Carb Counting Guide | Omnipod Insulin Management System
Starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn and peas, dried beans and lentils, grains like oats, barley, rice and items made from wheat flour. Naturally occur in milk and fruit, or added during cooking or processing. Common names for sugar are table sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, cane sugar, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup and agave nectar. Can be found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes. Most dietary fiber is not digestible. Fiber contributes to digestive health, keeps you regular and helps make you feel full and satisfied after eating. Complex carbohydrates include starchy foods and foods with fiber like whole grain pasta, beans, brown rice, or whole wheat bread. Choosing less processed, whole grain products like these are not only more nutritious, but the fiber can have a favorable effect on your blood glucose and digestive health. Simple carbohydrates include table sugar, honey, syrups, regular soda, fruit juice, jellies and candies. These foods are digested easier and absorbed into your blood stream faster than complex carbohydrates. Sugar Alcohols include erythritol, glycerol, sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol among others. They usually end with tol. These sweeteners provide fewer calories than sugar and have less of an effect on blood glucose. Low-Calorie Sweeteners include Nutrasweet, Equal, Sweet N Low, Splenda and Stevia. These sweeteners do not provide carbohydrates or calories to your food or beverages. Carbohydrate counting is a great technique to use to help you plan your meals and manage your insulin dosing. Some people count carbohydrates for better portion control and balanced meals. When you have diabetes, it can be beneficial to count carbohydrates so that you may dose meal time insulin based on your carbohydrate intake. This Continue reading >>
45 Top Carb-counting Tips
Tried-and-true tactics for fine-tuning your techniques and attitudes Carb counting sounds simple. After all, anyone who's passed third grade knows the basics of adding numbers. Unfortunately, counting carbohydrate grams isn't as easy as one, two, three. That's why Diabetes Forecast went to the experts for help. Who better to give tips on carb counting than the people who do it day in and day out? Read on for 45 tried-and-true carb-counting how-tos. "It's really important to work with your doctor," says Tammy Walker, 36, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes four years ago. "If you're newly diagnosed and your doctor doesn't have the experience, have your doctor refer you to a dietitian to teach you how to eat." "It's getting past that initial 'I can't do it,' " says Daniele Hargenrader, 31, who's had type 1 diabetes since she was 8. "The first days and weeks are the hardest. Anyone can change." Count total carbohydrate grams, not just the sugar grams listed on the food label, says David Frank, 41, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes a year ago. A cereal may only have 1 gram of sugar, for instance, but 21 grams of carbohydrate. "You have to look at the carbohydrates because carbohydrates break down into sugar." "The only way you can really know what your blood sugar is doing is if you have a readout. You can't guess what your blood sugar is," says Hargenrader. "And you can't guess how many carbs you need if you don't check your blood sugar." Checking before a meal and about two hours after the first bite shows you how what you eat affects your blood glucose. Intensive insulin users may do this frequently; for others, it can be helpful to do so when starting new medication or making other treatment changes. "They start to remember things," says Gabrielle Brits, whose Continue reading >>
Understanding Advanced Carbohydrate Counting — A Useful Tool For Some Patients To Improve Blood Glucose Control
Today’s Dietitian Vol. 15 No. 12 P. 40 Suggested CDR Learning Codes: 2070, 3020, 5190, 5460; Level 3 Take this course and earn 2 CEUs on our Continuing Education Learning Library Click here for patient handout Carbohydrate, whether from sugars or starches, has the greatest impact on postprandial blood sugar levels compared with protein and fat. For this reason, carbohydrate counting has become a mainstay in diabetes management and education. Patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes benefit from carbohydrate counting in terms of improvements in average glucose levels,1,2 quality of life,2,3 and treatment satisfaction.3 Basic carbohydrate counting is used to keep blood glucose levels consistent, while advanced carbohydrate counting helps with calculating insulin dose. Both basic and advanced carbohydrate counting give people with diabetes the freedom to choose the foods they enjoy while keeping their postprandial blood glucose under control. This continuing education course introduces advanced carbohydrate counting as a tool for improving blood glucose management, evaluates basic and advanced carbohydrate counting, describes good candidates for advanced carbohydrate counting, and discusses strategies for counseling patients as well as precautions when using advanced carbohydrate counting. Basic Carb Counting Basic carbohydrate counting is a structured approach that emphasizes consistency in the timing and amount of carbohydrate consumed. Dietitians teach patients about the relationship among food, diabetes medications, physical activity, and blood glucose levels.4 Basic carbohydrate counting assigns a fixed amount of carbohydrate to be consumed at each meal and, if desired, snacks. Among the skills RDs teach patients are how to identify carbohydrate foods, recognize serving s Continue reading >>
The 500 Rule | Diabetesnet.com
Wed, 12/15/2010 - 16:38 -- Richard Morris The 500 Rule (aka 450 Rule) from Using Insulin and the Pocket Pancreas is a great way to estimate how many grams of carbohydrate will be covered by one unit of Humalog or Novolog insulin. This is your insulin to carb ratio or your carb factor. Once you know this, you can count the grams of carb in the food you want to eat and divide by your carb factor to find how many units of bolus insulin are needed to cover the carbs. This allows flexibility in your food choices because any number of carbs can be covered with a matching dose of insulin. The 500 Rule used to determine your carb factor depends on accurately knowing your TDD. As with basal doses, an accurate carb factor can be determined only after you've calculated an accurate TDD for yourself. estimates grams of carb per unit of Humalog or Novolog insulins (the 450 Rule is used with Regular insulin) 500 divided by your TDD (Total Daily Dose of insulin) = grams of carb covered by one unit of Humalog or Novolog Lets you keep your post meal readings normal! Someone's TDD = 50 units (i.e., the total amount of say Humalog and Lente insulins they used per day). 500/50 = 10 grams of carbohydrate covered by each unit of Humalog insulin TDD = all fast insulin taken before meals, plus all long-acting insulin used in a day. If Humalog is used everyday to correct high readings, this may also need to be factored into the TDD. For instance, if someone's TDD is "30 units" (5 H before each meal, plus 15 Lantus at bedtime), but they need 8 to 12 units more almost every day to bring down highs, at least some of this 8 to 12 units will need to be factored into a new TDD. Caution: The 500 Rule will be most accurate for those who make no insulin of their own and receive 50% to 60% of their TDD a Continue reading >>
Carbohydrate Counting & Diabetes
What is carbohydrate counting? Carbohydrate counting, also called carb counting, is a meal planning tool for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Carbohydrate counting involves keeping track of the amount of carbohydrate in the foods you eat each day. Carbohydrates are one of the main nutrients found in food and drinks. Protein and fat are the other main nutrients. Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, and fiber. Carbohydrate counting can help you control your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, levels because carbohydrates affect your blood glucose more than other nutrients. Healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, are an important part of a healthy eating plan because they can provide both energy and nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, and fiber. Fiber can help you prevent constipation, lower your cholesterol levels, and control your weight. Unhealthy carbohydrates are often food and drinks with added sugars. Although unhealthy carbohydrates can also provide energy, they have little to no nutrients. More information about which carbohydrates provide nutrients for good health and which carbohydrates do not is provided in the NIDDK health topic, Diabetes Diet and Eating. The amount of carbohydrate in foods is measured in grams. To count grams of carbohydrate in foods you eat, you’ll need to know which foods contain carbohydrates learn to estimate the number of grams of carbohydrate in the foods you eat add up the number of grams of carbohydrate from each food you eat to get your total for the day Your doctor can refer you to a dietitian or diabetes educator who can help you develop a healthy eating plan based on carbohydrate counting. Which foods contain carbohydrates? Foods that contain carbohydrates include grains, such as b Continue reading >>
What Is An Insulin-to-carb Ratio?
If you use fast-acting insulin and count carbohydrates, you want to know your insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio. An insulin-to-carb ratio allows you to easily figure out how much of your fast-acting insulin is needed for the amount of carbohydrate you consume. You can talk to your health care provider or certified diabetes educator (CDE) to help you know where to start and then through trial and error you can figure out the right ratio for you. An example of an insulin-to-carb ratio is 1:15 meaning one unit of insulin is needed for every 15 grams of carbohydrate. Someone needing more insulin may have a ratio of 1:10 and someone needing less insulin may have a ratio of 1:20. When you are trying to figure out your correct ratio, it is helpful to write down your blood sugar levels and check more frequently to see how the insulin-to-carb ratio you used affected your blood sugar levels two hours after eating. Calculating the best insulin-to-carb ratio is a process of trial and error: Check your blood sugar before eating and write down your result. Count your carbs and give your insulin and write down the insulin-to-carb ratio you are using. Check your blood sugar 2 hours after eating and write down your result. Try this process out a for a few days before adjusting your ratio. When you do adjust your ratio, do so in small, safe increments. When an insulin-to-carb ratio works consistently well, keep it! But remember that factors like illness, skipping a meal, extra exercise, stress and other changes in routine may cause your insulin-to-carb ratio to change. In the book Using Insulin, the authors share the Rule of 500 to figure out a good starting ratio. This applies to people with type 1 diabetes who are taking multiple daily injections of insulin. They write: Your body is often Continue reading >>
Clinidiabet.com > Insulin Pumps > Carbohydrate Counting
Carbohydrate counting is a meal planning method that provides the patient with greater autonomy and flexibility in management of their diet. The method is based on the total count of carbohydrate consumed in meals and snacks. It is the most appropriate nutritional approach for patients with type I diabetes using the insulin pump or on multiple daily injections because, once the dose of basal insulin is established/set, the patient can adjust/administer insulin based on the content of carbohydrate to be consumed at a given meal. For patients required to take a set amount of insulin at meals the aim should be to maintain a regular daily carbohydrate intake. Of the three types of nutrients present in foods (carbohydrates, proteins and fats), carbohydrates contribute most to the rise in post-meal blood glucose levels and as a result, are the main factor that determine insulin needs in relation to food intake. Furthermore, equal amounts of carbohydrate, whether of short or long absorption, raise blood sugar in roughly the same way (1 gram of carbohydrate raises blood sugar about 3-5 mg/dl). This means that the quantity rather than the type of carbohydrate plays an important role and is a key factor in determining pre-meal insulin needs. Therefore, to estimate the amount of insulin needed for a specific meal or snack, one need only count the grams of carbohydrate in the particular food to be consumed. Once a patient has learned to count carbohydrates it is possible to establish an insulin/carbohydrates ratio on an individual basis. This insulin/carbohydrate ratio can be used to calculate the pre-meal insulin dose. An exact quantity of carbohydrate cannot be recommended for all patients since meal planning must take into account the individuals nutritional needs and requireme Continue reading >>
Carbohydrate Counting 101
Carbohydrate Counting 101 There are several different ways people with diabetes can manage their food intake to keep their blood glucose (sugar) within their target range and one such method is 'carbohydrate counting'. Carbohydrate, or carb counting is a method of calculating grams of carbohydrate consumed at meals and snacks. Foods that contain carb have the greatest effect on blood glucose compared to foods that contain protein or fat. Before starting any new treatment or meal plan, you should always consult with your diabetes care professional. What are the benefits of counting carbs? ·Counting carbohydrates is a good solution for many people with diabetes. Once you learn how to count carbs, you’ll find it easier to fit a wide variety of foods into your meal plan, including combination foods such as those in frozen dinners. For example, by checking the grams of total carbohydrate on the Nutrition Facts label on a frozen dinner, you can figure out how to fit the dinner into your carb allotment for a particular meal. Many people find carb counting to be much easier than using a more traditional exchange meal plan. ·Another benefit of counting carbohydrates is that it can bring tighter control over your glucose readings. Being as precise as possible with your carb intake and medication will help you better manage your blood glucose after meals. ·Lastly, if you take mealtime insulin, counting carbohydrates allows you to decide how much carb you want to eat at a meal, rather than having to eat a certain amount of carbohydrates, even if you do not want to. Who can use carbohydrate counting? Carbohydrate counting can be used by anyone with diabetes, not just people taking insulin. This method is also useful for people who are using more intensive methods of adjusting i Continue reading >>
Carb Counting
Last week we talked about two types of diabetes meal planning tools: the exchange system and the plate method. While both of these approaches can work well, today, more and more people with diabetes are turning to carbohydrate counting. Carbohydrate, or “carb”, counting, really isn’t all that new. In fact, Dr. Elliott Joslin taught carb counting to his patients back in the early part of the 20th Century: “In teaching patients their diet,” he said, “I lay emphasis first on carbohydrate values, and teach to a few only the values for protein and fat.” Patients who came to Joslin Clinic in those days were taught by Dr. Joslin himself, and today, the walls of Joslin Diabetes Center are lined with pictures of folks from that period sitting in a classroom with gram scales in front of them for the purpose of weighing their food. Since those days, many aspects of diabetes care have changed for the better, but carb counting has made a comeback as an effective yet simple approach to help people better manage their diabetes. There are actually two types of carb counting. The first type, often called basic or consistent carb counting (or, as one of the doctors at Joslin likes to say, “CC”), is usually what most people with diabetes learn about these days. Basic carb counting isn’t a diet, but rather a tool to help you better plan meals and learn how your food choices affect your blood glucose levels. As you may know, most of the carbohydrate we eat turns to glucose (sugar) during digestion. Our bodies then use this glucose for energy. Let’s review the types of foods that contain carbohydrate: Bread, pasta, cereals, rice Starchy vegetables (corn, peas, potatoes, lima beans) Fruit and fruit juices Milk and yogurt Sweets and desserts (Non-starchy vegetables, such Continue reading >>
Calculating Insulin Dose
You'll need to calculate some of your insulin doses. You'll also need to know some basic things about insulin. For example, 40-50% of the total daily insulin dose is to replace insulin overnight. Your provider will prescribe an insulin dose regimen for you; however, you still need to calculate some of your insulin doses. Your insulin dose regimen provides formulas that allow you to calculate how much bolus insulin to take at meals and snacks, or to correct high blood sugars. In this section, you will find: First, some basic things to know about insulin: Approximately 40-50% of the total daily insulin dose is to replace insulin overnight, when you are fasting and between meals. This is called background or basal insulin replacement. The basal or background insulin dose usually is constant from day to day. The other 50-60% of the total daily insulin dose is for carbohydrate coverage (food) and high blood sugar correction. This is called the bolus insulin replacement. Bolus – Carbohydrate coverage The bolus dose for food coverage is prescribed as an insulin to carbohydrate ratio. The insulin to carbohydrate ratio represents how many grams of carbohydrate are covered or disposed of by 1 unit of insulin. Generally, one unit of rapid-acting insulin will dispose of 12-15 grams of carbohydrate. This range can vary from 6-30 grams or more of carbohydrate depending on an individual’s sensitivity to insulin. Insulin sensitivity can vary according to the time of day, from person to person, and is affected by physical activity and stress. Bolus – High blood sugar correction (also known as insulin sensitivity factor) The bolus dose for high blood sugar correction is defined as how much one unit of rapid-acting insulin will drop the blood sugar. Generally, to correct a high bloo Continue reading >>
Carb Counting #1: Food And Blood Glucose
Carbohydrate counting is a method for estimating the carbohydrate in food to effectively balance the carbohydrate you eat with your insulin doses. Read more to see how carbohydrate counting and insulin pump therapy together can help you balance your food intake and insulin therapy and keep blood glucose levels in a healthy range. Food is a big part of our lives and also has a big effect on blood glucose. Knowing how to count carbohydrate offers the flexibility of matching your insulin to the carbohydrate in the foods that you eat. Carb counting is a method for estimating the carbohydrate in food to effectively balance the carbohydrate you eat with your insulin doses. This is a skill that can give you more flexibility in your food choices. How carbohydrates affect your blood glucose? Calories in food are derived from three nutrients: fat, protein, and carbohydrate. Of those three, carbohydrate has the greatest impact on blood glucose. Within minutes of eating any carbohydrate, your blood glucose (BG) levels may start to rise. After 1-2 hours, most carbohydrates are finished being converted into blood glucose and during that time insulin must be available to transport glucose into cells. How does carbohydrate counting help with insulin dosing? If you count the carbs you eat and take good notes on how much insulin your body needs for those carbohydrates, you will learn your insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio. This ratio represents how much insulin your body needs for a set amount of carbohydrate. Keep in mind, this can be different for every person, can vary based on the time of day, and can even change for you over time. The t:slim X2 Pump uses the settings in your active Personal Profile (your individualized settings for basal rate, correction factor, carbohydrate ratio, and Continue reading >>
Carb Counting
Straight to the Point It’s important to keep in mind that there’s no such thing as a ‘diabetes diet’. With the help of your health care professionals, you can tailor your insulin treatments to suit your diet and lifestyle (you can still eat out and be spontaneous when you have type 1 diabetes!) and ensure that your blood glucose levels stay in control. A key component of managing your insulin regime is learning ‘carb-counting’. That’s because you need to match your insulin intake to your carb intake to ensure that you achieve the target range for blood glucose levels. Everyone’s insulin-to-carb ratio is different, and your health care professionals will help you figure out how many units of insulin you need for each ‘exchange’ of carbs. An ‘exchange’ is normally 10 or 15 grams of carbs, or a third of a cup of cooked pasta, two taco shells, 250ml of milk, or a slice of sandwich bread. Counting all the exchanges in a meal will help you decide how much insulin to take with each meal. Example: Jane’s health care professional recommends an insulin regime of one dose of long-acting insulin at night, and short-acting insulin for meals and corrections. She is recommended to have two units of insulin per exchange of carbs that she eats. For breakfast, Jane has two Weetbix (three exchanges) in 250ml of milk (one exchange) and a medium-sized banana (one and a half exchange). To cover this meal, Jane injects eleven units of insulin to match her insulin intake to her food intake. The important thing to remember is that carb-counting and insulin-to-carb ratios are different for everyone. Your health care professional can recommend the best insulin program for you. Want to learn more about carb counting and other type 1 diabetes topics? Continue reading >>
Carbohydrate Count In Insulin Dosing
Aka: Carbohydrate Count in Insulin Dosing, Insulin Adjustment with Carbohydrate Counting II. Management: Step 1a - Determine Carbohydrate to Insulin ratio Option 1: Known dose from multiple daily doses or Insulin Pump Option 2: Calculate based on patient weight WtKg x 0.3 units/kg: Underweight, advance age, Dialysis WtKg x 0.6 units/kg: Obese, steroid use, high Insulin Resistance Option 3: Simple carbohydrate based-method (below in Step Ib) Plan to split the basal Insulin and Bolus Insulin evenly (50% to each) Uses 1 unit per carbohydrate PLUS 1 unit per 50 over 150 Blood Sugar of 200 at lunch and having prepared a 4 carbohydrate meal Takes a total of 6 units: 4 units (4 carbs) plus an additional 2 units (for Blood Sugar of 200) Images: Related links to external sites (from Bing) These images are a random sampling from a Bing search on the term "Carbohydrate Count in Insulin Dosing." Click on the image (or right click) to open the source website in a new browser window. Search Bing for all related images Related Studies (from Trip Database) Open in New Window Continue reading >>
The Nuts And Bolts Of Carb Counting
If you’re living with Type 1 diabetes, you might find that carbohydrate counting, or carb counting, is an effective way of managing your blood glucose levels – it means that your insulin dose can be individually matched to the amount of carbohydrate you eat and drink. Being aware of the amount of carbs in food and drinks is important for everyone with diabetes, but carb counting is particularly helpful for those on basal-bolus insulin regimen. This is when the person with diabetes (mostly Type 1 diabetes) injects insulin with each meal or uses an insulin pump. Although carb counting requires a great deal of time and effort, once mastered it can lead to better blood glucose control and greater flexibility in the times and amount of carbohydrate you eat. It doesn't mean total freedom to eat whatever you want in excess as this would be unhealthy for anyone, although special occasions and treats can be more easily incorporated and insulin adjusted to match. Carbohydrates can be counted in two ways, in grams or as carbohydrate portions (CP). One CP is usually equal to 10g of carbohydrate. It is important that you find the method that works best for you. Once you’ve got to grips with estimating the amount of carbohydrate you are going to eat and drink, the next key piece of information you need is your insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio. Insulin-to-carbohydrate ratios vary from person to person, so you will have your own personal ratio depending on your age, weight, activity levels and how sensitive you are to insulin. Your diabetes healthcare team will help you work it out and, eventually, you may even have a different insulin to carbohydrate ratio for each meal. They will usually estimate your starting insulin-to-carb ratio and subsequently fine-tune this based on your blo Continue reading >>
Diabetes: Counting Carbs If You Use Insulin
Carbohydrate, or carb, counting is an important skill to learn when you have diabetes. Carb counting helps you keep tight control of your blood sugar (glucose) level. It also gives you the flexibility to eat what you want. This can help you feel more in control and confident when managing your diabetes. Carb counting helps you keep your blood sugar at your target level. It allows you to adjust the amount of insulin you take. This amount is based on how many grams of carbs you eat at a meal or snack. The formula used to find how much insulin you need is called the insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio. The insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio is not the same for each person. You and your doctor will find your ratio by keeping track of the food you eat and testing your blood sugar level after meals. To count carb grams at a meal, you need to know how many carbs are in each type of food you eat. This includes all food, whether it is a slice of bread, a bowl of lettuce, or a spoonful of salad dressing. Most packaged foods have labels that tell you how many total carbs are in one serving. Carbohydrate guides can help too. You can get these from diabetes educators and the American Diabetes Association. To find out how many carbs are in food that is not packaged, you will need to know standard portions of carbohydrate foods. Each serving size or standard portion has about 15 grams of carbs. By using the number of grams of carbs in a meal, you can figure out how much insulin to take. This is based on your personal insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio. For example: Your doctor may advise you to take 1 unit of rapid-acting insulin for every 10 to 15 grams of carbs you eat. So if your meal has 50 grams of carbs and your doctor says you need 1 unit of insulin for every 10 grams of carbs, you would need Continue reading >>
