Carbohydratecounting
Carbohydrate,fatandproteinarethemainnutrientsor“macronutrients”infood.
Carbohydrateisthenutrientwhichhasthebiggesteffectonbloodsugarlevelswhichiswhy
wetalkaboutitalotindiabetes.Themorecarbohydrateyoueat,themoreyourblood
sugarlevelsriseandthemoreinsulinyouneed.
Carbohydratecountingoffersmuchgreaterflexibilityaroundmealsbecauseitenablesyou
tomatchyourinsulintowhatyoueat.Ifyouwereonafixeddoseofinsulinforeverymeal
andyouwantedtoeatalittlemoreoneoralittleless,thismightresultinhighorlowblood
sugarsafterthemeal.Withcarbohydratecountingthisshouldn’thappen,becauseifyou
eatabitmorecarbohydrateyougivemoreinsulin,ifyoudecidetoeatlesscarbohydrate,
yougivelessinsulin.
Herearethestepstocarbohydratecounting:
Step1:Identifythecarbohydratesinyourmeals/drinks
Therearedifferenttypesofcarbohydrateanditisfoundinmanydifferentfoods:
•
•
•
•
Starch:
Themostcommonsourceofcarbohydrateinourdiet:bread,rice,pasta,potatoes,
cereals,noodles,couscous,corn,lentils,beans,oats,productsmadefromflour
Fructose:
Thecarbohydratefoundinfruit
Lactose:
Thecarbohydrateinmilk
Sucrose:
Thecarbohydrateinsugar
Overleafisapictureoftheeatwellplate.Itshowsthe5differentfoodgroups.Thelist
belowtellsyouwhichfoodswithinthese5groupsarecarbohydratefoodswhichyouneed
tocount
FoodGroup
Starchyfoods(Yellowsection)
Carbohydratefoods
Allfoodsinthisgroup:
• Rice
• Bread
• Pasta
• Potatoes
• Cereals
• Oats
Noncarbohydratefoods
n/a
Contactdetails:EmilySuttonPaediatricDietitian02087468609/[email protected]
Fruitandvegetables(green
section)
Proteinfoods(pinksection)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Milkanddairy(bluesection)
Foodshighinfat/sugar(purple
section)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Noodles
Couscous
Yam
Cassava
Allfruit
(tinned/juice/frozen/
fresh)
Peas
Sweetcorn
Bakedbeans
Pulses+beans⁺
Anymeat/fishcovered
inbatter/breadcrumbs,
Processedmeatsthat
maycontainother
ingredientse.g.
sausages
Milk
Yoghurt
Biscuits
Cakes
Sweets
Chocolate
Crisps
Fizzydrinks*
•
Allothervegetables
•
•
•
•
Meat
Fish
Eggs
Nuts
•
Cheese
•
Fatse.g.oil,butter,
margarine
⁺Duetohighfibrecontent,ifeatenasamainmealcounthalfthecarbohydratesforthese
*Standardfizzydrinkscontainalotofsugar(carbohydrate)andshouldbeavoided.“Diet”
fizzydrinksshouldhavethesugarreplacedwithsweetenersandusuallydonotcontainany
carbohydrate.Checkthelabeltoensureyouaremakingtherightchoice.
Example
Meal1:
Chickenkievwithrice,broccoliandsweetcorn
Yoghurtandanapple
Glassofmilk
Sourcesofcarbohydrateyouwouldneedtocount:breadcrumbsonchickenkiev,rice,
sweetcorn,yoghurt,appleandmilk
Meal2:
Cheeseandhamomelettewithlettuce,tomatoesandcucumber
Handfulofraspberrieswithicecream
Noaddedsugarsquash
Sourcesyouwouldcount:raspberriesandicecreamonly
Contactdetails:EmilySuttonPaediatricDietitian02087468609/[email protected]
Step2:Countthecarbohydrates
Use:
a) CarbsandCalsbookorothercarbohydratecounterbook/phoneapp.
Contactdetails:EmilySuttonPaediatricDietitian02087468609/[email protected]
b) Foodlabels(lookat“totalcarbohydrate”ratherthan“ofwhichsugars”)
Ifyouaregoingtoeatthewhole
pack,thetotalcarbohydrateis
26.4g.
Ifyouaregoingtoeathalfthepack,
26.4/2=13.2gcarbohydrate
c) Weighingscales
(remembertocheckyouarecomparing
thesameweightse.g.driedversus
cookedweight)
Itcanbeusefultoweighfoodsometimestoensureyou
areestimatingthecarbohydratecontentaccurately.
Cerealisagoodfoodtoweighbecauseitisaportion
pouredforanindividualandthebowlsusedathomecan
bequitedifferenttothebooks.
Tocalculateamountofcarbohydrateincereal:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Pouroutyouusualportion.
Weighitonascale
Lookatfoodlabel:totalcarbohydrateper100g
Workouttheamountofcarbohydratein1g
(dividethetotalcarbohydratein100gby100).
5. Multiplythisbytheweightofcerealyouwilleat
6. Remembertoaddthecarbohydrateforthemilk!
Example:
Yourportionofcerealweighs42g.
Thefoodlabelsaysitcontains79gcarbohydratein100g.
79/100=0.79
0.79x42=33gcarbohydrate
Contactdetails:EmilySuttonPaediatricDietitian02087468609/[email protected]
Step3:Calculateinsulindose
Youwillbegivenacarbohydrateratiototellyouhowmuchinsulintogiveforthe
carbohydrateyoueate.g.1unitofinsulinforevery10gofcarbohydrate.Seebelowfor
yourratios:
Breakfast:
1unitinsulinforevery_________gcarbohydrate
Lunch:
1unitinsulinforevery_________gcarbohydrate
Eveningmeal:
1unitinsulinforevery_________gcarbohydrate
Theratiosdecidedforyouaboveareastartingpointandmayneedadjusting.Thebestway
totestiftheratioforthemealisworkingwellistotestyoubloodsugarlevelsbeforethe
mealandthenagain2hoursafterthemeal.Iftheratioisworkingwellwewouldexpectup
toa2-3mmol/Lriseinbloodsugarlevelsafterthemeali.e.ifthebloodsugaris6mmol/L
beforethemealand8mmol/L2hoursafter,theratioisworkingwell.Ifthebloodsugars
riseordropsignificantlyafterthemealandthisisanongoingtrendidentified,theratiomay
needchanging.
Ifyouhaveabolusadvisormeter,afteryouhaveinputtedthecarbohydratevalue,itwill
adviseyouhowmuchinsulintotakebasedonyourinsulin:carbohydrateratio.Itwillalso
takeintoaccountyourbloodsugarreadingbeforehandand“correct”anyhighnumbers.
Contactdetails:EmilySuttonPaediatricDietitian02087468609/[email protected]