[Luposian]

I thought I was safe, having it. It only has 4g of carbs per serving. I buy the vanilla. I make myself an Affogato once or maybe twice in a day. A few "spoon scoops" (curls) of ice cream in a small, clear glass mug (Teavana). But EVERY time I read my blood sugar at night... it's higher! And we're not talking a few points. We're talking 10's of points!

On average, my blood sugar readings are about 125-135 (I only test at night). But it's consistent... as long as I don't eat that ice cream. But on the days that I do (we're talking maybe around 3pm and/or after dinner (7pm-8pm)), when I test my blood sugar around 2am (yeah, bad bedtime habits), my blood sugar is as high as the 150's and it read as high as 198! Seriously! But the next day, I didn't have my Affogato... and it was down to the 130's again! I don't do/eat ANYTHING differently except that one thing! I eat other food higher in carbs than that ice cream (5-10g, I figure), and my score doesn't go up like that.

Anyone else having a similar issue wth this "low-carb" ice cream or know why its affecting my blood sugar that way?

 

[itissteve]

Hi, Luposian! Welcome to the site!

I've noticed a few foods that are marketed as low-carb or keto that manage to spike my blood glucose anyway. I don't think I've tried the Breyer's ice cream, but I've eaten Halo Top and Rebel a few times and they haven't had that effect on me.

It could, however, have that effect on you. Diabetes is such an individual condition that a food that doesn't affect one person at all really does a number on another person. Sometimes it's because of the ingredients used. Some people tolerate specific artificial sweeteners better than others. Some of us have found that a common "anti-carb" ingredient, inulin, often seen in baked goods, causes our blood glucose to rise a lot more than expected (Aldi keto bread, I'm looking at you).

Can you try other brands of low-carb ice cream? It would be interesting to see if a somewhat different ingredient mix solved the problem.

And it would be great to know more about you. We'd appreciate it if you would post a little about yourself in our New Members Introduction thread.

 

[mbuster]

I haven't had Breyer's in a long time (years) so no baseline here.k. It could be 4 carbs per serving, not counting the sugar alcohols. itissteve is right, some sweeteners do have different affect on some of us and not others. Sorbitol and Maltitol are a couple that can be nasty for some people. Not sure what's in Breyer's, but, again echoing itissteve, check the label and find a different brand that is missing something that's in the Breyer's.

 

[Luposian]

Ok, this is really weird. I went out and had a single (big) scoop of Thrifty's Chocolate Malted Crunch ice cream around noon. Then we had a nice portion of rice noodles (homemade Pad See Ew) around 7pm. When I checked my blood sugar around 1am, it was at 117! LOWER than last night! How on earth can I eat WORSE than the day before and my score is LOWER? I have a "healthier" ice cream (later in the day), and my score is significantly worse! This is so confusing!

 

[mbuster]

Most people would see the peak of a BG spike around an hour after eating and back down to normal 2 to 3 hours after eating, depending on what they ate. Of course, we are not most people, and being diabetic throws a monkey wrench into figuring out what is going on. And to complicate things more, we don't all have the same reaction to the same things. What spikes my BG may not spike yours as much, but may spike someone else even more.

Simple carbohydrates, i.e. sugars, are metabolized pretty quickly, giving you a higher quicker spike, but your BG should taper off quicker and return to normal sooner. Complex carbohydrates, starchy things, are metabolized more slowly. The spike you get would probably take longer to reach a peak, not be as high as it was from the sugar, but it will taper off slower and take longer to return to normal. Fat content of the meal also affects digestion rate, slowing things down, so that could also lower the spike. A test, 6 hours after eating, would not be unusual to have you BG back down in your normal range.

This may not explain it because I don't know the timing of your previous days tests in relation to when or what you ate. But it could be that the timing of the test is the biggest difference.