Just finished racing for the day. Overall, the setup went well and the closed loop did a good job of catching highs. There was less wind which made it more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting. I was also on the tired side because my mind wanted to rehearse everything 150 times before letting me sleep.
Carb question. So I mixed and matched the following gel products and it seemed as though each of them created a quick spike that then was caught by the loop. Can you tell whether any of these might be smoother or have a personal preference for this or something else?
GU:Maltodextrin, Fructose (only ingredients that seem carb oriented)
Hammer Gel: Maltodextrin, Cultured Dextrose
Huma Chia: Strawberry Puree, Cane Sugar, Brown Rice Syrup
I take the Huma Chia immediately before a run usually with a small bolus of .15 or ,2 units. The bolus helps to prevent a spike 20 or 30 minutes later. I usually stay pretty flat. I learned this from @Eric
I also carry a bottle of diluted grapefruit juice containing about 50% water which I sip if I start to go low. It really acts fast and doesn’t spike as long as I take only a sip at a time.
Hi @MarkP!
Sounds great that the loop setup worked for you!
Most of the gels for sports will give quick sugar and can cause a spike if you take too much or don’t have sufficient insulin for them. They are all designed to be fast carbs. Not much difference in speed in the ones you mentioned.
What you should use kind of depends on what you are looking for. I like Huma gels because they have the ideal mix of glucose and fructose, which allows for good absorption when under physical strain. But they work very fast. Same as any of the others.
If you want a slower and extended carb, you should look at some of the things like Clif bars.
If you are correcting a low though, you do not want a slow carb you want a fast carb. If the gels are too much, if they cause a spike, maybe either take less of it or try some of the Gatorade chews that I mentioned earlier, because those are easier to take in smaller amounts.
A simple way of saying it is like this:
To prevent a drop, use a slower extended carbs, something like a Clif bar.
If you want to treat a low, then the right amount of the fast gel is the way to go.
The mini Clif bars are nice because they are only 18 grams of carbs, and are about 1/2 quick carbs and 1/2 slow carbs.
(I know somebody will complain about the price, but it’s less than a dollar per bar, all individually wrapped in a somewhat waterproof pack.)
Why is something like this possibly better than Loop? Because doing Loop alone can prevent a low, but this can also prevent a low and give you fuel for energy at the same time. Cutting insulin alone does not give you energy!
Those look very useful! Will give them a test next weekend.
Can you do a quick analysis on the mango juice below? Out of all the heavy duty carbs I’ve used, this one has been the best. It takes 5 sips to instantly go from 50 to 100-110. Do you think it’s the “organic cane sugar” that’s doing the trick or is it a combination of factors? Izze soda is good too although it’s more gentle. In a perfect world, I’d find out why this carb has been so great and see what other foods/drinks behave similarly. I’ve phased out candy after having it skyrocket the number only to have it crash later.
It is only 20% juice! So the quick response is most likely from the added sugar.
And it’s great that it works for you. I am not condemning it because it’s not all juice.
Every type of sugar eventually turns into either glucose, fructose, or galactose. So this just happens to have sucrose (a combination of glucose and fructose) added to it. And that makes it pretty quick.
Differences in types of sugars are the speed in which they are absorbed and whether they are prioritized to go to the liver (like fructose). Sometimes it is helpful to have a combination.
In this drink you have fructose and sucrose. And since sucrose is actually just frucose and glucose, this drink ends up being a lot of glucose and a little bit of fructose. And if the proportions and the combination in this drink work well for you, then it’s a great thing to use.
Fantastic, that explains a lot and makes for a good path to investigate other sugars as well. I’ve seen plenty of peculiarities over the years that I’d like to make sense of.
Hah, and DM they have chocolate!!! Seriously, these look great!! Thanks, Eric!
Loop can prevent a low but not during exercise, at least not for me! I always take carbs on a run. Cutting insulin won’t prevent a low during exercise! Lows during a run really wipes me out!
@HippieNerdBabe I use an Omnipod out in the ocean, works like a champ and I can reduce basal instead of stopping it completely. I’m not sure if you want to switch pumps versus the easier route might be experimenting with MDI and a lowered amount of injected insulin for days of heavy exercise.
I get wishing for a break. Having to “prep” special for intense exercise and not being able to be spontaneous is one of the most irksome things for me.
