Carbohydrates are a major part of your diet, they contribute to 4 calories per gram in your diet. So when you take in carbohydrates they are converted into simple sugars to be used by your body for energy.
All of the food groups/serving below contain carbs (in approximate values) –
- Cereals/Millets (30 grams)- 22 grams
- Pulses (30 grams) – 17 grams (approx)
- Nut and oilseeds (15 grams) – 5 grams (approx)
- Milk and milk products (150 ml) – 8 grams
- Vegetables (non-starchy) (45 grams)- 8grams
- Fruits (60grams)- 10 grams
- Others (pastries, cupcakes, sugary beverages, desserts etc) – This depends on the sugar content , 1 gram of sugar has 1 gram of CHO.
So basically all food groups have carbs, however depending on their fiber and nutrient content – some rapidly raise sugar levels while some don’t. From the above refined cereals (cake flour, sugar coated breakfast flakes), legumes, pulses, starchy vegetables (potato,peas, corn), fruits and others will spike your sugar levels.
For diabetics its very important to keep a check on their carbs to make sure the insulin dose is taken accordingly – let me start you up for this. You would be requiring the following-
- Kitchen scale
- Calculator
- Carb count diary
When you consume bread, pasta, pizza, potatoes, noodles, fruits, cereals, legumes, milk, yoghurt or sugary sweets – make sure to weigh them on your scales, check the food label or your “Carb and Cal” app to see how much carbs you are consuming in one serving- accordingly adjust your insulin dose. For foods like avocados, nuts, meat or fish (proteins and fat) you don’t need to count the carbs- as they don’t spike your sugar levels instantly, which is why we are going to exploit these food groups in our diabetic recipes.
Post this, understanding the basal/bolus insulin ratios is very important- this is unique to every person- on a more general level 1 unit of insulin is injected for every 10 grams of carbs consumed.
If you would like to know more about your ideal insulin dose or have any other questions for me, please comment on this thread below! I shall answer them right here.