What is carbohydrate counting?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Carbohydrate counting is an approach many people with diabetes use to maintain near-normal blood glucose levels. It does this by enabling people to choose foods that will deliver the same amount of carbohydrate each day, spaced evenly throughout the day.

Success with carbohydrate counting requires knowledge about the food sources of carbohydrates and an understanding of portion control. That is why it is best to get the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist, who can provide education and support.

Carbohydrate counting can be done using a food lists approach to diet planning, or by counting the grams of carbohydrate in the foods eaten throughout the day. This often can be done by referring to the Nutrition Facts panel of food labels.

In both instances, the first step is to determine an appropriate carbohydrate allowance. The allowance may be described in terms of grams or as a percentage of total kcalories. If it’s the latter, it’s easy to convert the percentage to grams. Consider a 2000 kcal diet with a carbohydrate allowance of 50 percent. The number of grams allowed would be 250 per day (2000 × 50% = 1000 kcal/day; 1000 kcal divided by 4 kcal/g carbohydrate = 250 g carbohydrate/day.)

The second step is to determine how the carbohydrate allowance will be distributed throughout the day in meals and snacks. With food lists, the typical carbohydrate serving equivalent is 15 grams. The number of carbohydrate portions allowed per day can be determined by dividing the daily carbohydrate allowance by 15 g/carbohydrate portion. Using the example above, that would come to 16.7 carbohydrate portions/day. (Or, rounded off. to 17 carbohydrate portions/day.)

The third step is to decide on a daily meal pattern that provides roughly the same amount of carbohydrate each day, spaced evenly throughout the day.

Once the basic carbohydrate-counting method has been learned, any selection of foods can be made, as long as the foods do not exceed carbohydrate goals. It is important to choose foods that follow a healthy eating pattern so that other dietary needs are met, as well.