Counting carbohydrates

Carbohydrate counting is a meal-planning strategy to help manage your blood sugar when you have diabetes. Carbohydrate is the nutrient that makes blood sugar rise the most. Carb counting helps you learn how much carbohydrate (sugar and starch) is in the foods you eat. Then you can adjust food and portions to meet your carbohydrate goal. This helps prevent high blood sugar after you eat and drink. A registered dietitian can help you learn to count carbs and plan meals and snacks.

Carbohydrate counting can help you control your blood sugar. Learning how to spread carbohydrates throughout the day can help you prevent high blood sugar. A registered dietitian can help you learn to count carbs and plan your meals and snacks.

Counting carbs helps you know how much insulin to take before you eat. To do this, you need to learn your insulin-to-carb ratio. You can do this by testing your blood sugar after meals. For example, you may need a certain amount of insulin for every 15 grams of carbs. Your diabetes health professional can help you figure out the ratio.

The recommended amount of carbs also depends on things such as your weight, how active you are, which diabetes medicines you take, and what your blood sugar goals are.

For most adults, a guideline for carbs is:

• 45 to 60 grams at each meal. That’s about 3 to 4 carbohydrate servings.
• 15 to 20 grams at each snack. That’s about 1 carbohydrate serving.

A registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator can help you plan how many carbs to include in each meal and snack.

For most adults, a guideline for carbohydrates is:

• 45 to 60 grams at each meal. That's about 3 to 4 carbohydrate servings.
• 15 to 20 grams at each snack. That's about 1 carbohydrate serving.

But the right amount of carbs for you depends on several things. These include your weight, how active you are, what diabetes medicines you take, and what your goals are for your blood sugar levels.

A registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator can help you plan how much carbohydrate to include in each meal and snack.