Food labels can be an essential tool for diabetes meal planning.
When you have diabetes, your diet is an important part of your treatment plan. And of course you know what you're eating — a turkey sandwich, a glass of skim milk, a sugar-free fudge pop. But do you pay attention to the details? Reading food labels can help you make the best choices.
Consider carbs in context
If your meal plan is based on carbohydrate counting, food labels become an essential tool for meal planning. Look at the grams of total carbohydrate — which includes sugar, complex carbohydrate and fiber — rather than only the grams of sugar. If you zero in on sugar content, you could miss out on nutritious foods naturally high in sugar, such as fruit and milk. And you might overdo foods with no natural or added sugar but plenty of carbohydrate, such as certain cereals and grains.
Pay special attention to high-fiber foods. Although the grams of sugar and fiber are counted as part of the grams of total carbohydrate, the count can sometimes be misleading. If a food has 5 grams or more fiber in a serving, the American Diabetes Association recommends subtracting the fiber grams from the total grams of carbohydrate for a more accurate estimate of the product's carbohydrate content.
Put sugar-free products in their place
Sugar-free foods may play a role in your diabetes diet — but sugar-free doesn't mean carbohydrate-free. When you're choosing between standard products and their sugar-free counterparts, compare the food labels side by side. If the sugar-free product has noticeably fewer carbohydrates, the sugar-free product might be the better choice. But if there's little difference in carbohydrate grams between the two foods, let taste — or price — be your guide.
The same caveat applies to products sporting a "no sugar added" label. Although these foods don't contain high-sugar ingredients and no sugar is added during processing or packaging, foods without added sugar may still be high in carbohydrates.
Likewise, products that contain sugar alcohols — such as sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol — aren't necessarily low in carbohydrates or calories.
Do the math
The serving sizes listed on food labels may be different than the serving sizes in your meal plan. If you eat twice the serving size listed on the label, you also double the calories, fat, carbohydrate and sodium.
The same goes for the Percent (%) Daily Value listed on food labels. This percentage, which is based on a 2,000-calorie diet, helps you gauge how much of a specific nutrient one serving of food contains compared with recommendations for the whole day. If your doctor or registered dietitian recommends more or less than 2,000 calories a day, you may need to adjust the percentage accordingly — or simply use the percentage as a general frame of reference.
The bottom line
What you eat is up to you. Whether you're trying to reduce the amount of fat, cholesterol and sodium in your diet or boost your intake of fiber, whole grains and other healthy nutrients, use food labels to help meet your healthy-eating goals.
Last Updated: 10/13/2006
