Carbohydrate Counting Diet

Carbohydrates can affect blood glucose levels greatly. This is because the body converts them into sugar when it turns food into energy.

It's easy — too many simple carbohydrates means your blood sugar levels will increase. If you're a diabetic, it is important for you to monitor your conception of carbohydrates, as well as the different types of carbohydrates that you are consuming.

In a carbohydrate counting diet, a meal plan is made where food is monitored by three different categories — carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Carbohydrates will be what you consume the most. Usually you will get your carbohydrates from the following:

1. Grains — rice, cereal, pasta, etc.
2. Dairy — milk, yogurt, cheese
3. Starchy vegetables — corn, potatoes, peas
4. Fruits and fruit juices
5. Sweets and desserts

To follow a carbohydrate counting diet, you will have to measure each meal out to determine its serving size, so you can add up the amount of carbohydrates you are consuming in the meal. Then when you eat your meals, follow the amount of servings of carbohydrates you need.

On this diet, one serving of carbohydrates is considered 15 grams of carbohydrates. So if you were to eat one serving of carbohydrates, you have to convert how much of a certain food you can eat to get 15 grams of carbohydrates.

In certain cases, the food label may indicate that one serving give you more than 15 grams of carbohydrates. In this case, you have to cut the serving size of the food on the label down to less than one in order to get the appropriate amount of carbohydrates.

As you follow this diet it will become second nature to count carbohydrates and know which foods will affect your blood glucose levels. This is important because no two diabetics respond exactly the same way, even to the same types of food.

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