Food Question : "Premium Protein" High Protein Shake 1g sugar

Type 1 and LADA
1

So I saw this product at Costco and bought it. Premum Nutrition's High Protein Shake. It claims to have only 5g carbs out of which 3g are fiber and 1g is sugar. Oh, and it has 30g protein. 'Great', I thought. I don't really need to bolus for this. I tested before I drank it and I was at 92mg/dL. One hour after I drank the shake, I tested and found myself at 182mg/dL!!! I couldn't believe it and tested again with my spare meter. Same result! Still refusing to blame the protein shake, I thought it could be due to my dawn phenomenon (I had this shake for breakfast).

Yesterday, I tested again before drinking it - this time as a mid-afternoon snack. I was at 80mg/dL. Just to be on the safe side, I bolused myself for 10g carbs and drank the shake. 45min later I tested and was already at 142mg/dL!! There’s definitely something wrong - should I account for the 30g protein and bolus for that, too? Or is Premier Nutrition lying about the carb content of its protein shake? Anyone else with similar experiences?

2

John,
You shouldn’t have to bolus for protein at all. I know when I eat something that has no carbs, my blood sugar will sometimes go up. I am not sure why, and am anxious to hear others thoughts on this. Two hours after, I am fine. This doesn’t always happen, and I can’t say that I have ever gone quite as high as 182 without eating carbs. I have seen myself go up to 130/140 though.

3

I googled and found a useful post here http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/pumping-insulin/25591-bolusing-…. And the link from that post http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/pfandbs.html is very comprehensive. I need to experiment with my own insulin requirements for protein. And I used to think protein need not be counted for bolus…but apparently, at high protein intake, one should bolus for protein.

4

According to research which I don’t have at hand to cite, high protein diets don’t harm your kidneys if they are healthy. So, always a good idea to get an okay from your doc that your kidneys are fine before embarking on high-protein diets.

5

Yeah I drink low carb whey protein shakes and I have to bolus for them for the most part.

Here is a similar discussion that I posted year ago…hope it helps.

6

Very, very interesting. Thanks John. I never really thought of this whole thing until your post. Good reading.