I’ve been trying to see what impact black beans have on my BG - I like them, they help me feel full and I could use the extra fiber. I checked my 1 hour PPG - it came in at 136, good numbers by many standards but I’m always shooting for better and it was higher than expected based on the last couple of times I had 65g of black beans.
So I decided to check again to make sure it was an erroneous reading, tested my ring finger on my right hand (previously did the ring finger on my left hand) and it came in at 124. A statistically significant deviation.
I checked my PPG at 2 hours - got 114 on the left hand ring finger and 105 on the right hand ring finger. The good news is that by either hand the beans aren’t giving me a spike and I may try to bump the quantity to 90g.
Not enough data points yet to define the relationship or even to assume the left hand will be higher than the right hand the next time I test. So until I figure this out, my test strip consumption is going to double. I thought in the interest of saving some test strips and finger pokes - has anyone noticed a regular difference between right and left hands and do you make any adjustment to your readings due to that?
I wouldn’t worry about testing on different hands; all meters are reported as allowing a 20 point deviation.
I eat refried black beans every morning but I only eat 1/2 Cup which I consider 15 grams carbs. I’m not sure what you mean when you say 65g - is that a weight or a carb count? I’m assuming it’s a weight - how does that compare to 1/2 Cup. I eat it every morning with eggs scrambled with chiles, tomatoes and onions and a cappuchino - total carbs 23 - I’m usually in target after 2 hours (under 140).
I’m really having trouble understanding what you consider sinister about 114 at 2 hours???
Blood sugar meters aren’t perfect. They can be off by +/- 20%. So by that standard all of your readings were essentially the same each time. Even if you were to check your BG on a finger…and check it again 20 seconds later from the same finger, it will almost always be a different number.
Thank you for the great feedback. Sorry for being unclear, 65g is the serving weight of the black beans - translates to 10g carbs, 3g fiber according to the label. Sinister was just a reference to the left hand being a less positive reading than the right.
Yep, I definitely wouldn’t worry about minor variations like that. Some people have two meters and are constantly comparing them. To me that’s a waste of test strips and energy - unless the difference is really large, variations are normal. Glad you like black beans - as a vegetarian they are definitely a source of protein for me. If you find you eat them regularly you might want to try homemade they are way better! It’s not really hard to make them - the only thing you have to do is soak them overnight the day before. I make them on the weekend for my week’s breakfast. I lived in Guatemala for two years so got very used to having refried black beans.
It looks like you tested left first, then right both times. I wonder if your meter just reads a bit higher for the first of two back to back tests? In other words, if you had tested right first, then left, would your first reading still have been higher? I have had that happen a few times when I tested very high and just want to immediately recheck to confirm the reading, the second reading was a bit lower.
I’ll have to try them refried, right now I’m just cooking them with a little cayenne, cumin, chili powder and onion powder. So mostly there - just have to mash them up and maybe add a bit of yummy lard.
Actually, to refry beans, after you cook them you put them in a blender. You can either put all the beans in the blender if you like it smooth (that’s how I eat them - Guatemalan style) - or part of the beans if you like them with some pieces. Then you blend to a puree. Then you cook a couple whole garlic cloves in some oil or lard till brown and throw them away. Then you add some chopped onion and cook them a bit. Then you add the beans and stir in the pan until they thicken. Traditionally you do add a gob of lard at this point, but I don’t add any beyond the oil I cooked the garlic and onions in.
Sounds tasty, will have to try them smooth and with the onions & garlic. When I was taught to make frijoles, it was basic - we used the garlic & seasoning to cook the beans and then mashed them to the desired consistancy and cooked them again with another dash of lard.
But how do you make sure that the blood you are testing is 50% from one hand and 50% from the other?
You would need to get yourself a pippette to measure exact amounts. The problem here is once blood is exposed to air the glucose levels will fall so you might not get a 100% accurate reading if you spend the time mixing etc. This could also explain why when people test using the same blood sample one right after another the second is usually a bit lower. You add the +/- 20% thing in there and my head starts spinning just trying to tease out all the variables.
