What are carbs and why are they important in diabetes meal planning?

Carbohydrates include vegetables, fruits, cereals, grains, pastas, breads, and milk. These foods are loaded with nutrition. They provide easily used energy, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also tend to be lower in calories than foods in other groups.

Sugar is also a carbohydrate. It has long had a bad reputation, especially among people with diabetes. People used to think that eating sugar would cause blood glucose levels to rise much more rapidly than other types of carbohydrates, such as bread or potatoes. So although bread and potatoes were okay to eat, pure sugar or sugar-laden treats were considered taboo. Well, it turns out that the total amount of carbohydrates and its combination with other nutrients, such as fat, are much more important.

Foods that contain sugar can be part of your diabetes plan. You’ll just need to account for the calories and carbohydrates. Keep in mind, sugar has little nutritional value, so filling up on sugars won’t allow you to eat as much as the nutrient-rich carbohydrates.