For people with Type 1 diabetes
Food labels can be a useful and convenient way of finding out the carbohydrate content of foods and drink. Over the years food labels have become a lot more detailed.
Here are some tips to help you use the food label to count carbohydrate:
- Double check whether the value you are using is per 100g.
- If it is per portion or serving, what is the portion or serving size?
- The amount of carbohydrate you should count is the 'Total carbohydrate' rather than the 'of which sugars'.
- Check whether the amount of carbohydrate is for the raw or cooked product, especially with foods containing pasta or rice.
- Consider what ingredients make up the product you are looking at. If it is a food that contains a lot of very slowly digested carbohydrates, such as beans or tomatoes you would not count this carbohydrate. But the carbohydrate value will include them. Check the ingredients list to get a sense of how much of these foods are in the product.