I read that kelp supplements naturally lower blood sugar and have other benefits. I’m wondering if anyone with type 1 has tried taking it and noticed any positive or negative effects?
I’ve got type 1 and I’m a raw vegan and I eat kelp noodles on a somewhat regular basis. Other than the fact they are pretty much a 0 on the glycemic index I do not notice anything unusual from eating it. Irregardless of the effect on diabetes sea vegetables including kelp, dulse, alaria, etc, are very concentrated sources of minerals which are body needs for absolutely everything. I try to include sea vegetables in at least one meal per day and I absolutely love them.
I’ve tried eating lots of foods with supposed effects on diabetes. The 2 that I can say have a noticeable effect are Chia seeds and Jerusalem Artichoke. For breakfast this morning I’m eating porridge with 2 apples/half banana 1/2C almonds, handful goji berries, 2t cinnamon, 1T flax oil, and about 1/2C chia gel (all blended). Chia gel is created by mixing 1 part chia seeds with 9 parts water and letting it sit till it becomes gelatinous. The chia gel noticeably reduces the spike in my blood sugar from the apples/banana and goji berries.
Whenever I eat jerusalem artichoke I find that the following 24hrs after consumption my blood throughout the day is more stable and there are less highs and lows (according to the dexcom). There are some sites where you can get JA dried powder, if you’re interested I can send you a link.
Ken
I eat the Japanese Shiratake noodles with seaweed in them. It does seem to lower my bg a little and keeps it very stable.
About three weeks ago my daughter started eating Korean seaweed (50g packages) one package a day. I don’t know what type of seaweed it is, but the only thing in English is 50% seaweed 30% olive oil and 20% salt. She is 6 years old and has been Type1 for 18 months now. Within one day I had to lower the insulin by 30%. Because of the taste she gave up eating them after one week. The numbers are starting to climb up again slowly. Perhaps the high iodine content has something to do with it? Looking forward to hear from more experienced people!
I’ve noticed the same thing. I’ve been taking Kelp supplements for about a week and have had to lower my insulin dose by about the same amount. Plus, my numbers have been really stable lately. But there are so many variables in this… it’s hard to know what is causing what. That’s why I wanted to see if other T1s had tried it.
If it smells or tastes like it came from the sea, I’m pretty much agin’ it.
It must be some genetic fluke – I come from Louisiana and we have shrimp in our baby bottles.
I tried a seaweed salad last night at a Polonesian restaurant. Was… interesting. I’d try it again.