Meal planning techniques have become more important throughout the years. Presently, the food available to oneself contains more energy sources, such as carbohydrate, proteins and fat than ever before. Therefore, meal planning techniques should be used to monitor the level of nutrients taken in through meals. Carbohydrate counting is a technique which is used to plan meals and control the blood glucose level.

Carbohydrate counting is mostly followed by people suffering from diabetes. After a meal, carbohydrate rich foods increase the blood glucose levels. Therefore, a technique such as carbohydrate counting or carb counting can be used to keep track of the carbohydrate intake level. Generally, diabetic patients use insulin to balance their blood glucose levels. Hence, carbohydrate counting can help oneself to determine the amount of insulin needed to be taken and thus, preventing diabetes complications.

Foods such as rice, cereals, bread, pasta and similar foods, milk products and sugary foods contain a high level of carbohydrates. Therefore, the intake of these foods should be monitored carefully. The level of needed carbohydrate differs from person to person and a help of a registered dietitian should be employed to determine one’s daily carbohydrate requirements. The total amount of required daily carbohydrate depends on the person’s daily calorie requirement with carbohydrates nearly accounting for 50 or 60 percent of the daily calorie intake. The goal is to stay within the designated carbohydrate goal through methods such as carbohydrate counting. Furthermore, it is also important to spread the carbohydrate intake evenly throughout the day to maintain a relatively constant blood glucose level.

The process of carbohydrate counting is always easier when food labels are involved. U.S. FDA regulations state that all US food labels must display the carbohydrate level on a per serving basis. Nevertheless, restaurant foods and certain take away foods don’t contain food labeling and therefore, carbohydrate counting would become harder for these kinds of foods. Thus, one should have a general estimate about the serving sizes and the carbohydrate level of these foods. Once again, one could consult a dietitian or a simple search in the World Wide Web would yield information regarding this issue.

While carbohydrate counting is important, one should also pay close attention towards other energy sources, such as, protein and fat as failure to do so would result in undesired weight gain. Therefore, protein and fat should also be balanced in one’s meals.

Carbohydrate counting proves itself to be a worthy tool for the individual who desires to plan his/her nutritional intake.