I’ve been curious if dates are one of the best things to have for a low blood sugar, for it to rapidly rise. The glycemic index of dates are 103 (where glucose tabs are 102)! A question that is occurring for me is could a lower glycemic drink (such as gatorade, or juice) raise your blood sugar faster, because it is a liquid and could be more easily absorbed into your blood stream? If a food is high on the glycemic index, can a liquid with a lower index raise it faster? Or not? What do you think?
The best way to correct lows is with fast acting glucose, basically anything that’s pure sugar. Fruit, like dates, has fiber & fiber slows down absorption. I think glycemic index is useless for T1s. Glycemic index is determined using non-diabetics. If you want to be precise about raising a low, it’s better to use something with a known amount of glucose. Difficult to be exact with dates because they’re not a uniform size. Also hard to do with liquids unless you want to carefully measure. When I’m low, it’s easier to pop jelly beans (1 gr per) than start figuring out combos of food or drink. Jelly beans, or other candy, are portable.
Ah fiber, I didn’t think about that. Thanks for informing me, I appreciate it. Yeah that’s a good point about also being precise – I tend to guestimate which doesn’t always level out well. Do you think though, if a liquid has the same GI or sugar as a jellybean (with no fiber), would it raise your blood sugar faster?
Guesstimating is a crap shoot. It’s hard to be precise with liquid. What I was told to do is let the sugar slowly dissolve in my mouth for the quickest effect. Hard to do this with liquid, but you can experiment to see what’s the fastest route for you.
I’m a T1 and I use foods with a lower glycemic index to smooth my post meal curve. I don’t think it is useless at all. On the question at hand, I just use glucose tabs.
The fastest way to treat a low BG is pure glucose, and not just any “sugar”. Glucose tabs or gel, glucose candy (smarties, etc) are therefore the best.
I looked up the glycemic index of dates at glycemicindex.com, and dates were only about 50 on a scale of 100 for glucose. Sugar (sucrose) is about 60 on this scale. So clearly dates are not as fast as pure glucose but similar to table sugar.
But that said, I have found dates to be one of the faster fruits to bring BG up if it isn’t so low that it feels like an emergency (when my BG is in the 50’s to 70’s). I routinely eat fruits of all kinds to balance BG. Dates are convenient since they don’t spoil and the sugar is more concentrated than other fruits. I always keep a container of them around. Each of the dates I buy are about 6 g of carb per date, so they’re pretty easy to measure. Raisins are similar in glycemic index and also good to bring BG up, but are a bit harder to measure - about a dozen raisins is around 5 g of carb.
If I’m going hiking or exploring in a new city where I’ll be walking for a very long but unpredictable amount of time, I have made it a habit to carry raisins or dates with me, in addition to the emergency glucose I carry. Great to munch on if you feel your BG going low because of the unpredictable extra exercise.
I agree with young-at-heart, I find fruits very useful in my diet and eat a lot of them.
As to the question about whether liquids are faster, the answer would be that they’re slightly faster since you don’t need to wait for them to dissolve before swallowing. But glucose tabs dissolve in your mouth (if chewed) in seconds so it would be hard to measure the difference. Note that glucose can’t get into your blood until it is dissolved and swallowed - it passes into your blood from your intestines and not before.
I think this is YMMV issue.
If it’s a mild hypo, I correct using whole fruit. Strawberries, cherries, oranges, raspberries, blueberries. I once even used a punnet of cherry tomatoes - and it worked too.
It’s a continuing source of contention between me and my diabetic team. They insist I shouldn’t use cherries to treat a low. But my glucose meter tells me cherries work fast enough, so the meter wins.
I don’t really like dates so I don’t use them, but have on occasion used figs to treat a mild hypo.
But when it’s a serious low then I reach straight for sugary liquids. Like this morning when I woke up so sweaty I almost slipped down the stairs. BG was only 24!
I think the glycemic indexes can be a starting place for figuring out digestion, but everyone digests a little differently and has different diabetic goals. Like bananas. There have been previous discussions on TuD about bananas. Some diabetics love them, but there are some that will not touch them. Some diabetics can use a banana to treat a hypo (fast digestion) and others seem to digest a banana slow enough that a bolus will limit the PP spike. However, I have found (with great help from my CGM) that a banana peaks my BG at about 25-30 minutes. This peak is too slow for hypos and too fast for my insulin to cover; therefore I no longer eat bananas.
I agree with your idea that juice digest faster and think most of the community agrees with you. I don’t have any scientific data but, many people drink a juicebox for a hypo as it is fast, easy and has a known quantity of carbs. When at home I have a 6 oz. cup that I pour OJ into for hypos = 20 g carbs.
There also appears to be some variance in glycemic index tables (and then add in the indivdual’s own digestion). For instance, oatmeal can vary from website to website (or brand to brand) signifigantly. I think the way the oats are cut or prepared can vastly impact how fast the carbs hit your BG. I try to look at a few different glycemic index websites to get a general idea about the food.
I try to eat a low glycemic diet because I think it helps me match my PP spike with the insulin’s activity. But as always, your meter is the best determiner of if the food is acting on your BG as you expect it to act.
I agree. Tabs are great for lows because I know how much I am getting and what to expect. Low glycemic foods help to keep my bg level. Especially for snacks and exercise.
+1 on fruit. I try to eat some at every meal
Did you know that Corn Syrup (Karo Syrup) is primarily glucose suspended in water?
Sometimes with bad lows, I lose the ability to chew. I like to keep the Dex liquids on hand, hate the taste, but they do work – small amount of liquid with 15 carbs. I also like DanActivs for lows and just to drink, but of course they have to be refrigerated. I like my fruits, including dates in the winter, for desserts.
Yes, in fact I bought some recently out of curiousity. Unfortunately corn syrup is inconvenient to carry around so I still carry glucose candy instead. Also you need to be careful when you buy it that you aren’t getting the corn syrup which has a high percentage of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Check the ingredient label if you’re buying it for that reason.
Glycemic index was researched specifically for diabetics; you probably mistyped. A carb is not a carb, etc. Same gram of one type of carb can raise you faster than another. Glycemic Index of great import to Type 1 diabetics. To raise a low blood sugar, dextrose, soda or juice. For lows in the 60s we give grapes which are as fast as juice. I’ll bet the dates would work but not for a severe low.