Hi, I'm type 1 (pump and freestyle user) but have now had 3 instances of extremely high (18-19) spikes of high blood sugars. Pretty sure is a reaction to Maltodextrin, seems to be in many processed foods. Anyone else noticed this or is it an individual response. I realise it is a higher GI than sucrose but the affect seems out of proportion to the amount consumed.
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Maltodextrin
- Thread starter Dickyboy
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Welcome to the forum @Dickyboy
What is the maltodextrin in? Are you able to try a homemade version with no maltodextrin in as a comparison?
Its not something I’ve heard of, and we don‘t eat much processed stuff generally (though I’m sure I have eaten it at some point).
Either way if you are getting spikes that are that dramatic, it seems worth avoiding whatever it is!
What is the maltodextrin in? Are you able to try a homemade version with no maltodextrin in as a comparison?
Its not something I’ve heard of, and we don‘t eat much processed stuff generally (though I’m sure I have eaten it at some point).
Either way if you are getting spikes that are that dramatic, it seems worth avoiding whatever it is!
Lanny
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- Type 2
Hi @Dickyboy 🙂
I don’t think I’m familiar with Maltoddextrin or have had it but, I would agree with the other posters if it’s having that big an effect on you then, avoid it!
I’ve been a type 2 for 19 years now, first 11 years on blood sugar lowering tablets & then moved onto insulin. To start with I used a lot of Canderal/Aspartame sweetners both in tea & in other sugar free type products & later moved onto Splenda when it first came out. What I found with artificial sweeteners was that over the years I steadily put on more & more weight, was 13 & 3 quarters stones at one point! I believe that the theory had already been circulated around by the time I found out about when my GP practice posted it on their FB page, that AS confuse the brain so, you end up eating more & more: theory being the brain expects a certain amount of calories from how sweet things taste; AS not only have virtually no calories but, they often taste much sweeter than sugar does so, the brain expects more calories & goes into panic mode when the calories are missing! So, it sends signals to you that make you eat more! I read that & a lightbulb lit up in my head, “Ahah!” I then, went cold turkey & cut all AS & anything with AS in them out of my diet back in June 2017 & used honey in my tea & had a little bit of foods with real sugar in it, you know the naughty stuff like cakes & desserts etc. I’m sure I don’t need to expand on THAT, & slowly over time, SO slowly that I didn’t notice, I stopped eating over 4500 calories/day to about 1800 calories/day by end of Jan/start of Feb. 2018. That was when I started having a series of hypos, 10 in a week, & had to reduce all my insulin doses: cut my doses by more than a half & I had started, again unnoticed by me, to lose weight steadily, 1 or 2 kilos a week. That was when I sat down & REALLY thought about what I used to eat when AS was on board versus what I ate then without AS at all: I’d stopped eating so much high calorie, rich, fatty, carby foods & ate a lot more vegetables & a bit more protein; was never a fan of fruit & that still didn’t change! It didn’t happen overnight & I only noticed when the hypos hit me smack bang in the head so, I HAD to take notice & think about it!
I have since avoided all sweeteners, don’t even quite trust the new fangled so called natural sweeteners that are more prevalent now thanks to the sugar tax! That dratted Sugar tax has actually made it more difficult as things that never used to have sweeteners in now do, like fruit juice, & I have to be even more careful about reading the labels!
I don’t think I’m familiar with Maltoddextrin or have had it but, I would agree with the other posters if it’s having that big an effect on you then, avoid it!
I’ve been a type 2 for 19 years now, first 11 years on blood sugar lowering tablets & then moved onto insulin. To start with I used a lot of Canderal/Aspartame sweetners both in tea & in other sugar free type products & later moved onto Splenda when it first came out. What I found with artificial sweeteners was that over the years I steadily put on more & more weight, was 13 & 3 quarters stones at one point! I believe that the theory had already been circulated around by the time I found out about when my GP practice posted it on their FB page, that AS confuse the brain so, you end up eating more & more: theory being the brain expects a certain amount of calories from how sweet things taste; AS not only have virtually no calories but, they often taste much sweeter than sugar does so, the brain expects more calories & goes into panic mode when the calories are missing! So, it sends signals to you that make you eat more! I read that & a lightbulb lit up in my head, “Ahah!” I then, went cold turkey & cut all AS & anything with AS in them out of my diet back in June 2017 & used honey in my tea & had a little bit of foods with real sugar in it, you know the naughty stuff like cakes & desserts etc. I’m sure I don’t need to expand on THAT, & slowly over time, SO slowly that I didn’t notice, I stopped eating over 4500 calories/day to about 1800 calories/day by end of Jan/start of Feb. 2018. That was when I started having a series of hypos, 10 in a week, & had to reduce all my insulin doses: cut my doses by more than a half & I had started, again unnoticed by me, to lose weight steadily, 1 or 2 kilos a week. That was when I sat down & REALLY thought about what I used to eat when AS was on board versus what I ate then without AS at all: I’d stopped eating so much high calorie, rich, fatty, carby foods & ate a lot more vegetables & a bit more protein; was never a fan of fruit & that still didn’t change! It didn’t happen overnight & I only noticed when the hypos hit me smack bang in the head so, I HAD to take notice & think about it!
I have since avoided all sweeteners, don’t even quite trust the new fangled so called natural sweeteners that are more prevalent now thanks to the sugar tax! That dratted Sugar tax has actually made it more difficult as things that never used to have sweeteners in now do, like fruit juice, & I have to be even more careful about reading the labels!
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Just went and read a few packets - it's in normal ('beef') Bisto and an odd (Thai sweet & spicy) cup-a-soup.
As an occasional low carb baker, looking at the recipes posted by other diabetics rather than generally, most who I'd trust warn folk that you need far far less AS to achieve the same amount of sweetness as you'd expect from same thing made using normal sugar. Then again, over the years (and I think it's common to at least T1s not just me) I can no longer stand anywhere near the amount of sweetness I used to be able to enjoy.
As an occasional low carb baker, looking at the recipes posted by other diabetics rather than generally, most who I'd trust warn folk that you need far far less AS to achieve the same amount of sweetness as you'd expect from same thing made using normal sugar. Then again, over the years (and I think it's common to at least T1s not just me) I can no longer stand anywhere near the amount of sweetness I used to be able to enjoy.
Thanks all, we aren't keen on processed foods, the first that caught me was an Ainsley Harriot instant soup (nice on a winter's day), we tried a different variety from our usual which caused the first large and unexpected spike, we usually look on labels, it is used widely, gravy granules, soups etc. The last was a steak pie from a farm shop, I imagined the farmers wife lovingly making them in her kitchen, the truth was an industrial process with all sorts of stuff in the pie, including Maltodextrin. Anyway keep an eye out and any unexpected spikes could be worth investigating with an eye on the stuff.
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