Is there some kind of litmus paper or other device for detecting the amount of carbs or sugars in a food? One would be very helpful, especially for restaurant food. I’m desperate. Someone ought to invent one if it doesn’t exist.

You’re out of luck on a ‘litmus paper’ but if you really are desperate you should consider getting a Palm Pilot and downloading CalorieKing.com onto it. It really is a very effective way of counting carbs, but of course it assumes you know what you are eating!

DOB
Additional comments from Lois Schmidt Finney, diabetes dietitian:

I know of no such device. The best one can do is check the labels on foods, ask at fast food places for their nutrition information, or buy one of many books out there which tell the carbohydrate content of foods.

LSF
Additional comments from Dr. Jim Lane:

No, I am sorry, there is no form of detection paper for carbohydrate content in food. More experienced patients who have problems with restaurant food will give an additional bolus of rapid-acting insulin one to two hours after the meal, if they undershoot the amount of insulin to administer in those settings. Please talk to your physician about this prior to implementing any additional therapies.

JTL