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Using food labels
Many foods contain labels that tell you the number of grams of carbohydrate in one serving.
Labels also give you information about the fat in the product.
1. Serving size
All of the information on the label is based on the serving size. If you eat double the serving size, the nutrients will be doubled as well.
2. Servings per package
The number of servings contained in the package.
3. Total carbohydrates
The total grams of carbohydrate in one serving. This includes carbohydrate from sugar.
4. Dietary fiber
If a serving has 5 or more grams of fiber, the grams of fiber can be subtracted from the total carbohydrate grams.
Convert grams to carbohydrate choices
Find the total grams of carbohydrate in the serving of food on this chart to convert the grams of carbohydrate to the number of carbohydrate choices.
Grams of carbohydrate | Carbohydrate choices |
| 0 to 5 | 0 |
| 6 to 10 | 1/2 |
| 11 to 20 | 1 |
| 21 to 25 | 1 1/2 |
| 26 to 35 | 2 |
| 36 to 40 | 2 1/2 |
| 41 to 50 | 3 |
| 51 to 55 | 3 1/2 |
| 56 to 65 | 4 |
| 66 to 70 | 4 1/2 |
| 71 to 80 | 5 |
Related Links
Meal plan worksheet (requires Adobe Reader)
Learning healthy eating, physical activity and stress management skills
Source: Allina Patient Education, Gestational Diabetes: When You Have Diabetes During Pregnancy, second edition, ISBN 1-931876-21-6
First published: 11/27/2006
Last updated: 11/27/2006
Reviewed by: Allina Patient Education experts