Understanding how to read a label will help you to include many foods in your meals. Look for the Nutrition Facts, section found on food labels. Take a look at the Nutrition Facts label on a container of food as you read the information below:

1) Serving Size: Look and see how much of the item is considered a serving. The nutrition information is always based on the serving size listed.

2) Look at Total Grams of Carbohydrate, to figure out how much carbohydrate is in this product. Total grams includes sugars and complex carbohydrates and fiber. You do not need to count sugar separately.

3) To calculate servings of carbohydrates, take total grams of carbohydrate and divide by 15.

4) Dietary fiber is not digested into sugar. If the amount of Dietary Fiber is 5 or greater, subtract the amount of fiber from the total amount of grams of carbohydrate before dividing by 15 to give you the number of servings of carbohydrate.

A diabetes dietitian can help you decide how many carbohydrates per meal are right for you. A dietitian can also help design an eating plan that includes the foods you like while still helping control blood sugar. Call the pharmacy at ext. 128 for more information about scheduling an appointment with a dietitian.

Marianne Henley, RD, CDE

Dietitian, Richmond Apothecaries Inc