How to do carb counting if you have diabetes

Counting your carbohydrates – or carb counting, as it’s usually known – is a useful tool for any person with diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2). Whether you’ve chosen a low carb diet or a more traditional diabetes diet, it’s helpful to know exactly how many carbs you’re eating. Portion control is essential, as it’s often surprising how many carbs are hiding in certain foods.

Carb counting basics

Here’s a list of common carbs and how much of them makes up one portion: 15g is one carb.
Click here to download a more detailed list.

If you’re on insulin, you can work out your insulin to carb ratio. For example, when I eat 1 carb, I need to inject 3 units of insulin. Although there are many factors that affect blood sugar – the temperature, hormones, sickness, sleep – being able to accurately test the effect of different food can help significantly. Here are the 42 factors that affect blood sugar.

Note: This isn’t a suggested eating list. Our approach to eating well with diabetes is to cut out refined carbs and reduce carbs as much as possible. But we understand that everyone approaches diet differently, and we want to empower each person to make up their own mind. If you understand carb counting, you can make better food choices.

In general, one carb portion is 15g. An insulin-to-carb ratio will tell you how much insulin to inject for each carbohydrate portion. Your doctor can help you figure it out, as it differs from person to person.

Although many factors affect blood sugar – including temperature, hormones, sickness, and sleep – it helps significantly to be able to test the effect of different foods.

Carb counting can be as precise as weighing out your food, and as general as eyeballing how many carbs you think are on your plate. You can tailor it to your diabetes management needs right now.
Bridget McNulty