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What is the fastest burning carb?

Fast-acting carbs: Glucose tablets, glucose drinks, full-sugar soft drinks or squashes, jellies (not diet), sweets. Medium-acting carbs: Bread, pasta, potatoes, yams, breakfast cereal, couscous. Slow-acting carbs: Pearl barley, peas, beans, lentils, sweetcorn, pumpkin.

diabetes.org.uk - Why understanding carbs (and how to count them) matters - Diabetes UK

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Jess starts by talking us through the basics.

This video will help you to identify carbohydrates in different types of food and learn how carb counting can help you to manage your blood glucose levels.

Key points

Carb counting takes a bit of effort to learn, but the control that comes with it can make life much easier. Carbs are found in starchy foods like bread and pasta, in naturally occurring sugars in fruits and dairy products as well as in added sugars (found in sweets, chocolate, sugary drinks). Most carbs break down into glucose once digested. This means that the carb content of your diet directly affects your blood glucose levels.

Carbs can be further broken down into fast-, medium- and slow-acting.

Fast-acting carbs: Glucose tablets, glucose drinks, full-sugar soft drinks or squashes, jellies (not diet), sweets.

Medium-acting carbs: Bread, pasta, potatoes, yams, breakfast cereal, couscous.

Slow-acting carbs: Pearl barley, peas, beans, lentils, sweetcorn, pumpkin.

Slow-acting carbs are absorbed very slowly. They may not need to be matched with insulin unless eaten in large quantities. The saying 'everyone is unique' applies to carbs too, so monitor your blood sugar levels to see how different foods affect you – and, of course, speak to your team for help. Plenty of foods don’t have any carbs in them at all. Such as:

Protein: Meat, fish, seafood, eggs.

Fat: Lard, ghee, margarine, oils.

Dairy: Cheeses, butter.

Vegetables: Asparagus, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, mushrooms, avocado.

Drinks: Water, sugar-free drinks, diet drinks, diet squashes, black tea and coffee.

Continue learning

2. How carbs interact with your body video

Understanding how different carbs interact with the body is key to carb counting. Jess explains the two main ways of counting carbs, and how to work with your healthcare team to match the amount of insulin you need to take.

Discover how to count carbs

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Do carrots trigger insulin?

“Carrots are considered a nonstarchy vegetable, along with options such as broccoli and lettuce,” Ficek says. “These foods are safe for people with diabetes to eat at each meal without worry that glucose levels will spike.”

everydayhealth.com - 10 Surprising Foods That Have Little Impact on Blood Sugar

When you're diagnosed with diabetes, one of the first changes that your doctor will recommend is cleaning up your diet. Suddenly even seemingly healthy foods are placed on a do-not-eat list. While you may start to feel like there are very few foods you can eat safely, you'll be happy to hear that a handful of foods commonly assumed to be off-limits are actually healthy choices for those living with the condition. These “off-limits” foods actually have a much lower impact on glucose levels than people think, and get the green light to include in a diabetes-friendly diet. The 10 on this list all have a low or medium glycemic load (GL), which is a measurement that factors in a food’s glycemic index and carbohydrates per serving to show how the food affects blood sugar, according to Oregon State University. Foods low on the scale break down more slowly in the body, which may produce fewer fluctuations in blood glucose and insulin levels. A GL of 10 or under is considered low, while 11 to 19 is medium, and 20 and above is high.

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While no two people with diabetes will respond to a certain food the same way, here are 10 foods you may be surprised to learn may have little impact on blood sugar.

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