diabetic and carbs

tammiann61

I am a type 2 diabetic. I watch my carb intake but how many carbs per meal should I have? (Grams) Thanks in advance!

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socalkay

I would suggest that, rather than just that one number, try reading up on the Glycemic Index (and Glycemic Load) approach to selecting food. It's based on 35 years of research into nutrition for diabetics and provides fairly clear guidelines for making selections that keep your blood sugar on an even keel. Unfortunately, we don't have Glycemic labeling on food packaging in this country but you can still apply the principals. Just try googling stuff like 'glycemic index and fruit'.

http://www.gisymbol.com/about/frequently-asked-questions/

keeponkickin

socalkay wrote: »

I would suggest that, rather than just that one number, try reading up on the Glycemic Index (and Glycemic Load) approach to selecting food. It's based on 35 years of research into nutrition for diabetics and provides fairly clear guidelines for making selections that keep your blood sugar on an even keel. Unfortunately, we don't have Glycemic labeling on food packaging in this country but you can still apply the principals. Just try googling stuff like 'glycemic index and fruit'.

http://www.gisymbol.com/about/frequently-asked-questions/

^^THIS^^ I'm a type 1 diabetic and I follow a more low glycemic index for selecting foods. After all these years I've also learned which carbs effect me personally. I've found what can bother me as a diabetic might not bother another. Avoid "white" carbs and choose from the slow carbs (low glycemic). Lots of info and books to help you and also low glycemic recipes too.

zoezoekende

Hi Tammiann, Have you calculated your BMR and TDEE?? With these numbers you can devide that between all your meals. Think its good for you to take 6 meals a day. That keeps your bloodsugars stable. http://www.freedieting.com/

byrnet18

Most of my diabetic patients in the hospital get put on a 60-75g of carb per meal diet. I think that is a little on the high side, but they are all usually getting pre meal insulin. I would say about 50 grams a meal is a good number. If you are trying to lose weight, then I would cut it down a little more.

SLLRunner

Have you asked your doctor to refer you to a registered dietitian so that they can advise you based on your medical history? I would think that's the best way to go.

JPW1990

This really isn't a question to ask here, because the answer depends entirely on what meds you're taking.

azulvioleta6

The general recommendation is 30 G/meal x 3 meals/day, plus ONE 15 G snack, so around 100 G/day.

If you want to be insulin dependent, you can eat more carbs.

Obviously you should be discussing this with your endocrinologist and nutritionist.

callsitlikeiseeit

you need to be asking this to your health care professionals and not people who are not intimately familiar with your medical history

girlviernes

You may ask to work with a diabetes educator. It is definitely worth it to really learn how to address your diabetes the best you can... also, don't underestimate the benefits of regular exercise!

Italian_Buju

I am a type one diabetic and have been so for 27+ years, so I just have a total number from my dietitian that I -try- and stick to daily.

As I type two, it is more important to spread it out more equally over three meals and two snacks. From what I know, it is recommended to have 30-45 carbs per meals (three per day) and two snacks at 15 carbs each.

awnurmarc

I'm sorry but I'm keeping my carbs down to about 20 a day to lose some weight. That lets me get some veggies in. If carbs were actually a threat to my health I cannot imagine eating higher carbs per meal. What is the motive for ingesting carbs if they are a health danger?

I'm not a health professional of any kind. I'm just trying to understand why diabetics are being told to consume carbs.

callsitlikeiseeit

awnurmarc wrote: »

I'm not a health professional of any kind. I'm just trying to understand why diabetics are being told to consume carbs.

because your body needs them. based on your natural insulin levels and insulin resistance, your body may need more or less than what you produce naturally.

caeliumspecto

My mother is diabetic, type II. I have hypoglycemia (chronic low blood sugar) and find that under 75g total (so 15g for meals, 10g for snacks) is where I start really seeing my numbers stabilize.

I am now trying to stay under 35g net carbs a day (carbs minus dietary fiber).

Feel free to friend me, or ask for meal ideas. (I'd love to swap!)

tammiann61

I have talked to my diabetic educator and sometimes it's still so confusing to me. I look at my carb amount is 130 per day which I agree with what everyone says. I don't eat a lot of breads and etc. I know the complex carbs are the good ones. I wasn't sure if I was overdoing my carb intake. I am not on insulin and just 1 pill once a day for type 2 diabetes. Thank you everyone for your help!

999tigger

awnurmarc wrote: »

I'm sorry but I'm keeping my carbs down to about 20 a day to lose some weight. That lets me get some veggies in. If carbs were actually a threat to my health I cannot imagine eating higher carbs per meal. What is the motive for ingesting carbs if they are a health danger?

I'm not a health professional of any kind. I'm just trying to understand why diabetics are being told to consume carbs.

Speechless.
All you need to lose weight is a calorific deficit.
Carbs arent a threat if handled correctly and that means blood sugar levels, hence people mentioning the GI index. Go and read up on Diabetes. Carbs are an essential source of energy and nutrition. If the OP manages her diet correctly and is selective in which carbs to consume, then she will be just fine.

abatonfan

awnurmarc wrote: »

I'm sorry but I'm keeping my carbs down to about 20 a day to lose some weight. That lets me get some veggies in. If carbs were actually a threat to my health I cannot imagine eating higher carbs per meal. What is the motive for ingesting carbs if they are a health danger?

I'm not a health professional of any kind. I'm just trying to understand why diabetics are being told to consume carbs.

Because our bodies still need carbs, even if we're diabetic. I don't consider very-low-carb diets appropriate for me (I'm a type 1) because of the tendency for low-carb diets to produce ketones (which will make it more difficult for me to determine if I'm in ketonurea because of a low-carb diet or if I am not receiving any insulin and need to take action to prevent DKA). I try to keep my net carbs to around 150g.

azulvioleta6 wrote: »

The general recommendation is 30 G/meal x 3 meals/day, plus ONE 15 G snack, so around 100 G/day.

If you want to be insulin dependent, you can eat more carbs.

Obviously you should be discussing this with your endocrinologist and nutritionist.

Please remember this. Insulin-dependent diabetes does not mean that the person is a type 2 diabetic and is taking insulin. IDDM (type 1 diabetes) is an entirely different condition that results from the autoimmune destruction of the pancreas. We do not have the freedom to simply not take insulin. If we don't take any insulin, we'll die.

Technically, those on insulin can consume more carbs, because we have a ratio that approximates how many grams of carbohydrates one unit of insulin will typically cover. Many of us still follow reduced-carb diets in order to keep our blood sugars within desirable range.

To the OP, how many carbs you can consume per meal and per day depends on how insulin resistant you are. I recommend that you get a meter and test strips (Walmart sells a brand where 50 test strips are less than $20) and use the meter to experiment with how much your BG rises between the time you begin your meal (your fasting BG) and 1-2 hours after eating the meal. If you noticed that, for example, consuming 60g of net carbs per meal will easily spike you 80+ mg/dL, then you might see if consuming 50g of carbs might lead to less of a spike. You might also notice that you could only spike 20mg/dL with those carbs and might be able to eat more without a huge spike. You won't really know how much you could eat until you start testing your BG to find out.

Peloton73

Hi there. I'm a Type 2 diabetic as well. The best advice, and advice that was given to me, is to "eat to your meter". If you're not testing daily, you should be until you understand what foods have the greatest effect on your blood sugar levels.

Every T2 diabetic reacts differently to carbohydrates. Add to that the severity, your medications, and general lifestyle, and you'll see there are too many variables to give a definitive answer on how many carbs you can eat in a day.

The best practical advice I can give is to test, test, test, and log everything. I use an app called Diabetes Connect which allows me to plug in my glucose readings and it keeps a statistical chart for me, even giving me my projected a1c readings (which is pretty accurate).

If you're not testing regularly, I recommend the following testing schedule:

First thing in the morning
Just prior to each meal
1 and 2 hours after each meal

At the minimum, try and test each morning and 1 hour after each meal. The recommended guideline is to be under 140 within 2 hours of eating. Personally, I feel that is too high and my goal is to be under 120 within the first hour so I eat according to that. The key is to maintain as stable sugars as possible without spiking throughout the day.

There is trending research showing correlation of blood glucose levels above 140 and heart attacks. I find different publishings saying different things so I'll leave that research up to you but it does give pause for thought for diabetics.

MFP comes in handy because you're logging your food and you can reference your meals with your sugars. Over time, once you know what foods are good and not so good to your blood, you can reduce your testing. I only test a few times a week now.