Building Competency in Diabetes Education THE ESSENTIALS

BASAL-BOLUS INSULIN THERAPY | 12-93

• Sugar alcohols produce a lower postprandial glucose response than sucrose or glucose. Subtract all of the sugar alcohol grams from the total carbohydrate (158). Figure 14 will show you these key elements.

Figure 14. Sample nutrition facts label

Steps to carbohydrate count ing Ideally, a healthy diet (see Chapter 5: Treatment Modalities: Lifestyle) will have been established prior to starting carbohydrate counting. 1. Identify foods that contain carbohydrate. (Make sure to include foods not typically considered carbohydrate. For example, if eaten in significant portions, nuts and seeds can have enough carbohydrate to have an impact on BG.) 2. Count the carbohydrate eaten. • Use any source of information (see list above) to determine how much carbohydrate is in each food. • Weigh and/or measure food using standard measuring cups and measuring spoons. This is an essential step, as it is necessary to know the actual portion of food in order to determine the carbohydrate content. Food scales that have a built-in database provide the amount of carbohydrate (and other nutrients), which eliminates the step of