Carbohydrate Counting:

"People with diabetes may eat small amounts of food that contain carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are found in breads and starches, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and sweets. These foods become blood sugar or glucose in your body after you eat."

 

Suggested Daily Calorie Intake:

How many servings are right for you? Compare your prescribed calories to the number of servings for each food group. One serving of a carbohydrate food equals 12-15 grams of carbohydrates.

 

Why Carbohydrate Counting:

Counting the amount of carbohydrates you eat helps keep your blood sugar in a healthy range.

Carbohydrate counting is preferred by many people with diabetes because it can allow greater freedom of food choice than the dietary exchange system. As the name suggests, carbohydrate counting (also called carb counting or carb gram counting) involves computing the number of carbohydrate grams in a given meal or snack. Total carbs are tallied up on a running basis to ensure that the total doesn't exceed a predetermined dietary goal for the meal and/or day.

 

Carbohydrate Servings:

(The following foods are equal to one serving of Carbohydrate or 15 grams of Carbohydrate)

Starches:

• 1 slice of regular bread
• 1 small dinner roll
• 1/2 English muffin
• 1/2 Lender's size bagel
• 1 square waffle
• 1/2 hot dog or burger roll
• 1 - 6" tortilla shell
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened dry cereal
• 1/2 cup of sweetened or bran cereal
• 1/3 cup of cooked pasta
• 1/3 cup of cooked rice
• 3/4 ounce of pretzel (small handful)
• 1/2 cup of corn, peas, or mashed potatoes
• 1/2 cup of cooked lentils, chickpeas, dried beans
• 1-1/2 cups of puffed cereal 1/2 cup of hot cereal (oatmeal, farina, grits)
• 1 small baked potato (3 ounces)
• 1/2 pita
• 8 animal crackers
• 6 saltines
• 3 graham cracker squares
• 3 cups of popcorn

Fruit and Juice:

• 1 piece of small size fresh fruit
• 1/2 piece of large size fresh fruit
• 1 cup of cut up melon
• 1/2 cup of fruit canned in fruit juice or water
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened or natural applesauce
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened, natural fruit juice
• 12 large or 17 small grapes or cherries
• 2 Tbsp. raisins
• 1/2 medium banana

Milk:

• 1cup of milk
• 1 cup of nonfat or low fat fruit flavored yogurt sweetened with aspartame or a nonnutritive sweetener
• 1/2 cup pudding sweetened with aspartame or a nonnutritive sweetener

On Occasion (When Under Good Blood Glucose Control):

• 1/2 cup of low fat or fat free ice cream or frozen yogurt
• 2 small cookies
• 5 vanilla waters
• 5 Social Tea Biscuits
• 35 goldfish crackers

Additional Items to Select (Free):

• Diet Soda, light lemonade, or flavored water sweetened w/ Aspartame or Splenda
• Unsweetened iced tea
• Sugar free Jell-O

Protein (Non-Carbohydrate) Fish:

• Do not eat king mackerel, shark, swordfish, or tilefish
• Limit canned tuna to less than 12 oz./week
• Lean cuts of Turkey, Chicken, Pork, Beef Reduced Fat Cheese, Cottage Cheese Eggs Tofu Peanut Butter

Vegetables (Non-Carbohydrate) 3 or more servings/day:
**Remember Potatoes, Peas, Corn, Lentils, Legumes etc. are Starches

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cabbage Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Cucumber
• Green beans
• Peppers Onions
• Tomatoes
• Leafy greens
• Zucchini

Fats (Non-carbohydrate) One serving equals:

• 1 teaspoon margarine, soft tub or squeeze
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 tablespoon salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons reduced-fat salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons sour cream

 

Carbohydrate Counting for Recipes:

How do you count carbohydrates in recipes or prepared foods? In this situation, it may be easiest to look at the carbohydrate counts for individual ingredients that make up a particular food.

For example, if you are eating a sandwich, you will need to count the carbohydrates for the bread (both slices) and for each item that contains carbohydrates including condiments such as catsup. At first, you will probably want to measure the portions of everything that you put on your sandwich so you will know how the amounts you are using measure up to a true serving size.

 

Did You Know?

1. One serving of a carbohydrate food contains 12 to 15 grams of carbohydrate. Most adults need between 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate at every meal. A carbohydrate food may be a bread or starch, fruit or dairy such as milk and yogurt. Serving sizes for each of these food groups are listed in the following pages.

2. Vegetables contain only 5 grams of carbohydrate per serving. Do not count vegetables as carbohydrates unless you have more than 2 servings per meal.

3. Meat, poultry, meat substitutes and fats do not count as carbohydrates.

 

Mom Calls It Roughage:

Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that helps improve blood glucose levels and weight control. Most American adults need 25 grams daily of dietary fiber. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains such as oats, rye and bran, and beans and legumes. Fiber is useful in keeping the stomach and intestines healthy. It also gives a meal "bulk" that can lead to an early feeling of fullness.

In this example (see below) a serving of this cereal contains 9 grams of dietary fiber that is more than a third of the total carbohydrate. Usually calories from dietary fibers are not counted calories because most dietary fiber is not absorbed in the stomach. If you are taking insulin, the CDE may instruct you to adjust your carbohydrate count when a large amount of dietary fiber is eaten at a meal.

 

Health Tip #:006 Exercise Regularly Exercise is good for everyone. Check with your doctor before you start any exercise program. Your doctor may want to run some tests to see how your heart, blood vessels, eyes, feet, and nerves are doing. Your blood pressure, blood fat levels, glycohemoglobin levels, and body fat must also be checked. Your health care team can instruct you on how to start an exercise plan. Look for an activity that you enjoy. Make sure it’s right for your current level of fitness. Walking may be a good way to get started. It is convenient and low in cost. All you need to get started are cotton socks and a pair of supportive shoes that fit well. With regular exercise you can reduce stress, increase energy, lose weight, lower blood sugar, and help control your blood pressure. In the long run you’ll feel better and love the way you look.

Better Living Now is a proud supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation:

© 2007 by Vanderbilt University

Reference: American Diabetes Association:

Reference: American Diabetes Association:

There are 23.6 million children and adults in the US with diabetes -- 5.7 million people are undiagnosed and 57 million have a condition called pre-diabetes.

Take this test to see if you are at risk for having or developing type 2 diabetes.