Glycemic Index?

Thanks Natalie! :smiley: I like YMMV too.

Well, I’m with everyone else on this one. Carbs hit me equally fast whether they’re whole grain or refined grain, and labels on packages are woefully inadequate. I once carefully measured out some spaghetti, dosed for the amount of carbs on the label, and cooked it al dente, and it was a DISASTER.

The only thing that slows down carbs for me is to eat them with protein and fat. But I still need the entire count for my insulin dose. Not that I’m all that good at counting carbs! But I do get used to portion size and how much insulin I need for my few favorite foods that I eat most of the time. (I’m a picky eater, which doesn’t help when you have diabetes!) So, as you get used to the foods that you like to eat, you will know how to dose for them, and it will get easier!

Everyone has been very helpful on this topic. All of the feedback has been about the same which is great b/c there is no conflicting choices. I think keeping the G.I in mind and just keeping track of how certain foods affect your b/s levels is wise but I will count carbs like always and take my insulin accordingly. I know for my, honey makes me go sky high no matter how much insulin I take. That is one thing I avoid in large doses. I have also learned that if I eat too many carbs at once, my b/s gets out of wack. It is almost as if my body cannot break the carbs down correctly or something but that might have to do with my cystic fibrosis as well :confused: Too many factors LOL I am a picky eater as well and my husband doesn’t let me forget it … in a loving way … so I tell him, “Hunny, I am not picky, I am selective!” :smiley:

“Selective”!! I LOVE it!!! :slight_smile:

I love it too!!!

There is glycemic index and there is glycemic load. E.g. see David Mendosa’s page on this here. So this for example explains why watermelon has a high number on the glycemic index, but has a relatively low glycemic load - and therefore why watermelon might not spike you as much as its high GI number might imply.

I think the glycemic index works very differently for different people and I suggest that you make up your own mind based on what your glucose meter tells you. For me personally, I have found GI more or less irrelevant. By testing a lot, I found out I can tolerate the same amount of carb in French fries much better than the same amount of carb in whole grain bread, and that in fact, I need less insulin for the fries. Ditto I found out that I can tolerate ‘bad’ high-GI croissants better than rice of any sort (brown or white).

Just keep testing and you will soon come up with your own list. It may not look like what mainstream knowledge tells you, but it is what works for you and that’s most important!

Thank you so much for the encouragement and advice! I have decided to continue counting my carbs and taking my insulin (of course, I would never stop that without taking to my doctor first) but I am also going to keep in mind the glycemic factor and see how different foods affect my b/s levels. I know that I cannot handle honey in large amounts very well … I also cannot eat a lot of carbs at one time (like spaghetti for dinner) b/c my body just doesn’t handle that well. I completely agree with you about testing and coming up with my own list :wink: Everyone is different, what works for me may not work the same for someone else. I love your cat picture! I have a cat too and she is my baby!!! Take care and keep in touch! :smiley:

  • A

Riiiight… I don’t have a fractured insulin response, i have NONE. Any food with any amount of carbs is going to make my spike unless I can dose insulin appropriately. It does not quite work that way for T2’s… there are some foods that you can conceivably eat that won’t spike you - that’s your reality, but it is certainly not mine.

I agree with eat to your meter to some degree, but that doesn’t fully apply to a T1… there’s more to it than that… carb counting, TAG, insulin doses (and various methods of injecting and timing of them)… it’s a MUCH MUCH MUCH more complex dance than most T2’s realize… it’s not quite as simple as “take some insulin and eat whatever you want” :frowning:

So no, we are not “pretty much the same”

I just ran across this post on another diabetes website today (3-14-11). I don’t necessarily believe what is said here, but it does pertain to this discussion.


Glycemic Load Outperforms Carb Counts in Predicting Insulin Needs

According to an Australian study, tracking the glycemic load of food you consume may be more effective than counting carbohydrates for determining mealtime insulin needs. Here’s the key paragraphs:

But the new study, by Jiansong Bao at the University of Sydney in Australia and colleagues, hints the number of carbs alone might not be the best way to go.

Instead, the so-called glycemic load of a food, which also takes into account how quickly it makes the blood sugar rise, might work better. Foods with soluble fiber, such as apples and rolled oats, typically have a low glycemic index, one of the contributors to glycemic load.

The researchers took finger-prick blood samples from 10 healthy young people who ate a total of 120 different types of food – all with the same calorie content. They also had two groups of volunteers eat meals with various staples from the Western diet, such as cereal, bread, eggs and steak.

The glycemic load repeatedly trumped the carb count in predicting the blood sugar and insulin rise after a meal.

“It suggests that the methods used to assess carbs in persons with type 1 diabetes might benefit from some rethinking,” said Dr. Edward J. Boyko, a diabetes expert at the University of Washington in Seattle who wasn’t involved in the study.

But he said it wasn’t certain the findings would hold up in people who aren’t completely healthy.

Sarah, it depends on the Type 2. In the early stages, some can eat small portions of carby foods, some can’t. In the late stages, no one can, unless they don’t care where their BG goes, which unfortunately is true of a lot of uneducated Type 2’s. They’re also more likely to be the ones with amputations, and dead of early heart attacks.

And don’t forget that a significant portion of late-stage Type 2’s are on insulin, too, and if they are educated, go through the same dance you do – except that they usually have a LOWER tolerance for carbs than most Type 1’s.
Unfortunately, education for Type 2’s is often either not covered, or poorly covered – Type 1’s get much better education and treatment than Type 2’s, but the Type 2’s you find here ARE well educated, and highly motivated, and working just as hard at it as you do. Please don’t paint with a broad brush – we’re here to support each other, not put each other down.

I just watched a video by Bernstein and he had a gem: Glycemic index and glycemic load are calculated on healthy volunteers, who have an insulin response. So their BG goes up slowly, not very high and then comes down again. This does not apply to diabetics, who rise rapidly and may stay there for hours if their insulin dose wasn’t right OR if they’re Type 2 and on D+E or orals. So I’m not going to put too much faith in either system until it’s tested on various kinds of diabetics!


glitter-graphics.com

That was helpful to read :slight_smile:

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The quote from the diabetes expert seems like a non-sequitur to me. The report doesn’t say if the Sydney researchers were trying to find out anything related to diabetes management. It seems that all the volunteers were people with functioning pancreases. Which would imply that the research was GI-related, rather than diabetes-related. So I am not sure how much of a conclusion diabetes-wise one can draw from this.

PS Don’t you love being labelled ‘not completely healthy’?


glitter-graphics.com

I really appreciate all you comments and the time you took to help me out :smiley: You guys ROCK!!!

-A

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Funny, Im picky too, but I tell my wife “What can I say, I just have good taste in foods!” =^)

I agree … If the glycemic index or glycemic load is tested on people with functioning pancreases … then that kind of defeats the purpose for us diabetics to use it. It’s not accurate for us :confused: I’m glad I posted this discussion and got all this feedback. It has been very helpful, thankgoodness I didn’t go out and buy those books about the glycemic index LOL

LOL I like that one. Nice way of look at it :smiley: … I love your smiley face by the way!

I think the Glycemic Index originated in Austrailia and recently they added the Glycemic load. To me it is very complicated to figure out. I have the whole book that lists the GI value for everything under the sun. It varies from manufacter to manufacturer and country to country. Most of the foods on the list seem quite carby to me and my pancreas can barely handle them. Plus some of the things with higher values like carrrots don’t bother me. For example ice cream has a lower GI than sweet potatoes. Carb Counting and limiting processed food has been the only thing that has lowered my bgs. I don’t need to be doing math caluclations all the time. I know what foods spike me and I avoid them.

I tried referencing GI a few years back and found with carbs it introduced too many variables. Additionally, in hindsight, all grains are just like fast acting glucose, making the GI mute to some extent.

I bear in mind what foods effect me in what way, eatlow carb, andTAGmy meals. That keeps things a little more formulaic for me and doesnt introduce a whole new calculation system (TAGing works off of carb/fat/protein counting).

Thanks!

“smiling’s my favorite.” – Will Ferrell