This method gives you more flexibility with your food choices. If you have fewer carbs at a meal, you can take a lower dose of insulin. If you have more carbs, you can take a higher dose.

A registered dietitian who may also be a certified diabetes educator can help you determine the number of carbs you should include at meals and snacks. But if your blood sugar readings are not on target, you can increase or reduce the number of carbs as needed.

Whether you use the basic or advanced method for counting carbs, it is important to keep healthy eating goals in mind. It is not enough to concentrate solely on the number of carbs you eat.

For instance, eating foods with lots of added sugar will not provide the health benefits of those foods that supply both healthy carbs and disease-fighting nutrients.

Plus, added-sugar foods, especially beverages, are less filling and may makemanaging your blood sugars more challenging. Here are three tasty recipes that show how you can stay within your carb limits without feeling deprived.

This soup provides the same flavours as a traditional minestrone soup, but it is low in carbs, making it great for meals where your carbohydrate totals are being met by other dishes.

Any soup containing beans offers more fibre and protein. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrots, celery, and zucchini; cook for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add vegetable broth, canned tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in spinach and continue to cook, covered, another 20 minutes. Season soup with freshly ground pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve garnished with 1½ teaspoons 7 mL basil mixture. Nutritional breakdown per serving: 13 g carbohydrate, 5 g protein, 5 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 3 g fibre, mg sodium, calories.

In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions until tender but firm; drain and return to pot. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp 15 mL of the oil over high heat; stir-fry zucchini and mushrooms for about 3 minutes or until tender-crisp.

Transfer to a bowl. In the same skillet, heat remaining oil over high heat; cook shrimp and garlic, stirring, for 3 minutes or until shrimp is opaque.

Add tomato and cook for 1 minute. Transfer shrimp and zucchini mixtures including all liquids to pot of hot pasta. Add parsley, cheese, and lemon juice; toss to mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Nutritional breakdown per serving: 50 g carbohydrate, 6 g protein, 9 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 4 g fibre, mg sodium, calories. Line compartments of a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, combine flours, oats, baking powder, and baking soda; process for 5 seconds.

Add egg, margarine, brown sugar, yogurt, and almond extract; process for 25 to 30 seconds or until smooth and blended. Stir in apricots with a rubber spatula. This more advanced form of carb counting is often used by people who take mealtime insulin. This is done by matching the dose of insulin to the amount of carbohydrate in a meal or snack that the person chooses to eat.

For example if a person wants to eat a much larger meal than usual, carb counting can helps determine how much extra insulin to take. On the other hand, eating less carbs would mean a lower dose of the mealtime insulin.

A Registered Dietitian can help to determine the amount of insulin needed to match a certain amount of carbohydrate. Speak to your healthcare team about the meal planning options that will work best for you.

Joanne Lewis, Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator, has over 20 years of experience as a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator. She has collaborated in the development and implementation of professional diabetes education programs and has presented at local, national and international conferences on a variety of diabetes and chronic disease related topics and has served as an advisor and reviewer for professional organizations and journals.

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Home » Articles and Blogs » Carb counting: a meal planning solution that offers flexibility. Basic carb counting This form of carb counting involves setting a limit for the amount of carbohydrate to eat at a specific meal or snack and keeping this amount consistent from day to day.

Read also about Very low carb diet and diabetes. A very low carb diet may help you manage your diabetes more effectively. Advanced carbohydrate counting This more advanced form of carb counting is often used by people who take mealtime insulin.

Read also about Carbs and healthier carbs for people with diabetes. Picture a food you love. Now imagine being told you should never eat that food again. When a person is diagnosed with diabetes, this is often the message they perceive from those around them - especially when it comes to carbohydrates.

So if your meal had 70g of carbohydrate and your insulin to carbohydrate ratio was 1 unit of bolus insulin for every 10g carbohydrate, then you'd need to take 7 units of bolus insulin. The amount you actually take will also depend on other factors such as your blood sugar level, illness or planned activity.

If you look at the labelling on the back of a ready-meal, you'll usually see something that looks like this:. If you ate all of the ready meal, the amount of carbohydrate you would count is It is important to count the total amount of carbs and not the 'of which sugars' value.

When using a per portion value, make sure that this is the actual portion you are planning to eat. When using the per g value, calculate the carbs for the actual amount of the food or drink that you are going to have. This means if you were planning to cook and eat 80g of rice the amount of carbohydrate you would count is It's important to invest in a good set of scales that are flat based, digital and can be zeroed.

It is also important that your scales are accurate to within 5g. The cooked weight of foods like pasta, rice and potatoes will vary from the raw or pre-cooked weight, so check which values you are using.

If the food your eating doesn't carry nutritional informaton, or you're eating out and they don't have the values, carb counting can be more difficult. They list the amount of carbohydrate in handy measures, such as one bread roll, one medium banana or one scoop of ice cream.

Some reference lists also contain pictures too so you can compare. Using the Diabetes UK recipe pages can take the hard work out of calculating the carbohydrate content.

But there's no need to throw out your favourite recipes and cookbooks. Taking the time to work out the carbohydrate values of your day-to-day meals helps you build up a personal reference list that you can use again and again.

Many restaurants and cafes will now list nutritional information for their products online. You may find information that looks like this:. Many restaurants and snack bars are now providing nutrition information for their menus in a response to us all becoming more health aware.

American Diabetes Association. Types of carbohydrates. Get to know carbs. American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. Facilitating behavior change and well-being to improve health outcomes: Standards of medical care in diabetes— Diabetes Care. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Diabetes and carbs. Michigan Medicine of University of Michigan Health. Diabetes: counting carbs if you don't use insulin.

Diabetes Education Online of the University of California. By Lindsey DeSoto, RD, LD Lindsey Desoto is a registered dietitian with experience working with clients to improve their diet for health-related reasons. She enjoys staying up to date on the latest research and translating nutrition science into practical eating advice to help others live healthier lives.

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Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources. Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. Type 2 Diabetes. Carbohydrate Counting. By Lindsey DeSoto, RD, LD. Medically reviewed by Danielle Weiss, MD.

Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. Types of Carbs. Carb Content in Foods. How to Get Started. Frequently Asked Questions. Why Should I Count Carbs? How Do Different Types of Insulin Work? Do You Know the Difference Between Simple and Complex Carbs?

What's the Right Amount of Carbs to Eat? Is There a Specific Amount of Carbohydrates to Eat Daily? Diabetes-Friendly Snacks for Calories or Less.

The Best Breakfasts If You Have Diabetes. Carbohydrate Counting and Plate Method Meal Plans for Type 2 Diabetes. Frequently Asked Questions How many calories per day should come from carbs? Learn More: High Carb Foods. Can your blood sugar go up even when you don't eat any carbs?

What are the best snack foods for people with diabetes? It is crucial to understand which healthful foods are good sources of protein and fat to avoid carbohydrate-heavy foods. Some foods do not contain enough carbohydrates to include in a carb-counting regime. Instead, these foods serve as healthful sources of protein and fats.

Foods include many types of cheese, tofu, tempeh, and pumpkin seeds. Read more about healthful and unhealthful fats here. However, people with type 1 diabetes should not use carb counting in place of medical treatment.

Recommendations for diet include eating healthful foods in moderate portions that include lean meats, whole grains, and low glycemic fruits and vegetables.

Eating carbs can raise a person's blood sugar. However, not all carbs are bad for a person with diabetes. Learn more. The number of carbs per day for people with diabetes varies depending on age, weight, physical activity, and other lifestyle factors. Researchers said baricitinib, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, showed promise in a clinical trial in helping slow the progression of type 1….

A new review indicates that insulin—used to manage diabetes—can be kept at room temperature for months without losing its potency. A study in rat models of diabetes suggests that spinach extract — both water- and alcohol-based — may help promote wound healing, which occurs very….

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Medical News Today. Health Conditions Health Products Discover Tools Connect. How to count carbs with diabetes. Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph. How carb counting works Aims of carb counting Carb counting tips Understanding carb-heavy foods Summary Carb counting is one form of meal planning that people with diabetes use to help them manage their blood sugar levels.

How carb counting works. Share on Pinterest Carb counting can help a person manage their risk of blood sugar spikes. Aims of carb counting. Carb counting tips. Share on Pinterest Use cups for more effective portion control.

Understanding carb-heavy foods. Share on Pinterest Eggs are a healthful source of protein. Q: Is calorie-counting also effective for managing diabetes? A: Calories are not directly linked to type 2 diabetes; however being overweight is a risk factor. Deborah Weatherspoon, PhD, RN, CRNA Answers represent the opinions of our medical experts.

All content is strictly informational and should not be considered medical advice. Was this helpful? How we reviewed this article: Sources. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations.