Additional points to know. There are two additional points that those who adjust their before-meal insulin based on the carbohydrate content of the meal should know.
* Sugar alcohols produce a slower and lower rise in blood glucose than other sugars or starches.
* On average, only half of the sugar alcohol carbohydrate needs to be counted into your carbohydrate grams, because only half of it is digested.
Because sugar alcohols are only partially digested, only half the carbohydrate grams listed next to the specific sugar alcohol (e.g., sorbitol) or the general term "sugar alcohol" are available to raise your blood glucose. To get the true amount of available carbohydrate from a food with a sugar alcohol, subtract half of the sugar alcohol grams from the Total Carbohydrate amount.
As an example:
Divide sorbital grams by two: 16 / 2 = 8
* Sugar alcohols produce a slower and lower rise in blood glucose than other sugars or starches.
* On average, only half of the sugar alcohol carbohydrate needs to be counted into your carbohydrate grams, because only half of it is digested.
Because sugar alcohols are only partially digested, only half the carbohydrate grams listed next to the specific sugar alcohol (e.g., sorbitol) or the general term "sugar alcohol" are available to raise your blood glucose. To get the true amount of available carbohydrate from a food with a sugar alcohol, subtract half of the sugar alcohol grams from the Total Carbohydrate amount.
As an example:
Divide sorbital grams by two: 16 / 2 = 8
Subtract 8 from 19 = 11 grams of total carbohydrate that are available to raise your blood glucose.
For some people, this will be a small amount of carbohydrate and will not make a difference. For others, however, it may help with blood glucose control, and choosing the amount of food to eat.
