Food & Diet In Diabetes

Cyber Kitchen Glycemic In. Carb Counting Carb Challenge Satiety In. Wt. Control

Carb Counting

What Are Carbs? What Are Grams? The 500 Rule Carb Guide For Lows
How To Count Carbs? How Many Carbs Do I Need? Fast Food Carb Counts

When people think of diabetes, one of the first associations that comes to mind is food, and especially the old prohibition against eating sweets. In fact, today's dietary guidelines are not as stringent, but are slightly more complex. The guidelines are:

1. eat a variety of healthy, nutritious foods,
2. reduce fat and protein to reasonable amounts,
3. and balance carbohydrate with insulin and exercise.

Numbers 1 and 2 relate to good eating habits and discipline. Both are strongly encouraged for long-term health. Number 3 determines most of the blood sugar control related to eating. Half the day's insulin is used to balance the carbohydrate we eat in foods. (The other half meets the background insulin need, and this need remains relatively steady from day to day.)

Food contains carbohydrates, fats, and proteins as sources of energy, plus many other important ingredients like vitamins and minerals. The carbohydrates in food have the most impact on the blood sugar. High fat foods can contribute to obesity, heart disease, and higher blood sugars in the long run. However, dietary fat plays only a minor role in daily blood sugar control.

Protein is also a minor player in short-term control. Half the protein we eat is converted to carbohydrate over a period of several hours. But protein makes up only 10% to 20% of total calories, so it normally determines less than 10% of total control.

To measure the impact that carbohydrates have on the blood sugar, either the exchange system, counting calories, or the Total Available Glucose (TAG) system can be used. If one of these systems is working for you, don't change a thing. But if your blood sugars aren't in the normal range, this can be a great help. Carb counting specifically measures the upward drive each meal has on the blood sugar, and allows food to be accurately balanced with insulin or with exercise. Better control will result from knowing how much carbohydrate is in the foods you eat.

Control also depends on how quickly foods will raise the blood sugar. The Glycemic Index gives this value for a variety of foods.

To learn carb counting, these books really help: Pumping Insulin, Using Insulin, the Carb and Fat Gram Guide and the Good Carb Cookbook. A Gram Scale for your kitchen makes it easy to accurately measure carbs in cereal, fruit, pancakes, rice, pasta, and more.

See also the Glycemic Index, the Satiety Index, and How Carbs Vary.

Click Here to browse our secure, on-line store for a complete selection of diabetes books at 22%-50% off their cover price. You can also download our Diabetes Mall 2008 Catalog, email our Order Form, or call us at (800) 988-4772.

Back to Top