Diabetes and carb counting
Carbohydrates are just as important as insulin. Therefor you should know how to count them.
Just as taking insulin when your blood glucose is high you use carbohydrates when it is low.
Understanding the ups and down can be difficult – we will try and make it easier.
What are carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates or “carbs” are found in many everyday foods — like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, sweets, beans, and milk. Different foods have different amounts of carbs.1
Carbs turn into glucose once you’ve digested them. Therefore, the carbs of your meals and drinks directly affect your blood glucose level. That is why understanding the basics of carb counting can make your day a lot easier.
Why is carb counting helpful?
Counting carbs helps you understand how food affects your blood glucose. It can also help you match your insulin to your meals more accurately.
This can make it easier to keep your blood glucose in your target range as often as possible — which is important for your health and how you feel day to day
How do you count carbs?
Carb counting at its most basic level involves counting the number of grams of carbohydrate in a meal and matching that to your dose of insulin.
If you take mealtime insulin, that means first accounting for each carbohydrate gram you eat and dosing mealtime insulin based on that count. You will use what’s known as an insulin-to-carb ratio to calculate how much insulin you should take in order to manage your blood glucose after eating. This advanced form of carb counting is recommended for people on intensive insulin therapy by pen or pump.
The insulin-to-carb ratio helps you figure out how much insulin you need to cover the amount of carbohydrates you eat at a meal or snack.
Insulin helps glucose move into cells so they can create energy. Some people need more insulin to move glucose than others.
This approach can give you more flexibility in your food choices and daily routine, while also helping you keep your blood glucose levels within your target range.
How to count carbs in your daily life
Nutritional fact label
Being able to read and understand nutrition labels is an essential part of effective carb counting, especially for packaged foods.
Serving size.
The serving size refers to how much a person usually eats or drinks, and all the information on the label is about this specific amount of food.
Some labels give information per 100 grams, per portion, and sometimes for the whole package. Be sure to double-check which value you’re looking at, especially if you eat more or less than the listed serving.
Total carbohydrate.
Total carbohydrate on the label includes all three types of carbohydrate: sugar, starch and fiber. It’s important to use the total grams when counting carbs or choosing which foods to include.
Below the Total Carbohydrate (carbs), you will find a breakdown of the types of carbohydrate in the food.
Whole foods
For foods without a label—like fresh fruits and vegetables, —you’ll need to look up the carbohydrate content elsewhere. Use reputable sites like:
Denmark: DTU Fødevare database
USA: Food Composition Database
France: Ciqual Food Composition Table
Be aware that the carbohydrate content of some produce can vary slightly depending on factors like ripeness (e.g., a ripe banana has more sugar than a green one).
Some people find it helpful to memorise the approximate carb content of commonly eaten items.
This will help reduce the stress of having to calculate it every time and can serve as a reference when having to do more complicated carb counting.
An example of carb counting:
Calculation looks like this:
Bread
The label on the bread says 38 grams of ‘Total carbohydrates’ per 100 grams. One slice of bread weighs 45 grams.
Calculating the carbs in the bread is done like this:
One slice of bread contains 17 grams of carbs.
Peanut butter
A banana contains about 24 grams of carbohydrates. You use about half of the banana on your bread and thereby 12 grams of carbs.
Doing these calculations multiple times a day takes time and can be stressfull…
Bread
A banana contains about 24 grams of carbohydrates. You use about half of the banana on your bread and thereby 12 grams of carbs.
The total carbohydrates will add up to (17 + 5 + 12) grams = 31 grams
Doing these calculations multiple times a day takes time and can be stressfull…
Doing these calculations multiple times a day takes time and can be stressfull…
This is where Hedia Diabetes Assistant can help
Hedia Diabetes Assistant (HDA) is your personal diabetes assistant that helps you calculate the carbs in your meal.
HDA has a built-in food database with several thousands of foods and drinks, as well as the option to add in your own favourites.
Calculated carbs – together with your current blood glucose level, physical activity, insulin-to-carb ratio and your insulin sensitivity – will allow the app to give you a personalised bolus insulin recommendation.
1 https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/understanding-carbs/carb-counting-and-diabetes
https://diabetes.org/food-nutrition/reading-food-labels/making-sense-food-labels
Hedia Diabetes Assistant (HDA) is a medical device software registered in the Danish Medicines Agency (Lægemiddelstyrelsen). HDA has a CE-certification mark stating conformity with the EU regulation for medical devices sold within the EU.
Read our user manual to get all the details of how to use HDA.
See why our users love Hedia Diabetes Assistant
How to get started
Download the app from the App Store.
You may need access to Hedia via your Healthcare Provider (HCP) network.
Find your clinic
Depending on your region, you get access to Hedia Diabetes Assistant through your healthcare professional. Please contact your clinic to check if they’re a Hedia partner.
