Practice Consideration
Carbohydrate Exchanges
Practitioners working in the field of diabetes management can expect to encounter situations requiring precision in their nutrition analysis calculations.(1,2)
1. American Dietetic Association and American Diabetes Association. Choose Your Foods: Food Lists for Diabetes. Accessed 11 August 2017. Available from: http://www.eatrightstore.org/product/D48C39A7-736C-4CCD-A28E-5F469003B3BE
2. Brand-Miller J, Hayne S, Petocz P, et al. Low-glycemic index diets in the management of diabetes: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Care. 2003; 26: 2261-2267.
- The accurate measure of the carbohydrate content of a glass of milk is 12 grams. In practice, that figure gets rounded up to 15 grams
- The advantage of using 15 grams rather than the accurate measurement is ease of addition which is considered to justify the resulting overestimation
- If two servings of milk are consumed in a day, the error in carbohydrate consumption is 6 grams. This is a minor variation in
the contribution carbohydrate makes to energy in the diet - The degree of precision required from nutrition analysis calculations is influenced by the patient’s specific nutrition requirements
1. American Dietetic Association and American Diabetes Association. Choose Your Foods: Food Lists for Diabetes. Accessed 11 August 2017. Available from: http://www.eatrightstore.org/product/D48C39A7-736C-4CCD-A28E-5F469003B3BE
2. Brand-Miller J, Hayne S, Petocz P, et al. Low-glycemic index diets in the management of diabetes: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Care. 2003; 26: 2261-2267.
Updated September 20, 2017