I noticed that when I was looking at candy ingredient lists for an alternative to glucose tabs. So I bought some smarties but found them impossibly astringent when taken in quantity.
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There’s a table of glycemic indexes in a 1998 paper from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization “Carbohydrates in human nutrition” at Digestion, absorption and energy value of carbohydrates
It shows glucose=138±4, honey=104±21, sucrose=87±2, lactose=65±4, fructose=32±2
In “Glucose Plus Fructose Ingestion for Post-Exercise Recovery” which I think Eric may have posted about previously, they seem to say that glucose and sucrose are passed from the intestine to the bloodstream about equally quickly, but glucose can be used immediately, whereas the fructose must first be converted by the liver. http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/9/4/344/pdf
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And this is why I love this forum. Actionable information, posted quickly. Thank you!
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Glucose/dextrose is the only one that can be absorbed somewhat through the mouth as well I believe.
My partner EH frequently uses milk. I think he enjoys drinking it and it really sends his BG up so he doesn’t just have a glass unless he’s low. It seems to work fine (and we are usually whole milk people if we have milk in the fridge, but the fat doesn’t slow down the absorption if you were curious).
Whenever I think about glucose tabs I always hear @Eric and @docslotnick saying “Never waste a low!” And I imagine Doc waving a donut around. Might be my favorite FUD quote possibly.
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We often use milk to treat a low, especially in the morning.I mean maybe technically it should be slower, but we never see that difference on Dexcom. I’m not sure why it work so well – maybe the liver is just dumping sugar in response to the food touching his lips or something – but it works. And it usually has a lot more staying power than a glucose tab.
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I thought so too, but @jag1 quoted research showing that it really never absorbs through the mucous membranes: this may be an erroneous belief?
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Same. Milk is definitely a staple more treatment in our house.
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OMG, I said that just the other day! Dark chocolate Bounty bar at the ready.
I don’t object to Dex-4s, and my non-diab partner eats them like candy. They and other tabs and gels are also sold at my local running store, so clearly another demographic is happy enough with them, too. Still, I’m changing my thinking about relying on them as my first-line treatment. Their major benefit for me is that I’m not inclined to overtreat.
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I know I looked this up myself at some point—when I did, I thought the research was somewhat mixed, with findings that the others definitely don’t get absorbed, but glucose may? It definitely seems like to me either it does or letting it dissolve in the mouth somehow otherwise speeds up absorption. I haven’t documented my personal effects though because if I’m trying to get that to happen, it means I’m usually not thinking about much besides getting sugar into me at the moment, heh.
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Hmmm I kinda like that idea. When I get tired of honey I’ll switch it up to fish.
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I ordered a huge bag of smarties recently… had trouble with the little rolls falling apart, breaking, etc in my pockets… I found that if I take a couple rolls of smarties and empty them into an empty glucose tab tube it’s a prettt good setup for me…
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Also, you can buy giant Rockets that are almost the same size as glucose tablets (slightly thinner and concave) and are 3 grams of carbs each. You can get them quite cheaply at some dollar stores like Dollaramma, so I’ve heard. I bought some cases with a friend years ago but haven’t picked nay up since. They fit perfectly in the tubes that fit 10 glucose tablets.
I’ve also bought straight powdered Dextrose from Now Foods and mixed it with water. Works almost instantaneously like dextrose gel or liquid, but is a pain to measure and mix. I put some in an empty glucose shot bottle, but I worry about bacteria growing in there when being re-used.
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Maybe use some kind of canning or pasteurizing technique with heat to kill it before you seal it in?
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I can see that! Yeah if I’m putting them in a bag, I usually throw them into a snack-sized ziplock or coin purse or such which works well enough to contain them for me. I find they do go stale eventually, so I try to use them within a certain timeframe anyway, which helps. If I do have a toss a broken roll here or there though, they are so cheap that it’s not a big deal.
Only if it’s glass or silicone though—those are great since you can boil them. I would be wary of reusing plastic containers repeatedly. Research suggests they do indeed breed bacteria, and some plastics designed for single use leech chemicals if used repeatedly especially if heated to clean.
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Silicone is a great idea. I’ll have to see if I can find some reusable silicone containers that I could boil between each use. I have some that may be suitable, especially if I could concoct a glucose gel with the dextrose…
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Wal-Mart’s ReliOn brand now offers glucose gummies—10 g carb in 3 pieces. They dissolve fast and don’t have that harsh (metallic?) after taste that glucose tabs do.
ETA: I just noticed the “recommendation” on the bottle: “Supports normal blood sugar already in a normal range.” 
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Oh Ms @CatLady this is fantastic news to my ears!!! Going to Wally World tomorrow anyways to stock up on Relion Glucose Shots, so I am going to look for the gummies too!! Thanks for the heads up. 
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Pixie Sticks it is then!
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It looks like 4 little smarties is approximately the equivalent of 1 g carb. Does this estimate work for well for you?
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