different carb:insulin ratios for different food types?? :S

[kwass91]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyones having a similar problem?
I can eat pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, peas etc under a 1:1 ratio.. even some chocolates and biscuits..
However, if i ever treat myself with something with a fairly high sugar content (note i said treat 😉) i find the 1 unit to 10 grams is no where near suffiecient enough.

Is this a common problem? I thought about it being something to do with the GI of the foods, but there are some that fall into both catagories...

With summer (or lack of summer) coming up i want to be a bit more clued up before having a sneaky ice cream or two!

 

[johnellis]

Hi,

As far as I am aware from the carb counting I have done it should not matter what the meals or snack is as its the total carb content that matters. I have found some foods act more slow and may need a less insulin, this is certainly true of peas and lentils for me. I have learnt that the key is being as accurate as I can with the calculation of carbs.

I know we are all different though so it may be a matter of seeing what works for you. Another tip though is not to test too soon after eating something with a high GI as you may get a high reading but it tends to drop quick again. I got into this bad habit and over corrected then had hypos.

Hope this helps.
J

 

[Northerner]

Hi, the problem is not so much the type of food and carb content, as when they hit your system (glucose peak) and how closely you can match this to the action profile of the insulin you are using. If your food spikes quickly (high GI) then it may peak before your insulin and when your insulin peaks you may then go low, so you need to try and work out when to inject prior to eating certain things. Other foods, particularly fatty foods or very low GI, may miss the insulin peak by releasing their glucose long after the insulin has peaked, and you end up with insufficient circulating insulin and go high, so you might inject after eating or split the insulin into two injections.

Some of this is easier on a pump, but still a lot of trial and error!😱

 

[bex123]

i do have a simmilar thing , but only in the morning , usually i use the 1:10 ratio but when i have coffee with sugar in it in the morning i have to use 2:10 or i get a spike with b.s , my new dsn sugested i use it for breakfast and go back to 1:10 the rest of the time

 

[Snacky]

It is the common myth that if you suffer from diabetes, you have to eat special food that is often very expensive. In reality the diet works for the best if the snacks for diabetics, sugar free desserts and diabetic cookies consists of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, but in right combination.