31 Day of Counting Carbs Helpful Tips

Divabetic

All month long we’re talking about carbohydrates in celebration of our ’31 Days of Counting Carbs’ campaign on Facebook.

Carbohydrate is the body’s preferred source of energy. All carbs are broken down into glucose – essential fuel for the body, especially the brain. Carbohydrate can be classified in two main types:

• Starchy carbs: foods like bread, pasta, potatoes, noodles, rice and cereals.
• Sugars, such as: natural sugar, eg fruit sugar (fructose) and milk sugar (lactose), added sugar, which includes granulated sugar and honey.

Both the amount and type of carbs you eat and drink will have an effect on your post-meal blood glucose levels.

If you’re new at counting carbohydrates, Divabetic wants to help you every step of the way. Here are 3 quick tips to keep in mind as you begin to use carb counting as a tool for managing your diabetes.

• Double-check the measurements of the food item.
• What is the portion or serving size?
• The carbohydrate you count is the ‘Total carbohydrate’ rather than the ‘Total sugars’.

Why not do some “carbohydrate homework”?  Record nine meals and blood glucose levels pre- and 90 minutes post-meal. (3 different breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners.) Write down the foods you eat, the amount, and if possible the total carbohydrate grams and the fat grams.  Once you see the connection between what you eat and the glycemic response, you can determine what your optimum meal plan should be.

NEED INSPIRATION? Listen to the Golden Rules for a Diabetic Diet with Jessica Issler RD, CDE.