How many bread units should you eat per day if you have diabetes?

What happens in the body when you eat carbohydrates

Any food consumed by a person is processed into macro- and microcomponents. Carbohydrates are converted to glucose. This process of converting complex products into “small” substances is controlled by insulin.

There is an inextricable connection between incoming carbohydrates, blood glucose and insulin. Carbohydrates entering the body are processed by digestive juices and enter the blood in the form of glucose. At this time, the hormone that controls the entry of glucose is on guard at the “gate” of insulin-dependent tissues and organs. It can be used to produce energy, or it can be stored in adipose tissue for later.

In diabetics, the physiology of this process is disrupted. Either not enough insulin is produced, or the cells of the target organs (insulin-dependent) become insensitive to it. In both cases, glucose utilization is impaired, and the body requires outside help. For these purposes, insulin or hypoglycemic agents are administered (depending on the type of diabetes)

However, it is equally important to keep incoming substances under control, so treatment with diet is just as necessary as taking medications.

Drinks, juices

What do XE show?

1. The number of bread units reflects how much blood glucose will be obtained from the food taken. Knowing how much mmol/l the glucose concentration will increase, you can more accurately calculate the dose of insulin required.
2. Counting bread units allows you to estimate the value of food.
3. XE is an analogue of a measuring stick that allows you to compare different food products. The question that bread units answer is: how many of these or other foods will contain exactly 12 g of carbohydrates?

Thus, taking into account bread units, it is easier to adhere to diet therapy for type 2 diabetes.

How to use XE?

The number of bread units in various products is recorded in the table. Its structure looks like this: the names of the products are listed in one column, and the number of grams of this product per 1 XE is listed in the other. For example, 2 tablespoons of the most common cereals (buckwheat, rice and others) contain 1 XE.

Another example is strawberries. To get 1 XE, you need to eat about 10 medium strawberries. For fruits, berries and vegetables, the table most often shows quantitative indicators in pieces.

Another example, with a finished product.

100 g of Yubileiny cookies contain 66 g of carbohydrates. One cookie weighs 12.5 g. This means that one cookie will contain 12.5 * 66 / 100 = 8.25 g of carbohydrates. This is slightly less than 1 XE (12 g of carbohydrates).

Formula for calculating carbohydrates:

The amount of carbohydrates in 100 grams of product (indicated on the package) - N

Total weight of the product in the dish - D

(N*D/100)/12=XE (number of bread units in the dish).

Dairy

Consumption rate

How many bread units should be consumed per meal and throughout the day depends on age, gender, weight and physical activity.

It is recommended to calculate your food intake so that it contains about 5 XE. Some norms of bread units per day for adults:

1. People with a normal BMI (body mass index) with sedentary work and a sedentary lifestyle - up to 15-18 XE.
2. People with a normal BMI in occupations requiring physical labor - up to 30 XE.
3. Patients with overweight and obesity with low physical activity - up to 10-12 XE.
4. People with excess body weight and high physical activity - up to 25 XE.

For children, depending on age, it is recommended to use:

• at 1-3 years – 10-11 XE per day;
• 4-6 years – 12-13 HE;
• 7-10 years – 15-16 HE;
• 11-14 years old – 16-20 HE;
• 15-18 years old – 18-21 HE.

At the same time, boys should receive more than girls. After 18 years of age, the calculation is made in accordance with adult values.

Table of bread units

In order to calculate how many bread units a particular product or dish contains, this table is used.

Bread units are used to calculate carbohydrates in meals and are used in various diets, as well as to determine the amount of insulin for diabetics. 1 unit of bread equals 12 grams of carbohydrates.

Calculation of insulin units

Eating by bread units is not only about calculating the amount of food. They can also be used to calculate the number of units of insulin to be administered.

After eating a meal containing 1 XE, blood glucose increases by approximately 2 mmol/l (see above). The same amount of glucose requires 1 unit of insulin. This means that before eating you need to count how many units of bread there are in it and administer the same number of units of insulin.

However, not all so simple. It is advisable to measure blood glucose. If hyperglycemia is detected (>5.5), then more insulin needs to be administered, and vice versa - with hypoglycemia, less insulin is needed.

Example

Before lunch, which contains 5 XE, a person was diagnosed with hyperglycemia - the blood glucose level was 7 mmol/l. To reduce glucose to normal values, you need to take 1 unit of insulin. In addition, 5 XE remain, which will come from food. They are “neutralized” by 5 units of insulin. Therefore, a person needs to administer 6 units before lunch.

What should not be included in the diet?

In no case should we forget that there are foods whose consumption in diabetes is strictly prohibited (or maximally limited).
Prohibited products include:

• both butter and vegetable oils;
• milk cream, sour cream;
• fatty fish or meat, lard and smoked meats;
• cheeses with fat content more than 30%;
• cottage cheese with a fat content of more than 5%;
• bird skin;
• various sausages;
• canned food;
• nuts or seeds;
• all sorts of sweets, be it jam, chocolate, cakes, various cookies, ice cream and so on. These include sweet drinks;
• and alcohol.