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ShareBasic Carb Counting
To maintain good blood glucose levels, people with diabetes often use carb counting to plan their meals.
Anyone can benefit from carbohydrate counting, says Linda Yerardi, M.S., R.D., LDN, CDE, director of diabetes education at the Diabetes Center at Mercy in Baltimore. "Everyone with diabetes has to monitor their carbohydrates."
After eating any type of carbohydrate, it breaks down into glucose and enters the bloodstream. This is why your blood glucose rises after eating carbs.
"Protein and fat will not have as big of an impact on blood sugar as carbohydrate, so carbs are what we look at," Yerardi says.
Why Count Carbs?
"The purpose of carb counting is to more consistently control the amount of glucose going into the bloodstream to stabilize blood sugar levels," says Michelle Bravo, R.D, LDN, CDE, a dietitian at Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center in Baltimore.
Carb counting ranges from basic to advanced. Everyone starts with basic carb counting, no matter how long they've had diabetes or what their ultimate carb counting goal is.
I hit the report abuse by mistake. i did not understand what this was. you should not have this here.
2/8/2010 07:16:45 PM Report AbuseI didn't mean to click on report abuse on the 2nd one down from the top.
2/7/2010 05:42:12 PM Report Abusehow do I learn the basic carb counting?
2/2/2010 03:12:33 PM Report AbuseMy apologies for such a long, choppy post. Just wanted to share some valuable info. (A. Woolley -- diagnosed prediabetic Feb 2009; my weight, HgA1C, and fasting blood sugar have all gone DOWN since then because I began eating the way I'm advocating, exercising, and taking recommended supplements that promote insulin re-sensitization; however, no drug therapy such as Metformin, etc.)
2/2/2010 01:47:52 PM Report AbuseAll of these perfect foods come in perfect packages -- very different than today's glut of processed, sugary carbs available to us. The rising statistics on childhood diabetes and obesity would tend to favor the theory that our bodies DO know the difference, and that every carb choice isn't the same.
2/2/2010 01:47:12 PM Report Abuse