it has been my experience that whenever I eat wheat my BG spikes higher than if I had drank a regular coke or ate a snickers bar. anyone else tested this out? What has your experience been? If wheat is causing our blood sugars to spike crazy high then why does the ADA push it so much!!! Arg!!! I had no idea my body was doing this until I got my Dexcom CGM
hi there, I am no expert but afew things pop up here, are you prebolusing and are you having some fat and protein with your wheat products?? my son definitely spikes after cereal funny how I encourage him to have ice cream for his bed time snack because he seems to do better with that than say lots of carbs without fat or protein. you could also have a gluten sensitivity??
What can I say; 30 years ago I cut sugars and snacks, candies. That was not enough.
Today I have cut grains, rice and starch and very carefully control portion size and that finally helped to knock down the T2 into control. ( and eat to my meter)
In my mind, that unless you are physically exercising hard every day like you are working at the pharaoh's stone work projects moving 2 ton stone blocks by hand, one has to carefully regulate the high energy grains, corn, rice, breads et all or you will have a serious problem!
Yep, the ADA still doesn't get that it isn't about "sugar" alone; it's about carbs. A carb is a carb is a carb.
Does wheat bread make my BG spike higher than if I drank a regular Coke? No, certainly not.
Does wheat bread make my BG go up? Yes - all food makes my BG go up; I'm a T1 diabetic and that's why I take insulin.
I have whole wheat bread every day for lunch. When mixed with protein and fat as a sandwich it is well covered by my mealtime insulin injection and no spike occurs.
Many PWD have discovered that processed carbs, like bread, will have the same effect on their blood sugar as eating table sugar. The second wheat and other grains hit your mouth enzymes (amylase) start to process the carbs before they even make it to the stomach. The stomach makes quick work of the grain carbs and passes then on to the small intestine where they are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.
It is true that adding protein and fat to grains like wheat will slow this process down but if a high percentage of your plate is carbs, like a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce, then it's likely to hit your blood stream well in advance of your matching insulin dose.
Any organization that recommends x% of daily calories from carbs for PWDs is not one I would trust. I believe that the ADA finally recognizes the difficulty PWDs have with carbs and offers low carb eating as one of the viable options for PWDs to choose. They make a big deal out of eating "whole grains" instead of processed ones but I'm still highly skeptical of the final result. They also emphasize that all carbs are not created equally; I agree with that but I consider it a distinction without a material difference for PWDs.
I'm glad that the Dexcom has permitted you to view the effects that wheat has on your metabolism, PumpGirl. Now you can adjust your eating to give you better post-meal BG traces.
I have noticed that most bread-like foods make me spike quicker and higher. Try having some protein and bolusing before you eat based on your number. Here is a little trick I learned from diabetes camp: if your number is in the 100's= wait 10 minutes before you eat, 200's= 20 minutes before you eat, etc.
I tend to look at refined white wheat like a pile of sugar, or cake. In other words, I go light on it.
Most dietitians, I think, would suggest looking for bread with whole wheat as the first ingredient. Some other ideas are to use Dreamfields pastas (which really help me BG-wise and I think taste much better than whole-wheat pasta to boot.)
Some other thoughts: Replace bread with some nice romaine (or whatever kind you like) lettuce for snacking. Whatever you'd put bread on, you can frequently put on lettuce instead. I put things like hummus and cheese on sweet mini peppers I get in the fridge of the produce section (they come in a bag, ready to go).
Not a huge fan of the ADA. Growing up in the 80s as a diabetic with the ADA as pretty much the only source of info, ug, it was not great. What are they recommending about wheat?
So interesting how different we can all be. I am a Type 1 diabetic also. A Coke will take me up to 180 at the max. Yes, I do pre bolus for my food. I usually wait 20-30 mins. For some reason anything with wheat sends me soaring up yo 240-300 about 3 hrs after eating it and it takes all day to get it back down. So strange.
Thanks Jacobs mom. Yes, I am looking into celiac. I had cancer a couple years ago and shortly after treatment I was diagnosed with LADA type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and hashimotos thyroiditis…all autoimmune so celiac wouldn’t be surprising.
Paul, I agree about the ADA. They push whole grains and fruits. For me those thing spell disaster. I have been avoiding most starches since being diagnosed with type 1 just over a year
ago. I just got my Dexcom and was curious to see if all that I’ve researched is true. It is. Grains send me soaring. I pre bolus 30 mins beforehand and spike terribly around hour 3 even when. I mix the grains with protein.
You know, once you figure that out, like pizza or other trigger foods, you can do a square bolus and get it straight. I'm sure your doc (or better yet diabetes educator or local pump expert) can help you with that. If I'm eating something that I know rocks my BG, I up the basal for an hour, and then bolus, which is not quite the same idea but works for me.
I hear you. At a meal, fruit is a replacement for me, not something I'd have along with bread. And, of course, if you need/want to there's always a way to nail that down with some research and extending the bolus.
The ADA does NOT push wheat. They "push" healthy choices. I prefer multi grain when I eat a sandwich but I can bolus for it. I don't compare my foods to coke or snickers, mostly because there is no nutrition in them so I'm sure as beep not going to eat them. ADA bashing is old and tiresome!
Here is what the ADA actually say regarding Grains and Starchy Vegetables: Grains and Starchy Vegetables
There is no end in sight to the debate as to whether grains help you lose weight, or if they promote weight gain. Even more importantly, do they help or hinder blood glucose management?One thing is for sure. If you are going to eat grain foods, pick the ones that are the most nutritious. Choose whole grains. Whole grains are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber.
Reading labels is essential for this food group to make sure you are making the best choices.
Every time you choose to eat a starchy food, make it count! Leave the processed white flour-based products, especially the ones with added sugar, on the shelves or use them only for special occasion treats.
well it really seems like you are in tune to yourself, I would get tested for celiac do you have other symptoms.... or you could really experiment with your insulin if you were going to eat gluten I would suggest increasing the carb ratio significantly and also adding an extension since it tends to hit your 3 hours out.... such a puzzle but you have good tools to work with and a good brain to work the tools best of luck! if you are new to this site it really is great for advise and support. amy
Hi PumpGirl. Modern wheat has been hybridized to the point that it is harder to digest than earlier wheats, such as spelt and kamut. I think it is quite possible that the difficult digestion could affect some people's blood glucose; nevertheless, testing for celiac disease is a good idea. Celiac does a lot more damage than raising one's blood glucose.
I have celiac disease. Once in a while, not often, for a treat I eat baked goods made some of the alternative grains--rice, tapioca, sorghum, etc.--all of which will raise one's BG. Coconut flour is used like a grain and is BG friendly. Good luck.
Thanks Trudy! I've been reading some research from the author of "Wheat Belly"....very interesting stuff there. I also have a close friend who worked for the Federal Government as an Agricultural Engineer. She got out of the field because they were modifying our foods, grains in particular, without really knowing the long term effects. Interesting stuff out there and with the diabetes epidemic plaguing our nation, I'm inclined to think that there is more going on than what we really know. I'll never stop keeping an open mind and educating myself. After all, this is my life and my health. I am responsible for it. :-)
I'm not bashing the ADA. I am bashing the Diabetic Educator of mine who strictly adheres to the ADA's guidelines for giving me advice that is contrary to my bodies' needs despite what I have shown her. When I followed her advice, I continued to have an A1C of 8.5. I am now 5.1 and I attribute that to removing wheat and all other grains that sent my blood sugar soaring from my diet. Diabetes is NOT a one size fits all approach.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the impression the OP is saying a carb is NOT a carb. The post says wheat spikes their BG more than a regular pop, and unless they're being sarcastic, to me it's saying there's a disproportionate rise in BG from wheat compared to the equivalent amount of another type of carbs.
Yeah, that and the difference in the consequences for eating excessive amounts of a sugar like fructose versus glucose, or being lactose intolerant, etc, shows that a carb isn't exactly a carb isn't exactly a carb.