Knowing how many carbohydrates (carbs) you're eating and drinking helps you manage your blood glucose levels by matching your insulin dose to the amount of carbs in your meals and snacks.
This means you do not have to inject and eat at the same time every day (fixed dose), so your treatment is more flexible.
Carbs are in foods like:
- potatoes, rice, bread and pasta (starches)
- milk, fruit and honey (sugars)
You can start learning about carb counting by:
- asking your diabetes team if they run carb counting sessions
- ask your diabetes team about doing a dose adjustment for normal eating (DAFNE) course
- doing a course online to learn how to count carbs
Information:
Try these online courses:
- My Type 1 Diabetes: carbohydrate counting online course
- BERTIE Online type 1 diabetes course created by the Royal Bournemouth Hospital
- Diabetes UK: Learning Zone