IN THIS CHAPTER
Accessing printed reference materials for carb counting
Investigating Internet resources
Utilizing apps for diet and diabetes
Label-reading and carb-counting concepts are detailed in Chapters 7 and 8 . Don’t stop there. You can include additional tools in your “diabetes tool chest.” This chapter touches on some of the many resources available, both printed and digital, that can further sharpen your skills and simplify carb counting and diabetes management.
Reviewing the Printed Resources
It’s always good to get things in writing. Keep printed carb-counting lists and food-composition reference books handy and refer to them as needed. You’ll likely start to memorize some of the foods you frequently consume. Take advantage of the useful printed resources outlined ahead.
Reading the fine print for carb counts
Try some of the following printed materials for carb counts:
· Compose a carb-counting cheat sheet detailing the foods you eat frequently (see Chapter 8 for details). Tape the list to the inside of your kitchen cupboard door where it’s neatly out of sight yet readily accessible.
· Keep your eyes on the Nutrition Facts food labels. Packaged foods provide the details needed to count carbs accurately and choose foods wisely. Stay tuned for the newly revamped food labels, which will be even easier to use and should be in widespread use by the summer of 2018. You can take a sneak peek at the label’s new look in Chapter 7 .
· Keep Exchange Lists, such as those in Appendix A , handy for estimating carb counts in foods that don’t have labels.
Additional literature to add to your carb-counting collection may include books, brochures, and menus that identify carb counts and food composition.
Bookstores are a great place to browse. Look for cookbooks with healthy recipes that list the nutrition details. If you use cookbooks that don’t have the carb counts listed, you can look up the carb value of each ingredient. Add up the totals for all the ingredients and divide by the number of servings to estimate how many grams of carb the dish contains per portion. To help with this task, purchase carb-counting reference books, look up nutrition information online, or utilize apps as discussed later in this chapter.
Some chain restaurants have brochures that provide detailed nutrition information for each menu item. Collect them, compare them, and use the brochures to choose foods wisely. More and more restaurants will be providing nutrition details in the future. That’s good news since Americans consume about one-third of their calories away from home. (The next section explains new regulations that mandate certain eateries to post nutrition details for the items they serve.)
Looking at labeling regulations for chain restaurants
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed food labeling regulations that will require calorie information to be clearly displayed on menus and menu boards in chain restaurants as well as foods sold in certain vending machines. Here’s the scoop:
· Who must comply? Calorie labeling will be required for all chain restaurants that have 20 or more locations and all vending machines from companies that have 20 or more vending machines. The labeling rules will apply to ice cream shops, coffee shops, bakeries, movie popcorn, convenience stores, and the cafés in warehouse stores as long as they fit the criteria of “chain establishments.”
· What nutrition info do they have to provide? Only the number of calories needs to be prominently displayed. However, other nutrition details must be “available upon request.” You may request information on total carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, protein, cholesterol, sodium, and fats. Restaurants can opt to display the additional nutrition information on posters, tray liners, signs, counter cards, handouts, booklets, computers, or onsite kiosks. If you don’t see it, be sure to ask for it!
· When do the regulations take effect? The compliance deadline was set for December 1, 2016. Calorie labeling for the restaurant menus must be available by May of 2017 to avoid penalties. In some instances vending machines will have until July of 2018 to abide by the new regulations.
Tapping into Online Resources
Some people like to scroll through their printed materials digitally. That works. The landscape of diabetes management is ever changing and evolving. Technology is at our fingertips, linking us to a digital world full of useful information. If you’ve been hesitant to hop onto the tech train, it isn’t too late. Whether you’re using a computer or a mobile device, you can access important nutrition information, carb-counting tools, diabetes management software, blood-glucose tracking programs, and more. The following sections can point you in the right direction.
Digging up chain restaurant food facts
As I mention earlier in this chapter, the FDA is requiring chain restaurants with 20 or more locations to make nutrition information available. However, many chains already list the nutrition details online through their websites. From the restaurant’s homepage, look for the “nutrition information” or “menu” tab.
Oftentimes you can download and print a page that lists all menu items along with the standard nutrition facts, including calories and total carbohydrate counts. Print off the nutrition details for the restaurants that you frequent and keep a copy in the glove compartment of your car. Compare menu options so you can make healthier choices and keep track of carbs, calories, fats, and sodium.
Foraging through Internet food databases
There are numerous nutrition databases online. For example, the USDA Food Composition Database is very detailed. It may provide more information than you really need, and it can be cumbersome to use. But, it’s accurate and very thorough. It can be found at https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/ .
Other food databases are more user-friendly. Calorie King is one example. Nutrition information is displayed in the Nutrition Facts food label format that consumers are already familiar with.
Log on to www.calorieking.com to find several useful tools. Under the “tools” tab, locate the BMI calculator to assess your weight status. Next, find out how much you should be eating by using the calorie estimator (click on “How many calories should you eat?”). The interactive calculator considers gender, age, height, weight, and activity level. Toggle between calorie targets based on whether you want to lose weight, maintain current weight, or gain weight.
Calorie King has an extensive food database. Use the search window to look up nutrition information on any food. The results are displayed in their “default” serving size. However, you can change the serving size to get the nutrition details on any particular portion size as discussed in further detail at the end of this chapter.
Using your search engine to count carbs
Whether you use Google, Yahoo!, Firefox, Bing, or any other search engine, you can do a quick search for nutrition information for just about any food. Simply use the search bar and type in your query. For example, if you type “nutrition facts butternut squash,” you will end up with numerous search results that display calories, carbs, and key nutrients.
Enlisting the Assistance of Apps: One More Reason to Love Your Smartphone
Applications, or apps as they are more commonly referred to, are self-contained software programs designed to fulfill a particular purpose. Web apps are used online with your desktop or laptop computer. Mobile apps run on mobile devices such as your smartphone or tablet. Some apps are free, some have a one-time purchase fee, and others have a monthly subscription charge.
To search for apps on your smartphone or mobile device, simply locate the app store icon and click on it. Apple devices have an App Store icon; for Android devices, look for the Google Play icon. The search feature, which looks like a magnifying glass, allows you type in keywords to search for desired apps. This section illustrates how apps can help you manage your diabetes and diet.
Finding useful diabetes apps
Browse apps for carb counting, diabetes tracking, blood-glucose logbooks, diabetes management, and so on. The options are overwhelming. My app store search for “carb counting” produced a list of 93 apps to choose from. My search for “diabetes” apps resulted in 1,641 options. Ask and you shall receive! Hone your search results by being very specific about what functions you’re looking for.
With so many apps available, choosing can be overwhelming. As you scroll through the available apps, you can investigate the details about each one. First, click on the app. You’ll then have the option to review “details” about the app, read “reviews,” and find “related” apps. Apps are rated by users and can score from 1 to 5 stars. In parentheses is a number that indicates how many users rated the app. An app that received 5 stars and has been rated by 1,853 users is an app that has loads of positive user feedback. The rating isn’t as useful if the app has been rated by only two people. Read several of the user reviews to find out what people liked or didn’t like about the app.
Give free apps a try. If they don’t suit your needs, you can simply erase them. Before purchasing an app, spend a little extra time going through the review process to make sure the app offers the utility you desire.
Diabetes management apps can help you track food, activity, medication doses, blood-glucose data, health screenings, lab values, and more. They allow you to generate food records, blood-glucose charts, and reports that can be reviewed with your healthcare providers. Some diabetes management apps link to journals, message boards, blogs, educational videos, articles, nutrient databases, and recipes.
There are many diabetes apps to choose from. For example, there is a free app provided by Sanofi-Aventis called Go Meals. It has tools for healthy eating and a nutrient database powered by Calorie King (which I describe in the earlier section “Foraging through Internet food databases ”). An activity tracker syncs with a Fitbit account to merge technologies. The blood-glucose tracker organizes blood-glucose data. Other free apps that get the nod of approval from users include “Diabetes in Check” and “Glucose Buddy.”
Educational apps can help you build your diabetes knowledge base. Reputable information is literally in your back pocket if you download the right apps. Here are two examples:
· The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) offers a free app called AADE Diabetes Goal Tracker. It allows you to set and track self-care goals and empowers you to make positive changes to behaviors in order to enhance health.
· The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has a free app for its online journal “Diabetes Forecast.” The journal features articles on living with diabetes and offers tips for exercise, fitness, and nutrition (including recipes).
Integrating apps and a food scale
Apps can be helpful in deciphering carb counts. The Calorie King nutrient database, discussed earlier in this chapter, offers a free app for iOS so you can download the database to your Apple device. For Android systems, simply access the web version. Calorie King is interactive and can display nutrition details for weighed foods. Use a food scale to weigh your item (for example, a piece of fruit or a bread roll) and then enter the weight into your search results. If you’re using Calorie King, first look up the food. Next, use the drop-down menu so results will be provided by weight in ounces or grams. Then enter the actual weight of your food item and the app will calculate and display the results.
For example, you can look up a baked potato on either the online or app version of Calorie King. The results page will list several different options for baked potato: russet potato, sweet potato, red potatoes, and so on. If you click on baked “russet” potato, the default size is small, 2 inch, (4.9 oz). You don’t have to settle for the default size. You can change it by using the drop-down menu. Options include using a measuring cup or a food scale weight. To use a food scale, switch the serving size to oz (1 ounce). Weigh your own baked potato and enter the number of ounces in the space provided on the Calorie King program. Once you indicate the weight of your potato, Calorie King will calculate and display a nutrition facts food label for a baked russet potato of the size you entered.
Another popular app is MyFitnessPal, which helps you track your foods and physical activity. It also has a massive food database. The benefit of pairing a food database with a food scale is added accuracy in carb counting.