Diabetic Carb Counting & Exchanges

Why are "free vegetables" limited portions when cooked? When you measure a cooked vegetable, more cooked vegetable (weight) fits in a 1/2 cup compared to the raw version. Serving size and whether a vegetable is counted as free, vegetable or starch exchange is dependent on the number of grams of carbohydrate per serving (around 1/2...

Visitors note: Updated 2008 diabetic exchanges The following answers are based on "Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes" published in 2008 by the American Diabetes Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

I am an adult nurse practitioner who sees many persons with diabetes. I am in need of a reference for exchange lists for my patients who eat predominantly Asian / Oriental foods and one for my orthodox Jewish patient who is out of the country 200 days per year. Can you help me? This same...

I have been trying to follow the Exchange List diet, but am tired of dragging along a food scale to weigh my meat. When I eat out, I try to stick to chicken, pork chops or steak, but this is the time of year for banquets with roast beef and turkey. Do you have...

I am a little confused about cheese and I am a diabetic. I know that 1/4 cup of low-fat cottage cheese is permissible, but what about the hard cheeses like cheddar, American and so on? What is in them that we cannot have? You can have hard cheeses and exchange cheese for meat in your...

My husband is a diabetic and I work for a physician where I help other diabetics and their spouses learn how to change their method of eating. I also have recently started teaching a program that focuses on healthy eating and has learned to convert recipes to exchanges. Is there a software program that...

I think you skipped over the part of my question that mentioned that for some meals in the month of meals five, some exchanges might have been substituted for others. It's right at the beginning of the book. How can I work with these meals given that a choice of exchanges are given, but...

I'm a new diabetic and I would like to hear from you as to what you would suggest. Occasionally I like to have a brandy and seven. Since I can't drink regular pop, I've changed to diet pop. What about the brandy? How many can I have? While I do not recommend that anyone drink...

I am a diabetic. I love peanut butter. What is in peanut butter that you have to give up one fat exchange? The usual ingredients in peanut butter are peanuts and salt. Some brands add hydrogenated vegetable shortening or sugar. Hydrogenated vegetable oil is a saturated fat which may be added to prevent the peanut...

Why is the meat group in the Diabetic Exchange List separated into three groups? Do I have to have so many meals from each one each week? The meat exchanges are divided into three categories: lean, medium fat and high fat. All meat groups have the same amount of protein, which is seven grams. The...