Observations from using a continuous glucose monitor - Jessie Inchauspé

[joaquin]

Really good post!

 

[Sitaruîm]

The data in this thread are interesting, the problem with this woman is assuming that high glucose levels after a meal are bad, which is not necessarily the case

 

[David PS]

The data in this thread are interesting, the problem with this woman is assuming that high glucose levels after a meal are bad, which is not necessarily the case

I agree. The general idea is to minumize the size and time duration of the spike (the black areas) in the graphs. There is no need to eliminate the black all of the time.

 

[ecstatichamster]

the problem is really that reactive hypoglycemia can follow spikes. And that is very, very bad.

 

[David PS]

the problem is really that reactive hypoglycemia can follow spikes. And that is very, very bad.

Yes, that is a better answer. Thanks

Edit - Just to make it clear if the black area it too large the body over reacts and produces too much insulin in its efforts to reduce the spike. Too much insulin causes the blood sugar to go too low into the hypoglycemic range.

 

[InChristAlone]

Redu bull gives you wings and what goes up comes down.
View attachment 40208
What you need to know:
It's better to drink diet soda than regular soda. Regular soda contains outrageous amounts of sugar, creating big glucose and fructose spikes, harming our health.
BUT: it's better to drink water than diet soda, because diet soda has its issues too: increased cravings, microbiome problems, more… Diet soda usually contains *aspartame* which is a sweetener that is known to potentially increase insulin levels (which may be why you see this dip in glucose levels after drinking it; it is due to insulin release).

This one was ridiculous. Look at severe low after the sugar free red bull.

 

[InChristAlone]

View attachment 40256
that was easier than I thought

This one caused low blood sugar when she ate the salad then the pizza.

 

[ecstatichamster]

for reference, I wake up at 85 and when I eat something my spike may be around 155...then it falls to the 90s during the day. Eating more starch and saturated fat makes it fall more slowly...I think the result of the Randle Cycle.

Dr. Peat was saying on Timpone's March 2022 show Radio One that more saturated fat can prevent the ill effects from PUFA fats. He mentioned a study giving rats PUFA, and other rats PUFA and coconut oil, and the coconut oil protected their livers against the PUFAs.

I believe that a diet with 30% or so of saturated fat and lots of starch can limit endotoxins and stress hormones by protecting against PUFA free fatty acids.

 

[David PS]

This one caused low blood sugar when she ate the salad then the pizza.

That is a good observation. She is focused on keeping the curve out of the red zone and/or minumizing the black area under in the red zone. In the pizza test images, it appears eating a salad with the pizza resulted in a greater dip into hypoglycemia than eating pizza alone. I say this because her blood glucose level at the far right of the salad plus pizza portion of the image was much lower than baseline. I suspect that it was not a very controlled experiment. There must be something else in her diet that see did not think of reporting.

 

[Dolomite]

I tried some of these hacks for the last 4 days.

Eating order: The vegetables before other food is a good idea especially for me because I quit eating vegetables and since eating some lately I notice they taste good. I am not sure if they have made a difference though.

Vinegar: I tried the tablespoon of vinegar before meals but I think it is too much for me. I have had some hot flashes and post nasal drip. I think someone mentioned that vinegar can raise histamine so that may be what I am experiencing. This hack also didn't seem to make a big difference.

Exercise: The biggest difference in my blood sugar was with the exercise or walking after a meal. This morning after a walk after breakfast my blood sugar returned to normal in less time. And after lunch I walked around and it took less time for the blood sugar to lower.

for reference, I wake up at 85 and when I eat something my spike may be around 155...then it falls to the 90s during the day. Eating more starch and saturated fat makes it fall more slowly...I think the result of the Randle Cycle.

Dr. Peat was saying on Timpone's March 2022 show Radio One that more saturated fat can prevent the ill effects from PUFA fats. He mentioned a study giving rats PUFA, and other rats PUFA and coconut oil, and the coconut oil protected their livers against the PUFAs.

I believe that a diet with 30% or so of saturated fat and lots of starch can limit endotoxins and stress hormones by protecting against PUFA free fatty acids.

Thank you for your information. My fasting BG is too high right now at 99. The spikes I get after lunch were about 165. But today after the exercise the spike was 150 and down to normal in another hour whereas yesterday it took two hours. I need to incorporate more fats in my diet. I am just using a finger stick monitor every 30 minutes or so. I only do it for a couple of days to give my fingers a rest.

I don't get reactive hypoglycemia that I notice. But I have tried to eat more protein and starch in recent years and have avoided too many pure sugar things by themselves.

 

[Blossom]

How much do CGM’s cost? Sorry if I missed it.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

These lower glycemic index-centred methods always boil down to consuming fewer calories, but it's presented in a sneaky disguise of methods that impair digestion like combining too many different foods, or achieving fullness and impairing absorption by loading up on fibrous vegetable matter. Last time I tried to go down the low GI route, my BMI dropped to 16, my digestion got worse, thyroid tanked. It took me a while to realise that low GI dieting is just another name for low calorie dieting.

Also, starch digestion involves the salivary enzyme alpha amylase which performs best at 6.5-7 pH. Messing with the ph of the starches by adding vinegar will interfere with the breakdown of starch

I don't understand why we want to control blood glucose spikes so much. I thought that the insulin that is release from these spikes induced feelings of satiety to feel full. As long as they are pulsatile and we come back to baseline, what is the problem? For info, my son is a type 1 so of course he is not representative of the normal population, but low GI foods require as much insulin as the refined varieties.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

I tried some of these hacks for the last 4 days.

Eating order: The vegetables before other food is a good idea especially for me because I quit eating vegetables and since eating some lately I notice they taste good. I am not sure if they have made a difference though.

Vinegar: I tried the tablespoon of vinegar before meals but I think it is too much for me. I have had some hot flashes and post nasal drip. I think someone mentioned that vinegar can raise histamine so that may be what I am experiencing. This hack also didn't seem to make a big difference.

Exercise: The biggest difference in my blood sugar was with the exercise or walking after a meal. This morning after a walk after breakfast my blood sugar returned to normal in less time. And after lunch I walked around and it took less time for the blood sugar to lower.

Thank you for your information. My fasting BG is too high right now at 99. The spikes I get after lunch were about 165. But today after the exercise the spike was 150 and down to normal in another hour whereas yesterday it took two hours. I need to incorporate more fats in my diet. I am just using a finger stick monitor every 30 minutes or so. I only do it for a couple of days to give my fingers a rest.

I don't get reactive hypoglycemia that I notice. But I have tried to eat more protein and starch in recent years and have avoided too many pure sugar things by themselves.

After living with my sons diabetes for the past 13 years and trying every trick out there, there is one magical tool that I wish everyone would use. A short, leisurely walk after a meal is unbelievably effective at stabilising BG without extra insulin. He can eat whatever he wants if he is prepared to go for a short walk afterwards. If he refuses to go for a short walk, we can have hours of high blood sugar so it really is like night and day. When we travel to France each year (pre pandemic ofc), he eats 3 or 4 pastries each day and has the most stable BG because we are constantly moving around at a slow pace. Even with the additional food he has to halve his basal or else he goes low

 

[FrenchKiwi]

The response to something loaded with carbs is going to be worse alone when someone is relying on cortisol too much to sustain blood glucose. I've never seen such huge spikes albeit I have only ever done finger sticks but I literally have never caught such a huge high blood glucose from a high carb meal in the many yrs of being curious what my blood glucose is doing. This person seems on the road to diabetes and not being able to eat carbs.

Does this depend on metabolic health? My husband can eat anything anytime and never gets BG spikes and never gets hangry. I am very susceptible to reactive hypoglycaemia and ravenous hunger

 

[David PS]

Does this depend on metabolic health? My husband can eat anything anytime and never gets BG spikes and never gets hangry. I am very susceptible to reactive hypoglycaemia and ravenous hunger

First, I agree completely with you about a short leisurely walk after a meal. I think it is the most potent tip however it does require time and some effort. A change the order that you eact your food is second and it does not require any actual change in food. It gets my nod. I know people who always eat a small salad at the start of dinner. Eating most veggies first during a meal helps. It may take time to see results in BG.

With regard to your question, I think it might be related to muscle mass. If your husband it a big strong guy, his muscles may be quickly soaking up glucose from the blood without him even trying. People without such muscle mass need to walk and use their muscles to get the same effect.

ecstatichamster's tip to eat more saturated fat should help with reactive hypoglycaemia and ravenous hunger. Saturated fat is very satisfying and keep your BG from going too low. It is best not to snack all day and saturated fat in a meal helps. 3 square meals is the way to go for many people. If you are going to snack on an empty stomach try something fatty like a piece of cheese.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

First, I agree completely with you about a short leisurely walk after a meal. I think it is the most potent tip however it does require time and some effort. A change the order that you eact your food is second and it does not require any actual change in food. It gets my nod. I know people who always eat a small salad at the start of dinner. Eating most veggies first during a meal helps. It may take time to see results in BG.

With regard to your question, I think it might be related to muscle mass. If your husband it a big strong guy, his muscles may be quickly soaking up glucose from the blood without him even trying. People without such muscle mass need to walk and use their muscles to get the same effect.

ecstatichamster's tip to eat more saturated fat should help with reactive hypoglycaemia and ravenous hunger. Saturated fat is very satisfying and keep your BG from going too low. It is best not to snack all day and saturated fat in a meal helps. 3 square meals is the way to go for many people. If you are going to snack on an empty stomach try something fatty like a piece of cheese.

I agree that the walk can be an effort barrier. OK, I can definitely try adding some saturated fat to help with satiety and not snack. I was just concerned about mixing carbs and fats together So, my husband is French and he will not start a meal without some sort of raw vegetable like green leafy salad, carrot salad, beetroot and walnut salad etc. He eats this slowly. Then he wants 1 good portion of animal protein and only 1 vegetable, these are eaten in sequence. He always has to finish on a piece of top quality French cheese with baguette. It's so interesting to observe how he eats and he doesn't even realise what he's doing. He never ever snacks, but he's never hungry between meals. However, he is really flexible and if my mum wants him to eat her pavlova at 10am, he will do it and be just fine.

 

[David PS]

How much do CGM’s cost? Sorry if I missed it.

I never used one. I think you may need a prescription. Others will know better than me.

Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring | Dexcom

Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring - Discover smart and simple Continuous Glucose Monitoring. Designed to help diabetes patients keep track of their blood glucose levels with ease. Read about risks and benefits here.

www.dexcom.com

I agree that the walk can be an effort barrier. OK, I can definitely try adding some saturated fat to help with satiety and not snack. I was just concerned about mixing carbs and fats together So, my husband is French and he will not start a meal without some sort of raw vegetable like green leafy salad, carrot salad, beetroot and walnut salad etc. He eats this slowly. Then he wants 1 good portion of animal protein and only 1 vegetable, these are eaten in sequence. He always has to finish on a piece of top quality French cheese with baguette. It's so interesting to observe how he eats and he doesn't even realise what he's doing. He never ever snacks, but he's never hungry between meals. However, he is really flexible and if my mum wants him to eat her pavlova at 10am, he will do it and be just fine.

Husbands are always right. Follow his lead.

I do not think that the combination of high fats and high carbs is good for everyone. If someone has high blood sugar spikes, I suspect that they may have a prolonged spike when they add extra fat; one that last for a longer duration. It is both the height of the spike and the width of the spike that need to be considered. That is how they measure the area of the spike.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

I never used one. I think you may need a prescription. Others will know better than me.

Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring | Dexcom

Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring - Discover smart and simple Continuous Glucose Monitoring. Designed to help diabetes patients keep track of their blood glucose levels with ease. Read about risks and benefits here.

www.dexcom.com

Husbands are always right. Follow his lead.

I do not think that the combination of high fats and high carbs is good for everyone. If someone has high blood sugar spikes, I suspect that they may have a prolonged spike when they add extra fat; one that last for a longer duration. It is both the height of the spike and the width of the spike that need to be considered. That is how they measure the area of the spike.

Haha, you are funny.
Ré fat and carbs, what we notice with Matthew as a type 1, if he eats saturated fat, his insulin requirements are 3 fold and the duration of the spike is 3 times as long. These are the hardest meals to manage and can cause an entire night of no sleep. However, olive oil has zero impact and he does not need more insulin.

If adding saturated fat does not help with satiety and /or it lengthens the duration of my bs excursion, what else could I try? Cooked and cooled starches?

 

[David PS]

Haha, you are funny.
Ré fat and carbs, what we notice with Matthew as a type 1, if he eats saturated fat, his insulin requirements are 3 fold and the duration of the spike is 3 times as long. These are the hardest meals to manage and can cause an entire night of no sleep. However, olive oil has zero impact and he does not need more insulin.

If adding saturated fat does not help with satiety and /or it lengthens the duration of my bs excursion, what else could I try? Cooked and cooled starches?

I do not have any suggestions at this time. I am here it learn. Our olive oil observation may prove useful to someone else.

With regard to your son, his 3 fold increase in the duration of his spike is inline with my thinking. From this image, even a meal could not correct the ill-effects of galette des rois. More than 2 hours were needed to bring BG back to normal.

 

[FrenchKiwi]

for reference, I wake up at 85 and when I eat something my spike may be around 155...then it falls to the 90s during the day. Eating more starch and saturated fat makes it fall more slowly...I think the result of the Randle Cycle.

Dr. Peat was saying on Timpone's March 2022 show Radio One that more saturated fat can prevent the ill effects from PUFA fats. He mentioned a study giving rats PUFA, and other rats PUFA and coconut oil, and the coconut oil protected their livers against the PUFAs.

I believe that a diet with 30% or so of saturated fat and lots of starch can limit endotoxins and stress hormones by protecting against PUFA free fatty acids.

I am confused because I thought we wanted to return to baseline in a short time frame rather than it being a prolonged spike due to saturated fat. A couple of questions:
1) My son (type 1) loves starch and saturated fat together but he spikes for 3 times as long and needs 3 times the insulin to come down. Isn't this a bad thing? I get really worried when he stays high for so long and I am scared to overshoot his insulin, but if I don't keep giving, he stays high
2) with regards to the above, is it ok to swap the butter for olive oil?
3) Is it bad to eat smaller meals of starch, some protein and SF because of the repetition in spikes? Should I move to a 3 meal a day schedule with larger meals?
4) Do I have to eat protein with every meal? I love potatoes and vegetable soup with no protein for dinner