There are three basic food groups: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. The carbohydrates are the foods that can be crashed into sugar. It is necessary to have all three food groups in your diet to have good nutrition.
Why Count Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrate makes your blood glucose level rise. If you know how much carbohydrate you've eaten, you have a good suggestion what your blood glucose level is going to do. The more carbohydrates you eat, the higher your blood sugar will rise.
 Which Foods Contain Carbohydrate?
Most of the carbohydrate we eat comes from three food groups: starch, fruit and milk. Vegetables also have some carbohydrates, but foods in the meat and fat groups enclose very little carbohydrate. Sugars may be added or may be naturally present (such as in fruits). The nutrient term for sugars can also be identified by looking for -ose at the end of a word (that is glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc. are all sugars). Search for these on food labels to help identify foods that contain sugar.
To simplify, many people start carbohydrate counting by rounding the carbohydrate value of milk up to 15. Otherwise, one portion of starch, fruit or milk all contains 15 grams carbohydrate or one carbohydrate portion. Three servings of vegetable also include 15 grams. Each meal and snack will contain a specific total number of grams of carbohydrate.
For instance, each gram of carbohydrate supplies 4 calories. A diabetic on a 1600 calorie diet should get 50% of these calories from carbohydrate. This would be a full amount of 800 calories or 200 gms of carbohydrate - at 4 calories per gram - spread out during the day. At 15 grams per exchange, this would be about 13 exchanges of carbohydrate per day.
The quantity of food you eat is directly connected with blood sugar control. If you eat more food than is suggested on your meal plan, your blood sugar goes up. Though foods containing carbohydrate have the most impact on blood sugars, the calories from all foods will influence blood sugar. The only way you can notify if you are eating the right amount is to calculate your foods watchfully. In addition, it is important to room your carbohydrates out during the day to avoid sugar "loading." Measuring your blood sugar frequently also provides significant response on how high your sugar went founded on what you ate and your level of activity.
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