[Gizmo]

I posted this once before, but it is buried in the middle of a thread somewhere, so I think more people will see it if I post it again here.

Harvey Simon, M.D. of the Harvard School of Medicine states that though there are different types of carbohydrates, they all have roughly the same effect on your blood glucose level. A single gram of carbohydrate raises your blood sugar 3 mg/dL if you weigh around 200 lbs., 4 mg/dL if you weigh around 150 lbs. or 5 mg/dL if you weigh around 100 lbs. Having this knowledge, you should be able to calculate somewhat accurately how high your blood glucose will rise after a meal.

 

[moon]

In what context is this? Is this for a body when the endocrine system is optimal and no insulin resistance?

It seems for us, the calculation isn't that simple, or at least the resulting effect since our insulin resistance is all over the place.

 

[Shalynne]

Hmmmm ... ya know, that makes a lot of sense, except for the part where it doesn't work.

For example, I find wheat-laden carbs are near impossible to account for. I can eat relatively carby veggies like bulb onions, bell peppers, green beans and tomatoes without bolusing or spiking, in normal, non-piggy amounts. Leafy veggies also contain carb, but are close to a truly free food, not just for me, but for many of us.

At first, I couldn't eat non-green beans or peas at all, and had to not only count, but measure all tree nuts. Peanuts? Forget it. But I've been able to add all of these back in, carefully, over time (and in moderation, but no longer skimping).

So, could Simon's results better apply to Type 1s, or non-diabetics? To me, they simply don't compute. Not as a general rule, anyway.

 

[smorgan]

For me, the important thing is that n grams of carbs will produce a certain quantity of glucose pouring into my impaired glucose metabolizing system. I don't have any peaks to worry about and if I did I would not consider myself anywhere near "control".

I couldn't care less about "fast" or "slow" (as in glycemic index). If it is fast, you'll see it in your meter readings. If it's slow you'll either have a long, slow decline from peak (arguably just as bad) OR it will show up when your liver decides to dump it on you (after storing it as glycogen) such as in Dawn Phenomenon.

In this sense, it is definitely true for me that a gram of carbs is a gram of carbs is a gram of carbs. I monitor and limit them OVERALL in what I eat and then there's nothing to worry about and no need to test after every meal and every food thinking that your "measuring" its impact. It's really not that simple IMO. Or, IS that simple - just reduce the percent of carbs (and also proteins) in your overall diet until you get the desired results.

IMO, the ADA got it right when they talked about macronutrient mix - they just were way off on the numbers.

 

[jwags]

I find in the morning I will spike 4-5 points for every carb I eat, but in the afternoon it is more like 2 points for every carb I eat. I do think the less you weight the higher you spike. Since I lost weight I am more sensitive to certain carbs. But that aside there are some carbs I can eat without a huge spike. I can eat sweet potato fries and still be in a good range.

 

[Gizmo]

As you all said, there are many other factors that come into play with this, but this is the way I see it... let's say I want to eat something that has 25 carbs, I won't know how much or if that food will spike me until an hour or 2 after I eat it. But then it's too late to un-eat it. But if I multiply that 25 carbs by 4, and take my bg before I eat it, I know that food could very well (not definitely) bring my bg up 100 more points. Then I can decide wheter or not I want to take the chance of eating it.

I know it won't work for everyone, most things don't when it comes to Diabetes, but I believe it could be of some help for some of us, and that is why I posted it. I haven't tried it yet because I rarely cheat, but it would be nice if there was a way to guesstamate how much a food will spike me before I eat it instead of after.

 

[Daytona]

I too have found that different foods spike me to various degrees. Depending on your IR, pancreatic function, weight, meal macro-nutrient mix, fiber content, stomach emptying time, food sensitivities .... your mileage may vary. That being said it can be a helpful way to say "ballpark how high could I go if I ate this?"

I prefer to just stay very low carb < 20g so that I don't ever have to worry about spikes and eliminate liver dumps. It's like the "set it and forget it" for diabetes.

 

[Patdart]

Ya I know that is how I feel. I test it and then just remember it and don't worry about it until a food shows me a higher # than what I expect. I'm lazy I guess! But, it does work for me.

 

[jwags]

As a general rule I like to keep my spikes to 20-30 points or less. I am one of those who takes forever to come down if I spike higher. If I spiked 100 points on a 25 carb meal it would take 6 hours to return to normal, if I did. I would also get a lot of extra carbs stored as glycogen. The only exception is certain veggies, like sweet potatoes and some beans. It must be the fiber.

 

[Miss_Blue]

Even when the carb counts are equal, grains, sour cream, and tomatoes spike me higher than foods like nuts and broccoli. I wish I could just add up the spike like that, but the type of food does matter.

 

[Shanny]

Now that's a switch - the sour cream. Usually it's enough fat to offset the small amount of carbs it has, unless it's nonfat or reduced fat. I'll remember this, because I use sour cream pretty lavishly!

 

[Miss_Blue]

If I use a little, there's no effect, but I have noticed that just two tablespoons really raises my blood sugar higher than it should. I seem to do better with cream cheese. Diabetes really makes no sense to me sometimes.