*3.1.3 Saccharide distribution across meals*

There are two main Eating tactics for using saccharide counting; using insulin-tosaccharide ratios to regulate premeal insulin doses for variable saccharide intake, or following constant saccharide eating plan when using fixed insulin regimens. Testing pre and post-meal blood glucose level is significant for making regulations in either food intake or medication to achieve blood glucose goals.

Depending on the type of insulin prescribed, mid-meal and bedtime snacks may or may not be necessary. For example, if the patient is on a combination of long-acting and rapid-acting analog insulin, a mid-meal, and a bedtime snack are not necessary. However, if a patient is on conventional premix insulin or regular insulin before meals and intermediate-acting insulin pre-dinner, a mid-meal and a bedtime snack are important.

For patients on rapid-acting insulin, low saccharide-containing foods should be prescribed at mid-meals or the patient must take rapid-acting insulin for a saccharidecontaining snack based on his insulin to saccharide ratio [5].
