Carbohydrate unit
A carbohydrate unit ( KHE or KE ) is the calculation unit for the content of certain carbohydrates in food. It is equivalent to 10 grams of carbohydrates. It should not be confused with the old bread unit , as it is defined as 12 grams of carbohydrates. The advantage of the carbohydrate unit compared to the bread unit is that with 10 g as a calculation base (not 12 g as with the bread unit), this makes calculations easier, especially mental arithmetic in spontaneous situations. The unit KE is also mostly used internationally.
use
Carbohydrate exchange tables show how many grams of a carbohydrate food correspond to one carbohydrate unit. This overview is necessary for determining the dose for insulin therapy . For one carbohydrate unit, diabetics have to inject around 0.5 to 2 units of fast-acting corrective insulin . However, this amount differs from person to person and also depends on the time of day. The doctor, together with the patient, determines the correction factor at the start of therapy.
Examples
The data on KE are only to be used as an estimate, because the carbohydrate content of a food can fluctuate by 20 to 30 percent. Finished products must be calculated per serving according to the manufacturer's average nutritional information on the packaging.
| Food category | Food | amount |
|---|---|---|
| fruit | 1 slice of pineapple | 140 g |
| fruit | ½ banana | 70 g |
| fruit | 1 small apple or 1 small pear | 90 g |
| fruit | 7 tbsp blueberries | 140 g |
| fruit | 1 port. Cherries | 90 g |
| fruit | 1 peach | 120 g |
| fruit | 4 plums | 90 g |
| milk and milkproducts | 1 glass of milk or buttermilk | 200 ml |
| milk and milkproducts | 1 glass of yogurt | 200 ml |
| Bread and baked goods | ½ bun | 20 g |
| Bread and baked goods | 1–2 slices of crispbread | 15-25 g |
| Bread and baked goods | 1 slice of white bread | 20 g |
| Bread and baked goods | ½ slice of wholemeal rye bread | 25 g |
| Bread and baked goods | 2 rusks | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 2 tbsp corn flakes | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 1 tbsp oatmeal | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 1 tbsp breadcrumbs | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 1 tbsp rice, raw | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 2 tbsp rice, cooked | 45 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 1 tbsp corn flour | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 1 tbsp rye flour or wheat flour | 15 g |
| Flour, pasta and legumes | 1 tbsp millet | 15 g |
| Potato products and vegetables | 1 potato (the size of a chicken egg) | 65 g |
| Potato products and vegetables | 1 port. French fries | 35 g |
| Potato products and vegetables | ½ dumplings | 45 g |
| Potato products and vegetables | 3 tbsp corn kernels | 65 g |
| Chocolate, candy bars and pralines | 1 bar of Milka Alpine milk | 25 g |
| Chocolate, candy bars and pralines | 1 bar Duplo, Ferrero | 18 g |
| Chocolate, candy bars and pralines | 2 pieces Toffifee, August Storck | 16 g |
| Chocolate, candy bars and pralines | 1 surprise egg, Ferrero | 20 g |
| Chocolate, candy bars and pralines | 2 pieces Mon Cherié, Ferrero | 20 g |
| Candies, fruit gums and liquorice | 2 pieces Campino, August Storck | 9 g |
| Candies, fruit gums and liquorice | 12 pieces of gummy bears, Haribo | 12 g |
| Candies, fruit gums and liquorice | 5 strips of chewing gum | 10 g |
| Candies, fruit gums and liquorice | 1 piece of liquorice snails, Haribo | 12 g |
| Ice cream and ice cream specialties | ½ Magnum Classic / Almond / White, Langnese | 40 g |
| Ice cream and ice cream specialties | 1 small Ball of ice cream / fruit ice cream | 50 g |
| Ice cream and ice cream specialties | 1 glass of ice cream parlor with cream | 200 ml |
Individual evidence
- ↑ What does KE mean? , from February 3, 2018
- ↑ KE table VDBD eV (pdf)
- ↑ Carbohydrate Unit (KHE / KE) , on www.diabetes-ratgeber.net, from January 16, 2017
- ↑ Calories bite-sized for on the go, Umschau Buchverlag, 13th edition, 2010, ISBN 9783865281326
