Carbohydrate Counting When You Have Gestational Diabetes: What Is Carbohydrate Counting
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What is carbohydrate counting?
Carbohydrate counting is the best way to control your blood sugar when you have gestational diabetes. Carbohydrate counting involves adding up the amount of carbohydrate in the foods you eat each day and spreading carbohydrate out throughout the day.
Carbohydrate includes fruits and sweet vegetables; milk and milk products; starches (breads, cereals, and vegetables such as potatoes and corn); and sugar (such as candy and desserts). All forms of carbohydrate increase your blood sugar.
- Sugary foods such as cakes and cookies have more total carbohydrate in a serving, or standard portion, than starchy foods such as bread.
- You can eat foods that contain sugar when you have gestational diabetes. However, eating too many sugary foods probably means you are not eating enough healthy foods.
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Why do I need to count carbohydrate?
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Carbohydrate counting when you have gestational diabetes
| Last updated: | January 12, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Reviewed By: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Lois Jovanovic, MD - Endocrinology |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman |
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