Counting Carbohydrate Grams or Servings Information (2024)

FAQs

Are carbohydrates in grams or servings? ›

Carbs are measured in grams. On packaged foods, you can find total carb grams on the Nutrition Facts label. You can also check this list or use an app to find grams of carbs in foods and drinks. For diabetes meal planning, 1 carb serving is about 15 grams of carbs.

Divide the grams of total carbohydrate by 15. This number equals the number of carbohydrate servings in 1 standard serving. Remember: 1 carbohydrate serving is 15 grams of carbohydrate.

This number includes all carbs: sugar, starch and fiber. That's right: You don't have to worry about adding on grams of added sugars—they're included in the number of total carbs!

It is important to count the total amount of carbs and not the 'of which sugars' value. When using a per portion value, make sure that this is the actual portion you are planning to eat.

People with diabetes can also benefit from diets that allow up to 26% of their daily calories to come from carbs. For people who eat 2,000–2,200 calories a day, this is equivalent to 130–143 grams of carbs ( 12 ). Since carbs raise blood sugar, reducing them to any extent can help you manage your blood sugar levels.

How many carbohydrates do you need? The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that carbohydrates make up 45% to 65% of total daily calories. So if you get 2,000 calories a day, between 900 and 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates. That translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbs a day.

This essentially means that fiber doesn't cancel out carbohydrates, but does help your body process them. A diet lacking in fiber would likely cause digestive system problems, like constipation, as your gastrointestinal tract would struggle to process the food you're eating.

You'd want to aim for 200 grams of carbohydrates for the day. Be sure to space them evenly throughout the day in your meals and snacks. It's also important to pair carbohydrates with protein and fat to slow digestion, prevent a blood sugar spike and keep you feeling fuller longer.

Try to eat less of these: refined, highly processed carbohydrate foods and those with added sugar. These include sugary drinks like soda, sweet tea and juice, refined grains like white bread, white rice and sugary cereal, and sweets and snack foods like cake, cookies, candy and chips.

What is worse, sugar or carbs? ›

The comprehensive literature review claims to show for the first time that, calorie for calorie, added sugars — especially fructose — are more damaging to the body's metabolic systems than other carbohydrates and are more likely to lead to type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The serving size is shown as a common household measure that is appropriate to the food (such as cup, tablespoon, piece, slice, or jar), followed by the metric amount in grams (g).

The total carbohydrate tells how many grams of carbohydrate are in one serving. Be careful when reading the label. There can be more than one serving in the package, so if you eat more than one serving, you will need to multiply the grams of carbohydrate accordingly.

Answer and Explanation: Ten grams of a carbohydrate provides 40 calories of energy. This is the same amount of energy as your body receives from ten grams of protein. If you eat 10 grams of fat, however, your body receives 90 calories of energy.