I’m sure there’s SOMEONE around here who HAS a more scientific explanation (eric), but is it possible it’s in how it’s processed??
That’s weak. Now I have to go do research…
That’s what I’m thinking. Perhaps the “fast” carbs just get processed before the digestive process starts on the slow carbs. This would definitely be true if the fast carbs were eaten first and there was a gap of time before eating the slow carbs. But what if they’re eaten relatively closely together? Fast first followed immediately by slow carbs, OR slow carbs eaten first followed immediately by the fast carbs. Do they then get processed all together, slowly? I don’t know the answers to these questions, but what I do know is that, in Liam’s case, if we give him fast + slow carbs together, we have to bolus him for the fast carbs up front else he rises almost immediately, fast and furious (double arrows up, over 180 in 30 minutes or less).
interesting. For us it takes anywhere from 0.6 to 1 unit up front for pizza. I think everyone’s body really does react differently to different foods.
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Yeah, this may be a simple case of YDMV.
pizza crust isn’t that fast of a carb. It’s tough and chewy so it takes a while for the stomach to break it down I think?
Well you’ve messed up, and now I’m in, with my painfully basic understanding…
If I eat a handful of candy, let’s say I start seeing a rise 10 minutes later, and within an hour I have increased 100. IF I eat a handful of peanuts along with it the next time I have the candy, should I expect to see any difference?? If so, what?
Pizza hits late with me as well, and if I do any kind of insulin early on, I always end up having a crash and then I add a bunch of carbs to correct. My BGs are a MESS as much as 8 it 10 hours later. Good news for me is that we’re now a gluten free family, and although I still enjoy pizza, it’s just not as tempting as before. If only that could happen to all bad foods that call my name…
About the absorption issue… maybe it DOES slow the absorption a little. Maybe it’s not all that noticeable because it’s pizza time, and people are thinking pizza. Maybe that addition of carbs acts as a carb blast, not scientifically speaking, and it just pushes through that slowed absorption rate.
Now I’m thinking about pizza.
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Preach.
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She DOES make it look really appetizing… 
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You don’t want to encourage preaching… I really like preaching. Then hiding when I’m being a hypocrite.
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Best bet is to throw the pasta and cookies in the garbage. No matter what you bolus you still run the danger of some spike in your BS. Sikes in your BS accumulate damage over time. Not worth it.
I find it much easier to resist one time in the grocery store than endlessly on an item in the house that is “calling me” to eat it!
Finally, I find the longer I have gone without eating something that I should not, the less I want it.
pasta is one of the easiest things for us to bolus for!
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Whoa, them’s fightin’ words.
No cookies, granted, but here’s a dinner with pasta (28 g carb) w/ green peas (4 g) and asparagus pesto, preceded by a Negroni (7 g) and crackers (20 g), and followed by rhubarb cake (34 g) and custard (6 g) and, as if I needed any more, a glass of milk (6 g): total 105 g. Probably over-bolused given the 3 am low, and sure, not all nights look this good, but I ain’t throwing anything in the garbage.
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Please do not misunderstand my intention, not trying to start a fight. Beacher’s chart does bring up an interesting example. In the chart it shows that the BS got up to 9.0 (162) and then got the low at 3 AM. Avoiding all the carbs would flatten this all out. Not sure if any of you have heard of the book Dr, Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution but it is well worth the read. Dr Bernstein is about 84 years old, been diabetic since age 12! Became an engineer and designed his own diabetes regimen. When no one would pay attention to his success because he was not a Dr he quit being an engineer and became a Dr. Now he runs a diabetes clinic in NY and has amazing results. I have been following the suggested treatment and I am amazed at how level my BS stays. I am also amazed at how easy it is to go out and Mountain Bike for hours and have no dips or spikes. I have been T1 for over 25 years and his plan is by far the most successful that I have tried.
Again, it is worth the read. Even if you never do anything with the information, just to read information perfected by an actual T1 diabetic that is still alive after 70+ years is amazing and that book has some really enlightening info in it that I think would help each and every person on this site. You can get it on Amazon way cheaper than in a book store and you can look him up on YouTube also.
@dughuze, I think the “fight” was meant in a playful manner. The interesting thing about our site, is that we all have the same goal that you and Dr. Bernstein espouse, i.e. solving the challenges that face us and having a normal blood sugar throughout.
What isn’t quite so apparent from our site, is that we have people who are achieving near normal glucose levels while eating very low carb i.e. Bernstein approach, low carb, regular carb, and very high carb depending on their personal desires and activity levels. There are approaches for each and they all work.
So we are super happy that you have found a path that works well for you, and feel free to bring that information forward. You will find successful people at all carb levels as well. Which is what you just ran into.
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I was joking about fighting. But anyway – and I don’t mean this to sound defensive – it was actually a high of 7.4 (133) after dinner. (The 9.2 you see was after a breakfast of banana bread.)
Now 133 might seem unconscionably high to some or many people, but for me and the way I live and eat and juggle a zillion variables, it’s pretty darn good if not as good as it gets. Incidentally, total carbs for the 23rd were 150 g and for the 24th, 180, both higher than normal, and I would have expected bigger peaks as a result.
Also, while I definitely believe that avoiding Alp-like spikes is a sensible goal, and trying to stay within a reasonable and healthy range is a sensible goal, I’m not a member of the “flatter is better” club. Non-diabetics don’t flatline, so why should we make that our goal? My non-diabetic CDE wore a Dexcom for a week and had bigger spikes than I did.
I read Bernstein many, many years ago. I made one dinner according to his regimen. The words “POW camp” crossed my mind and, given the prominent role food plays in my life, and in my enjoyment of my life, the book ended up in a yard sale. That said, I do find myself these days cooking pasta less frequently than before, rather than eliminating it altogether. Many people follow Bernstein to lesser or greater degree and that’s great. As @Chris says, different people, different approaches, similar results. Win-win.
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I fully accept that an extreme low carb diet makes insulin dosing much easier: when the bolus is tiny, the error can only be tiny. Nevertheless, I’m going to pile on with the others who are pushing back: for some people it is possible to learn how to dose for high carb eating, and that’s a perfectly valid thing to do.
Here’s a concrete example. Take a look at the attached Dexcom AGP report for the past week, and in particular check out the small graph at the bottom for 5/31/18. I had 212g carb that day. In particular, around 4pm I bolused for a pasta meal that I estimated at 125g carb. Now I do have LOOP software helping me, and this sensor was on day 12 which tends to dampen out the peaks, but I’d say this high-carb meal didn’t cause me any BG-induced damage.
My bottom line is that there are a wide variety of ways to manage our disease well. With respect to carbs, I’m fairly extreme on the high side, and it looks like you are fairly extreme on the low side. Both can work well, neither guarantees future good health, and we’re all are trying to do our best as we see it.
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I just got this book in the mail. I don’t have any plans to lower my carbs to Bernstein levels, but I wanted to read it anyway. I was hoping he’d have some info on the supplements he recommends. I understand he reversed some of his complications through good control and supplements, so I’ve been curious about which ones. I haven’t found anything about supplements yet though (except Vit D which I already take).
One thing that was super interesting is that he recommends nightly mini-doses of Naltrexone for carb addicts. He says it releases endorphins that prevents carb-binging the next day.
I know this is way off topic, but I found it fascinating.
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Not sure if any of you have heard of the book Dr, Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution but it is well worth the read. Dr Bernstein is about 84 years old, been diabetic since age 12!
While I can’t speak for everyone on this list, most of us, I’m confident, are well aware of Dr. Bernstein’s recommendations – but for the most part don’t adhere to them.
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wait, is Naltrexone the anti-opioid antagonist? That is some serious bonkers, IMO.
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