How to Balance Carbohydrates with Diabetes

Balancing carbohydrates is crucial to any diabetic's diet. It is important to know what you are eating, and how the foods you eat impact your blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association recommends consuming between six and 11 servings of carbohydrates per day for most diabetics. To make those carbohydrates count, you should balance them out with high-protein, high-fiber foods to slow the carbohydrate impact on your blood sugar. Along with easing the impact on your blood sugar, you should also balance your carbohydrate intake with foods rich in vitamins and low in fat to get the most benefit out of your daily calories.

Things You'll Need

• Nutrition labels
• Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Place an imaginary line down the center of your meal plate. Divide one-half of that into two parts. You should now have visualized one half and two quarters, or three sections of the plate.

• 2

  Fill the large section of the plate with a variety of colorful, low-starch fruits or vegetables. It is important to consume as many different fruits and vegetables as possible to maximize the nutritional benefits.

• 3

  Fill one quarter with a lean meat or protein choice. This should be fresh fish, pork, chicken, or other protein such as eggs or cottage cheese.

• 4

  Fill the remaining quarter with a starch choice. Carbohydrates should be served in carbohydrate choices. Each carbohydrate choice is equal to 15 grams of carbohydrates. Diabetics should aim for 6 to 11 carbohydrate choices per day, spaced evenly throughout meals.

• 5

  Select whole grains and complex carbohydrates to limit the glycemic load on your body. Whole grains and high-fiber carbohydrates will metabolize slower than simple carbohydrates and sugars.

• 6

  Pair all carbohydrate choices with low-fat, high-protein foods to aid in the gradual breakdown of the carbohydrates.

• 7

  Limit fat intake as much as possible, avoiding saturated fats.