Carbohydrate counting for children with diabetes
Why do carbohydrate counting?
Carbohydrate counting helps you know how much carbohydrate your child is eating during a meal or snack to provide a more accurate estimate of how much his or her blood sugar will rise after eating. The more carbohydrate he or she eats at one time, the higher the blood sugar level will rise. Carbohydrate counting also helps if:
- Your child takes insulin before meals and his or her health professional wants to vary the dose according to the amount of carbohydrate in the meal. Even if your child doesn't take insulin, carbohydrate counting will help keep his or her blood sugar in a safe range. Often health professionals suggest that a person take one unit of fast-acting insulin for every 10 to 15 grams of carbohydrate in a meal. For more information on carbohydrate counting when using insulin, see:
- Your child wants to eat a high-sugar food, such as a piece of birthday cake. You can substitute the piece of cake for a serving of other carbohydrate food in your child's meal plan.
Spreading your child's carbohydrates throughout the day will help keep his or her blood sugar levels within a safe range, preventing low or high blood sugar. Both low and high blood sugar levels can cause emergency situations. Over time, high blood sugar levels can damage many body tissues and organs.
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Carbohydrate counting will make it easy for you to work in something sweet for your child on holidays.
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| Author: | Monica Rhodes | Last Updated: February 22, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Matthew I. Kim, MD - Endocrinology & Metabolism Andrew Swan, MD, CCFP, FCFP - Family Medicine | |
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