How many grams of carb do you eat per day and why?

Food
41

If I eat fruit and natural sugars like honey, my insulin dosing works better.

My BG is never stable and yes my basals are as good as they are going to get. My BG spikes if I eat and also spikes if I skip eating a morning meal, caused buy a liver dump, it’s a brain controlled hormonal disorder, I’m on my second liver and both of them dump sugar and before my pancreas failure I also suffered from reactive hypo’s. My brother and I both suffer from this and a disorder that causes a rise in BG when we see and smell food, and it also causes our nose to run uncontrollably
sometimes (gustatory rhinitis)…anytime this symptom appears my CGM starts climbing.

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42

This is a fascinating and informative read for me!

I only recently got a CGM and switched over to Humalog and Lantus. Some things I notice. My BG goes down right after I get up and start moving around, then starts to rise. I don’t eat any breakfast, but I have to take 1.5 units of Humalog to maintain a good blood sugar. From what I am reading here, I’m extrapolating that is a glucagon dump from my liver. And I wonder is that a good thing that my liver does that? What is giving it a signal to add glucose to my blood? Cortisol?

My BG also goes up when I take a hot bath. Any thoughts on why that would happen?

I still inject and probably will continue to do so until the “artificial pancreas” is FDA approved. Would it still apply for me to count a portion of protein as a carb?

Thanks, everyone, for your help!
Ahnalira

43

We’re people. We don’t come from cookie cutters. :unamused:

I average over 100 g of carb a day and my basal is about 77% of my insulin intake. My doctor says I’m “special.” I don’t know if it has to do with insulin resistance or if I’m just not the average, but if I were to eat 150 g a day, I would gain weight, and I still don’t know that I’d be at 50/50. And I’d be on even more insulin. 50/50 is NOT a healthy goal for me. My doctor actually suggests eating less carb than I do.

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44

FYI, the pancreas releases glucagon, which stimulates the liver to release glycogen which when metabolized, releases glucose into the bloodstrream.

45

OK, WOW…the difference between one letter, right? Thanks for the clarification, @phoenixbound. Do you, by any chance know what stimulates the pancreas to release glucagon?
Thanks,
Ahnalira

46

two letters, actually. :slight_smile:

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47

sure. low blood sugar. What does the pancreas do? | Abdomen Anatomy | Patient

and, a bit more info Dawn effect occurs when hormones (including cortisol, glucagon,
epinephrine) are released by the body, causing the liver to release
glucose. from Dawn Phenomenon (Liver Dump) - Causes of Dawn Phenomenon & Treatment

48

Well, it is complicated. Glucagon is released in response to low blood sugars but also by certain types of meals (large meals or high protein meals). There are certain hormones that are involved in this signaling including the GLP’s which inhibit glucagon and the DPP’s which encourage glucagon. Also hormones like adrenaline can affect glucagon release. Below is a basic graphic of how the basic effect of these incretin hormones (GLP/DPP)

727×579 45 KB

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49

Great chart, @Brian_BSC!

It is complicated, but I think I get the gist of it…which brings me back to my original question. My BS goes up in the morning, and I haven’t eaten anything. Since this chart starts with eating… what would cause the spike without digestion to stimulate?
Thanks,
Ahnalira

50

So high morning blood sugars are another thing. Many of us have this, it is called Dawn Phenomenon. I call it Darn Phenomenon. I believe it is caused by two major things, first our bodies naturally “clear” insulin more rapidly early in the morning hours (like 2-4am) and then as our body “wakes” us it naturally releases stress hormones like cortisol (cortisol doesn’t increase glucagon it directly tells the liver to dump glucose). For those of us that use insulin you can work to increase your insulin overnight to counteract the effect. Having a pump can really make a difference.

Sadly one of the things about Darn Phenomenon can be that if I wake high and then don’t eat my blood sugar can get even worse and that can increase my insulin resistance even more making for one berry, berry bad day.

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51

Wow…this is really informative…thanks!

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52

I had mentioned dawn phenomenon and a link for you.

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53

I’ve been so far off of a 50/50 split (running closer to a 33/67 split - heavier on the bolus), but never had the 50/50 explained to me quite as you had. I’ve often wondered if I should try to move closer to 50/50 – on some rare days I get 60/40, and considered it progress.

After reading your explanation as it being a means to an end, and not an end in its own right, it makes me feel much more comfortable in what I’m doing. Thank you for that.

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54

Daily totals for me; on a typical day: 35 carbs…but that’s for breakfast only. Then 60-70 carbs for lunch, and about 45-50 carbs for dinner. It works for me.

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55

I’m sure you’ll find out what works best for you :smile: I probably eat more carbs on some days less on others. When I eat out I sometimes cheat and add some bread in etc. or other foods that spike me a lot, but some just never work no matter how I dose them so I’ve adapted and made my own versions for many. I have to eat carbs with fat otherwise it’s straight arrows up. Oh well, at least I can still have chocolate etc. :smiley: If we ever get a cure for this I will go back to my diet prior which was higher carb but which still was dominated by raw veggies and fruit.

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56

that’s why you aren’t near a 50/50 ratio, Scott. too many carbs will cause the ratio to shift towards bolus. I had the same problem until I recently reduced carbs by a ton.

57

I just can’t make myself eat lots of carbs, because when I go bolus for it, it looks like a big amount of insulin. I talked to the doctor and he didn’t mention at all my low carb diet that the CDE criticizes. i used 20% less insulin on the pump than I used for MDI, and my weight is started on the downward path, which I like a lot.

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58

Same here! I’ve been over my favorite weight for the last 3 years because of excessive carbs consumption. Now my insulin usage is down by about half and I’m losing several pounds a week with 17 to go. Fewer hypos which is nice when I’m out on hikes. AAMOF, I have gotten low only once on a walk recently instead of the far higher incidences of lows when walking/hiking prior to my recent switch to low carbing. It’s a win/win for sure! :slight_smile:

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59

Thanks, @phoenixbound, I missed that. I am heading over to check it out now.

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60

I think that (once again) your question is a classic example of YDMV (Your Diabetes May Vary - coined by @BadShoe, BTW).

If you are doing better in managing your diabetes on 55 - 70 grams of carb/day, AND all other health aspects are running okay on this sort of diet, then go for it!

Some will eat less - @Terry4 on 30 grams/day is incomprehensible to me, but I can’t and won’t argue with his results. Heck, I won’t even engage in vitriol!! (I might be passive aggressive though :wink: ).

Some will eat more (a lot more), I stack my carbs early in the day and work down from there, with a fairly small meal (calories, portion size and carbs) for dinner. I eat a banana first thing every morning for a hearing/balance problem, followed by a bowl of shredded wheat - something in the range of 77 - 85 carbs. Lunch is generally a sandwich and a glass of milk - 52 carbs. Dinner is in the 12 - 30 carb range, and there might be a mid-day snack or an after dinner ice cream (especially if I am trending low from activity). Why? Because YDMV - this is what works for me.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t have the occasional humongus dinner loaded with everything, but I just pay attention to the inputs and outputs. I find a LCHF dinner leaves me struggling @ 2, 3, 4, 5 A.M. with gigantic spikes. But, I don’t eliminate them, I just manage them as best as I can. I am trying to be victorious every day, part of that is to continue to enjoy eating.

My results aren’t totally flatlines, but mostly rolling hills with the every so often mountain and valley. My health outcomes are very decent with the only diabetic complications left over from before I started pumping. I feel great, have a decent A1C (generally 6.0 - 6.3), stable weight around 165 - 170 lbs, etc, etc.

I wish you the best on your journey - TuD has much to offer. Approach with an open mind and be rewarded.

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