each time you visit your registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator. And you can review it anytime you think your meal plan needs adjusting.

When foods and drinks with carbs are digested, the carbs break down into glucose to fuel our cells, and the body's blood glucose, or blood sugar, level rises. In people without diabetes, blood sugar levels rise after eating but the body's insulin response keeps levels from rising too high.

If you have diabetes, the process doesn't work as designed. How carb counting can help your blood glucose control depends on your treatment regimen and whether or not your body makes insulin.

Carb counting at its most basic level involves counting the number of grams of carbohydrate in a meal and matching that to your dose of insulin. If you take mealtime insulin , that means first accounting for each carbohydrate gram you eat and dosing mealtime insulin based on that count.

You will use what's known as an insulin-to-carb ratio to calculate how much insulin you should take in order to manage your blood sugars after eating. This advanced form of carb counting is recommended for people on intensive insulin therapy by shots or pump, such as those with type 1 and some people with type 2. While people with type 2 diabetes who don't take mealtime insulin may not need detailed carb counting to keep their blood sugars in line, some prefer to do it.

Still others use the Diabetes Plate Method to eat a reasonable portion of carb-containing foods at each meal by limiting whole grains, starchy vegetables, fruits or dairy to a quarter of the plate. As for the ideal number of carbs per meal, there's no magic number.

How much carbohydrate each person needs is in large part determined by your body size and activity level. Appetite and hunger also play a role. This service, when provided by a dietitian, is known as medical nutrition therapy. Diabetes self-management education DSME sessions also may include creating an eating plan.

During the sessions, you'll determine your carb needs and how to divide your carbs among your meals and snacks.

When you eat carbs, aim to get your biggest nutritional bang for the buck. Successfully managing your diabetes means keeping your carb intake in check.

Come up with a daily target, count your carbs, then see if that target works for you. Shelby Kinnaird hosts Cook and Chat with Shelby , a fun online cooking experience focusing on healthy recipes and lots of conversation. Shelby is a passionate diabetes advocate and she leads two DiabetesSisters peer support groups in Richmond, Virginia. She has successfully managed her type 2 diabetes since Limiting carbs can have lifesaving benefits for people with diabetes, but you may wonder how low to go.

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The risk factors for type 2 diabetes are complex and range from genetic to environmental to lifestyle choices.

Learn more. My diagnosis was a wake-up call. It was time to take care of my health. Learn more about its symptoms, causes, and treatment. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Type 2 Diabetes. Share on Pinterest We include products we think are useful for our readers.

What is carb counting? Who can benefit? Getting started. Avoiding the math.