Best energy bars?

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AmandaCockayne

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Hi
I'm a newbie, posting on behalf of my type 1 IT averse partner. He's finding that the energy bars he has when his blood sugar is dropping don't seem to be effective (he has glucose tabs too) - what energy bars do people find are the most effective?
Thanks
 
A cereal bar (is that the same as an energy bar?) will have complex carbs in it so won't raise blood sugar or stop a drop that quickly which is probably why it's not effective.

I've moved away from glucose tabs since joining this forum and favour jelly babies or wine gums. I also used to carry around a bottle of lucozade (500mls) when I was quite active but find them too heavy to carry along with the litre of water I'm also carrying.

The usual approach with a low is 15g of glucose (about 3 jelly babies etc) wait 15 mins and when blood sugar is back in range some complex carbs to maintain levels and avoid another drop.
 
Peely66 said:
A cereal bar (is that the same as an energy bar?) will have complex carbs in it so won't raise blood sugar or stop a drop that quickly which is probably why it's not effective.

I've moved away from glucose tabs since joining this forum and favour jelly babies or wine gums. I also used to carry around a bottle of lucozade (500mls) when I was quite active but find them too heavy to carry along with the litre of water I'm also carrying.

The usual approach with a low is 15g of glucose (about 3 jelly babies etc) wait 15 mins and when blood sugar is back in range some complex carbs to maintain levels and avoid another drop.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply.
 
I have Dextro glucose tablets or a 150ml can of regular sugary branded Coke, then a digestive biscuit or similar. The initial treatment for a hypo needs to be fast-acting, ie glucose. I’m not sure what energy bars are, but Dextro or jelly babies would be better, followed by some longer-acting carbs.

Here’s a guide to hypos:

What is a hypo (hypoglycaemia)?

A hypo is when your blood sugar level, also called blood glucose level, drops too low. This is usually below 4mmol/l. A hypo, also called hypoglycaemia, can happen quickly. So it’s important to always have hypo treatments with you. It's also important to know what the signs are and how to treat...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
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AmandaCockayne said:
Hi
I'm a newbie, posting on behalf of my type 1 IT averse partner. He's finding that the energy bars he has when his blood sugar is dropping don't seem to be effective (he has glucose tabs too) - what energy bars do people find are the most effective?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Hello, welcome. How is your partner measuring the BG levels? I find the sensor is slower to react to rising BGs from a low as opposed to a blood test meter.
 
I have a graded response to my sensor showing my levels dropping and that depends on what my alarm is set at and what my reading is when it goes off. Generally I have my low alarm set at 4.5. If my levels are dropping very fast it might not alarm until I am 4.3 with a vertical downward arrow and generally I find 2 jelly babies (10g carbs) well chewed (glucose will absorb quicker in the mouth than a couple of chews and swallowed) will turn that around before I hit "the red". If it is a downward sloping arrow, it might just need one jelly baby(5g carbs). If it is 4.5 and level, then I might have a piece of dried fruit like an apricot or prune which are about 5g carbs but don't release quite as fast as a jelly baby or perhaps a dried fig or date which are about 7-8g carbs.

If by energy bars you meat like a nut or muesli bar, then those would be too slow to act if my levels were dropping fast and too many carbs if my levels were low and needing a slight top up. Generally they are a minimum of 10g but often quite a bit more, so for me they are a waste of money and would send me too high, but your partner will know from their graph if they work for them.
 
Inka said:
I have Dextro glucose tablets or a 150ml can of regular sugary branded Coke, then a digestive biscuit or similar. The initial treatment for a hypo needs to be fast-acting, ie glucose. I’m not sure what energy bars are, but Dextro or jelly babies would be better, followed by some longer-acting carbs.

Here’s a guide to hypos:

What is a hypo (hypoglycaemia)?

A hypo is when your blood sugar level, also called blood glucose level, drops too low. This is usually below 4mmol/l. A hypo, also called hypoglycaemia, can happen quickly. So it’s important to always have hypo treatments with you. It's also important to know what the signs are and how to treat...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
Click to expand...
Thanks.
 
rebrascora said:
I have a graded response to my sensor showing my levels dropping and that depends on what my alarm is set at and what my reading is when it goes off. Generally I have my low alarm set at 4.5. If my levels are dropping very fast it might not alarm until I am 4.3 with a vertical downward arrow and generally I find 2 jelly babies (10g carbs) well chewed (glucose will absorb quicker in the mouth than a couple of chews and swallowed) will turn that around before I hit "the red". If it is a downward sloping arrow, it might just need one jelly baby(5g carbs). If it is 4.5 and level, then I might have a piece of dried fruit like an apricot or prune which are about 5g carbs but don't release quite as fast as a jelly baby or perhaps a dried fig or date which are about 7-8g carbs.

If by energy bars you meat like a nut or muesli bar, then those would be too slow to act if my levels were dropping fast and too many carbs if my levels were low and needing a slight top up. Generally they are a minimum of 10g but often quite a bit more, so for me they are a waste of money and would send me too high, but your partner will know from their graph if they work for them.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
Satan’s little helper said:
Hello, welcome. How is your partner measuring the BG levels? I find the sensor is slower to react to rising BGs from a low as opposed to a blood test meter.
Click to expand...
Hi thanks he has a Libra sensor which can be very variable.
rebrascora said:
I have a graded response to my sensor showing my levels dropping and that depends on what my alarm is set at and what my reading is when it goes off. Generally I have my low alarm set at 4.5. If my levels are dropping very fast it might not alarm until I am 4.3 with a vertical downward arrow and generally I find 2 jelly babies (10g carbs) well chewed (glucose will absorb quicker in the mouth than a couple of chews and swallowed) will turn that around before I hit "the red". If it is a downward sloping arrow, it might just need one jelly baby(5g carbs). If it is 4.5 and level, then I might have a piece of dried fruit like an apricot or prune which are about 5g carbs but don't release quite as fast as a jelly baby or perhaps a dried fig or date which are about 7-8g carbs.

If by energy bars you meat like a nut or muesli bar, then those would be too slow to act if my levels were dropping fast and too many carbs if my levels were low and needing a slight top up. Generally they are a minimum of 10g but often quite a bit more, so for me they are a waste of money and would send me too high, but your partner will know from their graph if they work for them.
Click to expand...
Thank you
 
Hello @AmandaCockayne and welcome to the forum.

AmandaCockayne said:
Hi
I'm a newbie, posting on behalf of my type 1 IT averse partner. He's finding that the energy bars he has when his blood sugar is dropping don't seem to be effective (he has glucose tabs too) - what energy bars do people find are the most effective?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Could I ask you to tell us a little bit more about your IT averse partner and his diabetes. Such as: how long has he been T1, thus how experienced is he with the oddities of managing T1? Also, how long has he been using CGM? It is a potential game changer in fundamentally improving one's BG management - but there are limitations with Libre 2 (and indeed most CGMs) which, if the user is unaware of these limitations, then the full potential of CGM might not be so helpful.

With a slightly better understanding of your partner's overall experience as a T1, we might be better placed to offer our thoughts and individual experiences on not just what sort of food helps counter a falling BG, but what might help prevent his BG falling in the first place.
 
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