Carb Counting

Carbohydrates- where do they come from and how much should you eat?

What are carbohydrates (carbs)?

• Starches and sugars are types of carbohydrate.
• Carbs from our food become blood sugar (blood glucose).
• Our bodies use this blood sugar for energy to fuel our muscles, brain, and entire body.
• If we eat more carbs than we need for energy, it will get stored as body fat.

High carb foods

• Bread, biscuits, muffins, and tortillas
• Pasta, rice, cereal, oatmeal, grits
• Milk and yogurt
• Fruit and juice
• Potatoes, corn, peas
• Beans and legumes
• Crackers and chips
• Cakes, cookies, brownies, ice cream and other sweets
• Regular sports drinks, lemonade, punch, Kool-Aid, sodas, ginger ale, sweet tea, sweetened coffees
• Jams, jellies, honey, syrup, sugar

Low carb foods

• Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter, and other protein foods
• Non starchy vegetables
• Fats like oils, butter and margarine
• Sugar free drinks

How many carbs should you eat?

- Eat similar amount of carbs at each meal. For example, don’t skip carbs at one meal. Don’t over eat carbs at one meal either.

- Balance high carb foods with low carb foods. Avoid eating carbs by themselves as meals or snacks.

- Eat at consistent times throughout the days. Skipping meals can make your blood sugar drop too low.

- If you take insulin, counting carbs is important. It helps you and your doctor plan the right amount of insulin for you.

When you plan your meals and snacks

1. Look at your meal and identify which foods in your meal contain carbs.
2. Count how many servings of those foods you are having.
   • One standard serving of carbs has 15 grams of carbohydrates.
   • It is best to read the food label. This shows you how many carbs are in a food.
   • It is also good to know carb food serving sizes. See below for some serving sizes
3. Choose how many servings of carbs to have. Set a goal for each meal and snack. Your diabetes care team can help with this. For snacks, most people should stick to around 1 to 2 carb servings (15-30 grams). For meals, aim for 3-5 servings of carbs (45-75 grams).

• You could choose all of the same high carb food. For example, you could have three servings of pasta. That equals 1 ½ cups.

• Or, you could mix different carb food. For example, you could start with two servings of bread. That could also be a top and bottom hamburger bun. Then you could add one more carb serving. For example, 1 small piece of fruit.

4. Balance your carbs with low carb foods. Include protein with every meal and snack. Eat more non starchy vegetables.