What it is
Regulatory status: dietary practice
Mechanism evidence: human
At a glance
What it is, why people use it, the evidence, and what to know before trying it.
Why people use it
- Post-meal glucose management
- Meal planning
- Energy-intake structure
Evidence at a glance
There is no universal evidence-based 35 g cap for every meal or person. Per-meal targets can be useful planning tools when individualized, while research more strongly addresses total dietary carbohydrate and specific clinical populations.
Confidence: weak
Safety notes
Known cautions from reviewed sources.
A rigid cap can be inappropriate for athletes, pregnancy, children, eating disorders, hypoglycemia risk or insulin treatment. People using glucose-lowering medicines need individualized guidance.
Forms and variants
This review does not automatically apply to:
- ketogenic diet
- low-carbohydrate diet without a per-meal target
- carbohydrate counting for insulin dosing
Seen in protocols
Public protocols that include Carbohydrate target per meal. Open one to see the full context and source.