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Sugar free redbull

D

Damien

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
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So I have my new Libre sensor and had it for 36hrs.

I had a sugar free Redbull yesterday in the afternoon as I had a day off and done a lot with the kids.

This spiked my bloods a lot.

So this morning I thought I’d have a look at trying it again

With 10 mins. 8 to 13.

Again sugar free Redbull…..

I am better with my Redbull but I’m essentially addicted to it. This will probably mean I can get off it now if it’s going todo this.

I know there some research on artificial sweeteners and insulin resistance due to lots of sugar free drinks (which unfortunately I do drink) cut down now. But still a lot I’d say.
 
Damien said:
So I have my new Libre sensor and had it for 36hrs.

I had a sugar free Redbull yesterday in the afternoon as I had a day off and done a lot with the kids.

This spiked my bloods a lot.

So this morning I thought I’d have a look at trying it again

With 10 mins. 8 to 13.

Again sugar free Redbull…..

I am better with my Redbull but I’m essentially addicted to it. This will probably mean I can get off it now if it’s going todo this.

I know there some research on artificial sweeteners and insulin resistance due to lots of sugar free drinks (which unfortunately I do drink) cut down now. But still a lot I’d say.
Click to expand...
Is it the caffeine that’s sending your blood glucose up, do you think? A couple of cups of strong coffee does that to mine.
 
That's a pretty large rise for a small amount of caffeine.
Did you eat anything in the hour before the red bull? The rise may have been caused by earlier food?

The caffeine may have triggered a liver dump due to cortisol and adrenaline being released due to a stress response, and if you're insulin resistant it could cause a rise.

Were you doing any intense exercise? When I wore a sensor I did find that sometimes I would get a small rise from just standing up or starting a walk (It would then fall back.)

Did you do a finger-prick test? I did find the sensors can sometimes show high levels, especially if it's started to go up quickly. As T2s still produce insulin, the rise may get blunted quickly but due to the nature of the sensors - they are reading from fluid that changes 5-15 minutes after blood - they guess that it's going up. I sometimes used to see a rise up to 10, but it would fall rapidly as my metabolism blunts the spike. (And the sensor would show the high readings as 'outlying' dots on the graph as it had determined, I assume, that it hadn't gone that high.)

Is it different in the afternoon? Insulin resistance is elevated in the morning naturally.

I know all about 'red bull addiction' some years ago, I used to get a can every morning and drink it when I got to work. People said they knew I was in as they heard the can open when I sat down! I stopped it after a few years, and the only time since then I've had one was when a CovID jab gave me a craving for Red Bull and KFC.
 
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Thanks for the replies.

It’s really strange. I hadn’t eaten this morning and was planning on having a slice of brown toast with the redbull but it worried me a fair amount.

Today after the spike. I’ve eaten and drank and it’s been 6-8 with maybe a 9.

I’m thinking caffeine like mentioned and maybe I will prick test next time but it’s put me right off redbull now and that’s probably a good thing to be fair.
 
I get a BG bump from caffeine too (above a certain point). Coffee-shop coffee does it to me, even with minimal milk.

As you say @Damien - cutting back on the Red Bull is probably going to be a good thing long-term anyway!
 
Wonder if this is the same on other diet carbonated drinks like Pepsi Max, anyone one tried it?
 
I do not see a rise drinking Lidl's equivalent of Pepsi Max but I mostly drink it half and half with water.

I wonder if the taurine in Red Bull as well as the caffeine triggers more of a reaction from the liver.

As with everything diabetes related, reactions to different foods and drinks will be individual.
 
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