🍞 What Is Carbohydrate Counting?

When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into glucose (sugar), which raises blood sugar levels. The more carbs you eat, the higher your blood sugar can rise.

Carbohydrate counting is a simple yet powerful tool for managing blood sugar—especially for people with diabetes. It helps you estimate how many carbs you're eating so you can plan insulin doses, medications, and meals more effectively.

📝 6 Simple Steps to Count Carbs Like a Pro

  • Identify all foods containing carbohydrates
  • Set carbohydrate goals (per meal or per day)
  • Determine the carb content of each meal
  • Consider other factors affecting blood glucose
  • Monitor blood glucose response regularly
  • Adjust insulin dose based on carb intake

💉 Understanding Total Daily Dose (TDD)

Basal Insulin: Long-acting insulin that your body needs throughout the day to stay steady between meals and overnight.

Bolus Insulin: Rapid-acting insulin taken with meals or snacks to manage the carbs you eat.

TDD = Basal Insulin + Bolus Insulin

⚖️ Insulin-to-Carb Ratio (ICR): Your Personal Carb Key

What is ICR? It's the number of grams of carbohydrates managed by 1 unit of insulin.

For example: 1 unit of insulin covers _________ grams of carbs.

ICR Formula:

  • ICR = 450 ÷ Total Daily Dose — for Regular Insulin
  • ICR = 500 ÷ Total Daily Dose — for Rapid-Acting Insulin

🎯 Insulin Sensitivity Factor (ISF)

Insulin Sensitivity Factor (ISF) is the dose of insulin required to bring down a high blood glucose level to the desired target range.

ISF for Regular Insulin: 1500 ÷ Total Daily Dose (TDD)

ISF for Rapid-Acting Insulin: 1800 ÷ Total Daily Dose (TDD)

🩺 Correction Dose Explained

The Correction Dose is used to adjust high blood glucose to the target range. The target may differ for pre-meal, post-meal, or bedtime levels.

When your blood glucose is unexpectedly high, a correction bolus can help bring it down. To calculate this accurately, you need to know your Insulin Sensitivity Factor (ISF).

The Correction Dose is the amount of insulin added to or subtracted from a bolus to correct blood glucose that is above or below the ideal level.

Correction Dose Formula:

Correction Dose = (Current Blood Glucose − Target Blood Glucose) ÷ ISF