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Bolus for vegetables ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pat91
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Yes of course, if it has carbs in then I weigh and count it. For things like a handful of lettuce or something it wouldn’t add anything to the insulin dose but a side of peas or sweetcorn can easily add a half to whole unit for me, and if it’s a veg based meal the carbs can add up
 
Lucyr said:
Yes of course, if it has carbs in then I weigh and count it. For things like a handful of lettuce or something it wouldn’t add anything to the insulin dose but a side of peas or sweetcorn can easily add a half to whole unit for me, and if it’s a veg based meal the carbs can add up
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Yeah I always have done, was just reading that some people don't so got me thinking. Thanks
 
As with everything else, it depends
- what is your insulin to carb ratio? If it is low, a five to ten Grammies of carbs from a spoonful of peas is not going to make much difference.
- which vegetables? the carbs in most greens is small but the carbs in root vegetables is much more and worth bolusing for.
- how tight is your basal? If using a pump, your basal should closely match your actual requirements at that time of day. If you are using MDI, your basal is more of an approximation: you may have more basal on board than your body needs at that time of day so you have some “spare” to mop up carbs from vegetables.
 
No, I don’t - not for most veg if it’s a side dish. Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, etc I treat as ‘free’ (ignore the small amount of carbs). If I were to only have a green salad plus fish, say, I would bolus for the lettuce because I’d have to count it (and the protein)in the absence of ‘proper’ carbs like rice/pasta/potatoes.

I do bolus for parsnips, butternut squash and the like.

Treating green veg as free has always worked for me. It was what I was taught at diagnosis and I haven’t needed to change that. To my mind, fussing over the tiny amounts of carbs in broccoli when there are a thousand other things that are potentially having an effect is pointless. @Lucyr Not everyone counts veg. I know that most people I chat to at my clinic don’t either.
 
Inka said:
No, I don’t - not for most veg if it’s a side dish. Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, etc I treat as ‘free’ (ignore the small amount of carbs). If I were to only have a green salad plus fish, say, I would bolus for the lettuce because I’d have to count it (and the protein)in the absence of ‘proper’ carbs like rice/pasta/potatoes.

I do bolus for parsnips, butternut squash and the like.

Treating green veg as free has always worked for me. It was what I was taught at diagnosis and I haven’t needed to change that. To my mind, fussing over the tiny amounts of carbs in broccoli when there are a thousand other things that are potentially having an effect is pointless. @Lucyr Not everyone counts veg. I know that most people I chat to at my clinic don’t either.
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I'm starting to think I may not need to either as I find myself frequently going low after dinner, which most of the time is around 20g carbs brocolli,cauliflower and the likes.thanks.
 
Try not bolusing for that veg @Type1Pat and see what happens. It’s never been an issue for me. I still seem to react the same as when I was first diagnosed.

I did find my (very) old diagnosis list a few years ago, but I think I might have ditched it when I moved. It had a simple, but really helpful carb list, including veg you didn’t need to count.
 
Type1Pat said:
I'm starting to think I may not need to either as I find myself frequently going low after dinner, which most of the time is around 20g carbs brocolli,cauliflower and the likes.thanks.
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Cauli and broccoli are about 5% carbs. So for 20g of carbs from them you need to be eating 400g veg which is unusual.
if I was use I would try not bolusing for veg.
 
Inka said:
Try not bolusing for that veg @Type1Pat and see what happens. It’s never been an issue for me. I still seem to react the same as when I was first diagnosed.

I did find my (very) old diagnosis list a few years ago, but I think I might have ditched it when I moved. It had a simple, but really helpful carb list, including veg you didn’t need to count.
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Will try tomorrow and report my findings. Thanks.
 
helli said:
Cauli and broccoli are about 5% carbs. So for 20g of carbs from them you need to be eating 400g veg which is unusual.
if I was use I would try not bolusing for veg.
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Yeah I weigh everything I eat and to be honest 3/4 of my plate is vegetables most of the time. Will try not bolusing for them tomorrow. Thank you.
 
I always bolus for spuds whatever kind they are and however they're cooked - but need a bit more for old spuds mashed than eg steamed teeny new spuds served with a goodly knob of butter. And always parsnips - however I cook em. Love em buttered and also roast. Hardly ever need insulin with 'accompanying other veg', whether they're carrots or something green, whether the greenery is broccoli, cauli, peas, runner beans, or a leafy veg, or courgettes. We never have butternut squash, celeriac, sweet potato (cos we both hate sweet potato and the celeriac we can buy round here must need a bone saw or scalpel to get into it - anyway something a deal sharper than my carving knife or any of our kitchen knives even when expertly sharpened using the trusty steel or on husband's oilstone - but there again frankly I have little strength in my hands and arms, so might be different if I had - cos we both like the taste of celery, which is 98% water anyway!)

All you can do, is see what Veg X and Veg Y or Z, does to your own BG - and proceed accordingly for your own bolus dose - but never feel you absolutely MUST do this or that - cos we really are all different!
 
I don't specifically bolus for them but if I'm on say 45g carbs plus veg then most likely I'll round up to 50g carbs and bolus for that.
If it's something like potatoes, that would be different and I'd allow about 15-20g carbs for that depending on portion size.
 
I tend to tot up the carbs in everything we are eating. I snack on celery whilst I cook, because I like it and there are so few carbs in it.sometimes we just add ‘a bit‘ for the extra veg but always weigh and calculate root veg. As with so many things ‘it depends’
 
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