Before bed foods

[Jimmy2202]

I regularly find myself on about 6 before going bed, so tend to have a slice of toast then inject my background.
I’m in the process of adjusting my insulin amounts as I’m low a lot of the day.
Is a banana a good food to have before bed as I’m sick of toast to be honest?

 

[Deleted member 33972]

I regularly find myself on about 6 before going bed, so tend to have a slice of toast then inject my background.
I’m in the process of adjusting my insulin amounts as I’m low a lot of the day.
Is a banana a good food to have before bed as I’m sick of toast to be honest?

I’m not type 1 but I read cheese before bed on same diabetes websites, might only be for type 2 ,the opposite of what we’ve known for years about cheese and nightmares lol. I’ve just checked this in another website and yes. Low glycemic. One light cheese stick it says. Or handful of nuts, there’s other ideas. Says try water first if it doesnt take the hunger off then there’s other suggestions to prevent hypos If you take insulin or medication which I don‘t . I don't think I’m allowed to mention the website but it’s very reputable.

 

[rebrascora]

I’m not type 1 but I read cheese before bed on one diabetes website, might only be for type 2 ,the opposite of what we’ve known for years about cheese and nightmares lol

You are right, cheese is good for Type 1, on a couple of biscuits or oat cakes if you need to need to lift your levels a bit before bed. Or a digestive biscuit with or without peanut butter.

A banana is quite fast acting and between 15 and 20g carbs per banana depending upon size and ripeness so you might end up a bit high right through the night. Maybe have half a banana with some cream or full fat Greek yoghurt or peanut butter to slow the carbs down a bit.

 

[helli]

@Jimmy2202 what are you trying to achieve with your slice of toast?
If you are trying to raise your blood sugars to a level you are confident you will not hypo during the night, you will need carbs not protein. Cheese is not going to helpful and nuts may be too low carb.
If the toast works, I would make a note of how many carbs are in a slice and look for something with a similar amount of carbs.
@rebrascora raises the point about a banana being fast acting carbs. This is worth considering if you want your levels to rise slowly over the next few hours or raise faster. Personally, I would rather raise my levels faster so I can go to sleep with more confidence.

I would also think about why you are not confident to go to sleep with levels around 6. If you have no “insulin on board” (bolus within the last 4 hours), your basal should hold your levels stable throughout the night and you have a 2mmol/l tolerance if they drop slightly.
If you find you need to be higher than 6 to avoid a hypo, you may benefit from a basal test as your basal dose may be too high if your levels fall when you are not eating, drinking or exercising.

We are all different. So you need to find what works for you and makes you feel comfortable when going to sleep. Higher levels, faster carbs, …

 

[Deleted member 33972]

You are right, cheese is good for Type 1, on a couple of biscuits or oat cakes if you need to need to lift your levels a bit before bed. Or a digestive biscuit with or without peanut butter.

A banana is quite fast acting and between 15 and 20g carbs per banana depending upon size and ripeness so you might end up a bit high right through the night. Maybe have half a banana with some cream or full fat Greek yoghurt or peanut butter to slow the carbs down a bit.

Ty

 

[Deleted member 33972]

@Jimmy2202 what are you trying to achieve with your slice of toast?
If you are trying to raise your blood sugars to a level you are confident you will not hypo during the night, you will need carbs not protein. Cheese is not going to helpful and nuts may be too low carb.
If the toast works, I would make a note of how many carbs are in a slice and look for something with a similar amount of carbs.
@rebrascora raises the point about a banana being fast acting carbs. This is worth considering if you want your levels to rise slowly over the next few hours or raise faster. Personally, I would rather raise my levels faster so I can go to sleep with more confidence.

I would also think about why you are not confident to go to sleep with levels around 6. If you have no “insulin on board” (bolus within the last 4 hours), your basal should hold your levels stable throughout the night and you have a 2mmol/l tolerance if they drop slightly.
If you find you need to be higher than 6 to avoid a hypo, you may benefit from a basal test as your basal dose may be too high if your levels fall when you are not eating, drinking or exercising.

We are all different. So you need to find what works for you and makes you feel comfortable when going to sleep. Higher levels, faster carbs, …

It was the Mayo clinic I quoted from and it’s on other websites a list of foods before going to bed

 

[helli]

It was the Mayo clinic I quoted from and it’s on other websites a list of foods before going to bed

As I mentioned, it depends why you are eating before bed. As the OP mentioned their blood sugar levels, I assumed the question was regarding raising his levels. Cheese and nuts would not achieve this.
However, if you want a snack to stave off hunger pangs and will not affect blood sugars, cheese and nuts would be good.

 

[Jimmy2202]

@Jimmy2202 what are you trying to achieve with your slice of toast?
If you are trying to raise your blood sugars to a level you are confident you will not hypo during the night, you will need carbs not protein. Cheese is not going to helpful and nuts may be too low carb.
If the toast works, I would make a note of how many carbs are in a slice and look for something with a similar amount of carbs.
@rebrascora raises the point about a banana being fast acting carbs. This is worth considering if you want your levels to rise slowly over the next few hours or raise faster. Personally, I would rather raise my levels faster so I can go to sleep with more confidence.

I would also think about why you are not confident to go to sleep with levels around 6. If you have no “insulin on board” (bolus within the last 4 hours), your basal should hold your levels stable throughout the night and you have a 2mmol/l tolerance if they drop slightly.
If you find you need to be higher than 6 to avoid a hypo, you may benefit from a basal test as your basal dose may be too high if your levels fall when you are not eating, drinking or exercising.

We are all different. So you need to find what works for you and makes you feel comfortable when going to sleep. Higher levels, faster carbs, …

Hi.
yes I was told to get my levels at 8 before going to bed…
I have dropped my background by 20% aswell as of last night so I will see how I get on - as for novarapid I find I don’t even need to inject any at the minute, as I’m always on the go.
I’m awaiting a call from my diabetes team to discuss everything

 

[Inka]

Digestive biscuits are good @Jimmy2202 as are oatcakes with peanut butter. You could have a selection of things that work for your blood sugar then kind of rotate them so you don’t get bored.

@jeanettem1 Type 1s sometimes have to eat a bedtime snack to ensure they don’t put themselves at risk of a hypo overnight. These snacks needs carbs in.

 

[Deleted member 33972]

Digestive biscuits are good @Jimmy2202 as are oatcakes with peanut butter. You could have a selection of things that work for your blood sugar then kind of rotate them so you don’t get bored.

@jeanettem1 Type 1s sometimes have to eat a bedtime snack to ensure they don’t put themselves at risk of a hypo overnight. These snacks needs carbs in.

I took my info from the Mayo clinic there’s a list of them. If you read rebrascas post

 

[Kaylz]

I took my info from the Mayo clinic there’s a list of them

Yes which seem to be more aimed at Type 2's not on hypo causing medication, they wouldn't be suitable to bring blood glucose up of those that are insulin dependant which is what people are trying to point out to you

 

[Inka]

I took my info from the Mayo clinic there’s a list of them. If you read rebrascas post

I guess you mean this page?:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/expert-answers/diabetes/faq-20058372

Maybe my post wasn’t clear. Bedtime snacks for people with Type 1 are different. They’re not about fancying a nibble. They’re about making sure you don’t have a hypo during the night. They need to have carbs in to prevent this. That Mayo advice is not aimed at people with Type 1.

 

[helli]

Hi.
yes I was told to get my levels at 8 before going to bed…
I have dropped my background by 20% aswell as of last night so I will see how I get on - as for novarapid I find I don’t even need to inject any at the minute, as I’m always on the go.
I’m awaiting a call from my diabetes team to discuss everything

I wondered if that was the case. If you are comfortable with going to be at 8, there is no problem, especially as that is what your team has advised.
One thought I had which may give you an insight of what is happening to your levels overnight is a Libre. It is worth asking if you can get them on prescription. In the meantime, you can get a pretty good insight by wearing one for a couple of weeks and Abbott are still offering a free trial from their website.

 

[mark king]

Hello @Jimmy2202 I'm type 1 and find over night I will drop by 6 so I'm doing 2 things.
1/ I take a snack if I'm 9 or lower.
2/ I'm tweaking my Basal pump doses through the night so I can reduce /stop my carb need.
However I am finding it difficult to reach a point where I am not requiring any carbs as even after basal tweaking I'm not lifting very much or reducing the 6 drop.
Needs some more thought i think.