Carbohydrate counting reference tables

The type of food you eat and the amount of food you eat determine how high and how fast your blood sugar level goes up. Carbohydrate in food affects your blood glucose the most.

Carbohydrate counting means estimating the amount of carbohydrate you are eating. It can be used by everybody, whether on flexible insulin regimes or more fixed doses.
Counting carbohydrate can help you to adjust your insulin doses or help explain erratic blood sugars.
The amount of insulin you need per 10g of carbohydrate will vary between individuals – ask your dietitian, nurse or clinician.
More information is available from food labels, remember, this should be the TOTAL carbohydrate content including both starches and sugars
It is not an exact science! Rounding up or down to the nearest 5g is acceptable.

To help you work out when and where changes are needed, you will sometimes need to keep records of the foods you eat, your blood glucose and your units of insulin. Knowing about the carbohydrate content of the food and drinks you consume will help you to calculate the amount of insulin you need to achieve better blood glucose levels.

Important goals for meal planning are about the right amount of calories based on age/sex/level of activity, and healthy food choices. To find out more about food click on one of the items below: -

Breads	Breakfast Cereals	Rice, Pasta & Grains	Dairy/Desserts
Fruit	Vegetables	Meat/Fish Products	Snacks
Biscuits	Buns & Cakes	Takeaway Foods	Sugar
Alcohol

Carbohydrate Test Meals

To assess whether you are on the correct dose of insulin for every 10g of carbohydrate, you can try a standard "test meal" where the dose of carbohydrate is well known and it is absorbed quickly once eaten. To find out more about test meals click here.

Disclaimer

This website is designed for use by the Leeds Paediatric Diabetes Team and children and parents referred to their service. Every effort has been made to make sure there are no errors on the website. If you think there are any inaccuracies could you please e-mail us so that we can check. kate.barker@leedsth.nhs.uk