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You are here: Home / Eating Healthy / Diabetes and Carbohydrates- What You Need To Know!

Diabetes and Carbohydrates- What You Need To Know!

July 2, 2021 By Toby Smithson

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Carbohydrates – friend or foe of people with diabetes (or a little of both)? This video is the first of a series that will answer that question for you.

Carbohydrate……what reaction do you have when you hear that word……fear, anger, rebellion, sadness, longing….or maybe you’re not sure why you should have any reaction at all. Well, diabetes and carbohydrates are tightly linked,…in fact, we’re all closely linked to carbohydrates in ways you may not even imagine. Stay tuned.

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Table of contents

  • Diabetes and Carbohydrates
  • Must Know
  • A Glitch?
  • Our Strategies

Diabetes and Carbohydrates

Knowing about carbohydrates is essential for diabetes management. Over the next several weeks, I’m going to tell you about carbohydrates in a series of videos…..one each for the six food categories of carbohydrate foods we must be concerned within diabetes management, one about a really important category that’s not such a concern, and this one about carbohydrates in general terms.

Must Know

Here we go….this is the foundation on which you can build a long and healthy life with diabetes. This information is “must know.”

Carbohydrates in food are sugars, starches, and fiber, and we can all be eternally grateful that plants manufacture carbohydrates. All the plants you’re surrounded by taking carbon dioxide out of the air, add some water from rain and some energy from sunlight, and in a process called photosynthesis to manufacture carbohydrates. Some we eat, some we use to build our houses and furniture or make baskets and paper and clothing. And to top it all off, the chemical reaction to make carbohydrates has an important leftover waste product……the oxygen we need to survive. We are lucky this world has carbohydrates.

The key carbohydrate to diabetes is the specific sugar glucose. Glucose is a “simple” sugar and is a building block for other sugars, starches, and fiber. Glucose is important because it is our bodies’ favorite fuel. So when we eat and digest foods that include sugars and starches especially, the glucose is separated indigestion and absorbed straight into our bloodstream to keep a supply available to every cell in our body. Got that? Glucose comes from carbohydrates- NOT just sugar! And this is where those of us with diabetes might begin thinking that carbohydrates aren’t so wonderful after all.

Be Sure To Check Out – Diabetes Management Quick Tip- Knowing Carbohydrates

A Glitch?

You see, there’s a “just right” amount of glucose in the blood, and our bodies have a way to regulate this just like our bodies regulate our “just right” temperature….we like consistency. With body temperature, we like about 98.6 degrees, and with blood “sugar,” we like about 80 to 90 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood. Keeping body functions like temperature and blood glucose smooth and level is called homeostasis. Diabetes is losing the ability to efficiently lower the amount of glucose circulating in our blood in a timely fashion after we eat carbohydrates …..there’s a glitch with type 2 diabetes and basically a total breakdown with type 1 diabetes in the system that uses insulin to bring high blood sugar levels down.

Be Sure To Check Out – Everything You Need To Know About Blood Sugar

Our Strategies

In both cases, however, we have strategies and tools to help our bodies manage blood glucose levels in a healthy range. The alligator that lives in a pond down the street has to change his behavior every day to manage his body temperature….so much time in the sun, then back into the water. We have to be a little like the alligator….play an active role in something that used to be automatic. It takes a little knowledge and some commitment to play an active role in blood sugar management, but the benefits to our health are worth it.

Learning about carbohydrates is an essential step toward diabetes health. You’ll see as we go through the groups of carbohydrate foods that they are nutrient powerhouses….too nutritious to just eliminate from our diet. You’ll also learn that knowing portion sizes is key to managing the effect carb foods have on our blood sugar levels. Key point – we’ll talk about and compare carbohydrate food portion sizes which contain 15 grams of carbohydrate. A whole medium-sized apple, one-half a banana, or one 2 tablespoons raisins are examples of a fruit portion with 15 grams carbohydrate.

Ultimately, we can develop a respectful relationship with carbohydrate foods to manage diabetes and our overall health effectively. Don’t forget that managing diabetes is protecting our overall health and vitality! We’ll start next time with that group that can be our very best friend – nonstarchy vegetables.

See you soon.

Don’t forget to take a look at our most frequently asked questions.

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Filed Under: Diabetes and Health, Eating Healthy

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Toby Smithson dynamically combines her knowledge as a certified diabetes educator and registered dietitian nutritionist with her life experiences successfully managing type 1 diabetes for more than five decades.

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I have so many feel goods from attending and presenting at this conference. 
❤️sharing diabetes knowledge at my presentation on Monday morning.
❤️hearing on how the presentation impacted them from so many of the dietitians who attended. 
❤️learning from the amazing speakers at other sessions.
❤️learning and schmoozing with vendors at the expo.
❤️networking with fellow dietitians throughout the conference.
❤️And reuniting with my dietitian bestie. We were academy of nutrition and dietetics spokespeople together for 9 years. ❤️ 
Thank you Todays Dietitian Symposium for another fabulous conference! 
@todaysdietitian #TDinFL @sarahrdtv #dietitianlife #dietitianapproved

I have so many feel goods from attending and presenting at this conference.
❤️sharing diabetes knowledge at my presentation on Monday morning.
❤️hearing on how the presentation impacted them from so many of the dietitians who attended.
❤️learning from the amazing speakers at other sessions.
❤️learning and schmoozing with vendors at the expo.
❤️networking with fellow dietitians throughout the conference.
❤️And reuniting with my dietitian bestie. We were academy of nutrition and dietetics spokespeople together for 9 years. ❤️
Thank you Todays Dietitian Symposium for another fabulous conference!
@todaysdietitian #TDinFL @sarahrdtv #dietitianlife #dietitianapproved
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May 25

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Love this message from DJ. Dietitians do promote food first but … there are times that it’s not food only. @djblatner @todaysdietitian #TDinFL @nowfoodsofficial

Love this message from DJ. Dietitians do promote food first but … there are times that it’s not food only. @djblatner @todaysdietitian #TDinFL @nowfoodsofficial ...

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Look for “live and active cultures” especially on yogurt for it to be a probiotic. @katescarlata #TDinFL @todaysdietitian #guthealth #diabetes #diabetesmanagement @activia

Look for “live and active cultures” especially on yogurt for it to be a probiotic. @katescarlata #TDinFL @todaysdietitian #guthealth #diabetes #diabetesmanagement @activia ...

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Curious? Are you currently including fermented foods to your diet for gut health?

Fermented foods: may be healthy for microbiome.
Increase gut microbial diversity to improve gut health. I’ve been adding 1/4 cup serving of kimchi to my lunch which is one serving. Listening to @katescarlata #TDinFL #guthealth #kimchi #diabetes #diabetesmanagement @todaysdietitian
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Enjoyed presenting @todaysdietitian symposium this morning. I’ve received many kudos through the day regarding how much the information impacted the audience. ❤️ Thank you for sharing your personal stories about diabetes. Presented alongside Dr Bev. #TDinFL #diabetes #cognitivedistortions #diabeteslife #livingwithdiabetes #diabetes

Enjoyed presenting @todaysdietitian symposium this morning. I’ve received many kudos through the day regarding how much the information impacted the audience. ❤️ Thank you for sharing your personal stories about diabetes. Presented alongside Dr Bev. #TDinFL #diabetes #cognitivedistortions #diabeteslife #livingwithdiabetes #diabetes ...

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Presenting Beyond The Textbook- putting the AWE in awesome Diabetes Care: accepting, well being, and empowerment very soon @todaysdietitian symposium with my co presenter Dr Bev. #TDinFL

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I’m off to speak at a conference. Hoping that when I get back, my tomatoes will be ripe and ready to eat. I’m already meal planning. Thinking of combining my home grown tomatoes, cucumber and onions with rice vinegar dill weed and a packet of low calorie sweetener to make a low carb side dish. 😋 
#tomato #tomatowellness #cucumber #lowcarbsides #diabetes #diabetesfriendly #garden #freshveggies

I’m off to speak at a conference. Hoping that when I get back, my tomatoes will be ripe and ready to eat. I’m already meal planning. Thinking of combining my home grown tomatoes, cucumber and onions with rice vinegar dill weed and a packet of low calorie sweetener to make a low carb side dish. 😋
#tomato #tomatowellness #cucumber #lowcarbsides #diabetes #diabetesfriendly #garden #freshveggies
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Excited to pick and eat a cucumber from our garden. Love this low carb veggie that provides fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin c and lots of vitamin k. Simple pleasures… sliced the cucumber in my black bean taco salad tonight. #diabetesfriendly #diabetes #cucumber #gardenveggies #joysofgardening

Excited to pick and eat a cucumber from our garden. Love this low carb veggie that provides fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin c and lots of vitamin k. Simple pleasures… sliced the cucumber in my black bean taco salad tonight. #diabetesfriendly #diabetes #cucumber #gardenveggies #joysofgardening ...

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Best reason in the whole wide world on why I took a break from social media! Spent time with our 4 boys+ 4 daughter in laws + our 2 very very special granddaughters. #family #laughter #relaxation #familyvacation #wearefamily❤️ ...

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Celebrating earth day all week ( honestly everyday here) with: 
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Celebrating earth day all week ( honestly everyday here) with:
🌻 attending a flower arrangement class to prepare for selling our homegrown flowers at our farmers market.
🌻Walking on the bluff in our neighborhood this morning.
🌻Enjoying views of wildlife as I walk my dog.
🌻and tending to my vegetable garden.
Happy Earth Day! Stay beautiful. #earthday #earthday2022 #earthdayeveryday #physicalactivity #joy
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Check out this program for lowering cholesterol conducted by two registered dietitians. More info @nutritionunique @sarahrdtv 
#cholesterol #cholesterollowering #dietitianapproved

Check out this program for lowering cholesterol conducted by two registered dietitians. More info @nutritionunique @sarahrdtv
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⬆️ definitely a topic to pay attention to… don’t let some of your eating habits get in the way of keeping your bones healthy and strong. TY @graciouslynourished and @eatthisnotthat for using my insight. #bonehealth #eatinghabits #reducesodiumintake #osteoporosis #osteoporosisprevention @kin.di_rd @freshnutritionny

⬆️ definitely a topic to pay attention to… don’t let some of your eating habits get in the way of keeping your bones healthy and strong. TY @graciouslynourished and @eatthisnotthat for using my insight. #bonehealth #eatinghabits #reducesodiumintake #osteoporosis #osteoporosisprevention @kin.di_rd @freshnutritionny ...

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Should I? I get this question asked… should I be taking supplements? Find out the answer in my latest YouTube video. Link located in my bio under linktr.ee/tobysmithson 
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#spices #springcleaning #springcleaningtips #whenindoubtthrowitout

Spring clean up time for my spice rack! Every year when Passover approaches, it’s a double reminder for me to clean out my refrigerator, cabinets and spices! Rule of thumb is to replace ground spices annually. 📝🗓
When is the last time you threw away spices?
#spices #springcleaning #springcleaningtips #whenindoubtthrowitout
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THIS is my new adventure for my garden this year! Attempting to grow edamame. 👩‍🌾

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