Once we know this system, we can apply it to pretty much any food. Take the nutrition label, for instance. If we know that a carb serving is about 15 grams of carbs, then we can anticipate how much a particular food may contribute to a meal.

 

Let’s look at this label, for example. It really doesn’t matter what the food is, just how many carbohydrates are in the food to fit it into the exchange list. Using the label on this slide, we see that this food has 13 grams of carb in a 1/2 cup. That means that about ½ cup of this food should be counted as one carb serving.

 

There are several resources for clinicians and patients on diet. These resources can help in planning a diet and are used by registered dietitians in working to tailor diets to patient needs--as well as cultural and taste preferences. You can visit websites for the American Diabetes Association (at www.diabetes.org) and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at (www.eatright.org) for some suggestions.

Carbohydrate Counting ◦   Exchange system •   Nutrition label reading •   1 carb serving = approx. 15 grams •   ½ cup of this food = 1 carb serving

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