Carb Counting: A Guide to Understanding Carbohydrate Intake

Some people try to limit the number of carbohydrates, or carbs, they eat in a given day or within each meal as a weight loss method. People that have been diagnosed with diabetes, however, need to pay attention to how many carbs they eat in a meal for more than just simple weight loss reasons. Carbohydrates are ultimately broken down within the body into glucose, which increases blood sugar, a dangerous reaction for diabetics. To avoid blood sugar spikes, know how many carbs you're eating per meal.

Instructions

• 1

  Learn what foods commonly contain carbs. These include processed starches like pasta, bread and cereal, grains like rice, fruits and vegetables, soda and alcohol, dairy, legumes and sugars.

• 2

  Read the nutrition labels of the processed foods and drinks you consume. Always check labels, no matter what type of food or drink it is, to find out how many carbs are in each serving.

• 3

  Measure out a single serving for every food or drink you consume. This ensures that you're actually getting the amount of carbs that the nutrition label specifies for the food or drink.

• 4

  Use resources to determine how many carbs are in foods that do not contain a nutrition label, such as an apple or potato. Resources like The Calorie Counter.com allow you to enter the type of food and view a nutrition label for it online, which includes the number of carbohydrates found in the food.