Carbohydrate Counting

Carbohydrate counting is a way of controlling your diabetes.
You can also control your diabetes with insulin or pills, no doubt, but if you still haven't reached that point, you better start counting your carbohydrates.
But how can carbohydrate counting affect our diabetes control?
You can achieve a good control of your diabetes by balancing your blood glucose levels.
Carbohydrate naturally increases your blood sugar level. Eating large amounts of carbohydrates at one time can raise your blood sugar to a high level.
That's the reason why you have to learn the technique of carbohydrate counting by calculating the sum of the carbohydrates in each meal of yours.

Eating consistent amounts of carbohydrates every day helps you balance your blood glucose level.
We can find carbohydrates in starches (breads, cereals, starchy vegetables, and beans), fruit, milk and sweets.
Protein and fat are other nutrients that are found in foods, but these nutrients do not have the same effect as carbohydrates on your blood sugar. To keep track of your blood sugar levels, you should test your blood sugar regularly.

You can start your carbohydrate counting with your dietitian or diabetes educator who will help you develop a healthy meal plan that works best for you.
Your dietitian or diabetes educator will tell you how much carbohydrates you should eat or drink during each meal and snack. Your meal plan will be based on several types of information.
This information may include your age, weight, usual food intake, physical activity level, blood sugar levels, and diabetes medicine.
Once you know how much carbohydrates you should eat, you can decide what type of carbohydrate you want to eat.

How do I count carbohydrates?
Well, there are two ways of carbohydrate counting.

1. The first way is to get from your dietitian or diabetes educator the exact amount of carbohydrates to consume for each meal in the day.
   For example, if your dietitian or diabetes educator estimates that you need 75 grams of carbohydrates in your breakfast each day, then this can be one option for your breakfast:

   1 slice wheat bread toast -	15 gr.
   1 teaspoon margarine
   3/4 cup cornflakes -	18 gr.
   1 small banana -	15 gr.
   1/2 cup orange juice -	15 gr.
   1 cup black coffee
   1 cup low fat milk -	12 gr.
   Total carbs -	75 gr.

2. The second way of carbohydrate counting is to match your insulin dose to the amount of carbohydrate you eat.
   You will need to work with your dietitian or diabetes educator to determine your ratio of carbohydrate to insulin.

In both ways of carbohydrate counting, however, knowing serving sizes and reading food labels are both necessary in order to count carbohydrates.
Below you have a chart of the common foods with their typical serving sizes and their carbohydrate amounts in grams.

FOOD   CHART  FOR  CARBOHYDRATE  COUNTING

VEGETABLES

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Argula	1/2 cup	17.7
Artichoke	1 medium	13
Asparagus	4 spears	2.1
Beans, Green, Fresh	1/2 cup	4.9
Beans, Green, Canned	1/2 cup	5.1
Beans, Black, Canned	1/2 cup	17
Beans, Kidney, Canned	1/2 cup	19
Beans, White, Canned	1/2 cup	19
Beans, Lima, Cooked/Boiled	1/2 cup	20.1
Beans, Navy, Cooked	1/2 cup	24
Beets	1/2 cup	6.8
Broccoli	1/2 cup	2.3
Cabbage	1/2 cup	1.9
Carrots	1 medium	6
Celery	1 medium stalk	1
Corn	1 cup	29.3
Lettuce	1 head	0.4
Mushrooms	1/2 cup	4
Onions	1 medium	9
Peas, Green	1/2 cup	10
Potato, Baked	1 medium	36.7
Potato, Sweet, Baked	1 medium	31.6
Pumpkin	1/2 cup	10.1
Peppers, Red	7 ounce Jar	4
Tomato	1 medium	6

FRUIT

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Apple, Raw	1 medium	21.1
Apricot	3 medium	11.8
Banana	1 medium	26.7
Cantaloupe	1/2 medium	22.3
Cherries	1/2 cup	12
Dates	1 date	6
Grapefruit	1/2 medium	16
Grapes	1 cup	15.8
Kiwi	1 medium	11.3
Lemon	1 medium	5.4
Mango	1 medium	35.2
Orange, Raw	1 medium	15.4
Papaya	1 medium	29.8
Peach	1 medium	9.7
Pear	1 medium	25.1
Pineapple	1 slice - 3/4" thick	10.4
Plum	1 ounce	3.7
Prunes	10 each	52.7
Raisins	1/2 cup	57.5
Watermelon	1/2 cup	5.7

PASTA

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Spaghetti	2 ounce dry	42.6
Ravioli (meat)	2 ounce dry	42.6
Fettuccini (egg)	2 ounce dry	42.6
Spiral Pasta	2 ounce dry	42.6
Capellini	2 ounce dry	42.6
Linguine	2 ounce dry	42.6
Macaroni	2 ounce dry	42.6
Rice Vermicelli	1 cup	79.4

BREADS, CAKES, CEREALS & MUFFINS

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Biscuit, Chocolate	20 gr.	16
Bran, Wheat	8 gr.	2.5
Bread, All types	1 slice	15
Bagel	1 bagel	71
Blueberry Muffin	1 muffin	27
Cake, Fruit	60 gr.	35
Cake, Sponge	60 gr.	32
Doughnut	40 gr.	20
Graham Crackers	2 crackers	24
Kellogg's Cornflakes	1 cup	24
Melba Toast	1 round	3
Scone	30 gr.	18
Pancake	75 gr.	27
Pita Bread	1 pita – 6.5"	28
Pizza, Cheese & Tomato	150 gr.	38
Rye Crispbread	1 each	0
Wheat Biscuit	35 gr.	25
Whole Wheat Bread	1 slice	13
Eggroll Wrapper	1 eggroll	4.5

GRAINS

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Barley	1 cup	135
Bulgur	1 cup cooked	33.8
Couscous	1 cup cooked	41.6
Cornmeal	68	28
Millet	71	28
Noodles (instant)	1 cup	25.9
Rice, Wild	1 cup cooked	35
Rice, Brown	1 cup cooked	44.8
Rice, White, Long Grain	1 cup cooked	35.1

DAIRY

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Cheese, Cottage, Regular	1/2 cup	4
Cheese, Cream, Regular	1 ounce	0.8
Cheese, Feta	1 ounce	1.2
Cheese, Mozzarella, Skim	1 ounce	0.8
Cheese, Parmesan	1 ounce	0.9
Cheese, Swiss	1 ounce	1
Milk (whole)	1 cup	11.4
Milk (skimmed)	1 cup	11.9
Milk (chocolate flavored)	1 cup	26
Ice Cream (whole)	60 gr.	15
Ice cream (low-fat)	60 gr.	15
Yogurt (low-fat)	1 cup	16
Soy milk banana	1 cup	4.3
Soy beverage chocolate	1 cup	4.3
Tofu , Raw	1/2 cup	2.3

SNACKS

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Almonds	1 cup	20
Cashews	1 cup	45
Chocolate Bar	1 ounce	17
Caramel	50 gr.	39
Jelly Beans	100 gr.	90
Peanuts	1 ounce	5
Popcorn (no oil)	1 ounce	20
Pistachios	1 cup	32
Tahini	1 tbsp	4
Walnuts	1 cup	19

SUGARS

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Corn Syrup, Light	2 tbsp	0
Honey	1 tbsp	16
Jam	100 gr.	69
Peanut Butter	100 gr.	13
Marmalade	100 gr.	70
Maple Syrup	2 tbsp	0
Sugar	100 gr.	100

BEVERAGES

NAME	SERVING SIZE	CARBS (gr.)
Apple Juice, Raw	6 ounce	21.7
Beer	12 Oz can	12
Cola	100 gr.	11
Grapefruit Juice, Raw	6 ounce	17
Orange Soft Drink	6 ounce	18.4
Orange Juice, Raw	1/2 cup	13
Lemon Juice, Raw	1/2 cup	10.5
Pineapple Soft Drink	6 ounce	25.8
Wine	1 glass (4 ounce)	1.7

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