tea with milk & late night snack

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Pookie

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I don't understand why a cup of rooibos (no caffeine) tea with a dash of milk makes my BG so high while yoghurt/cheese doesn't. Is that something all diabetics experience? And if it boosts BG so much should I avoid milk? I have been drinking a cup of milk with a snack last thing before sleep but not testing again until the morning. Should I stop that? Is it an indicator for anything else dietary-wise? I need a late night snack as that seems to be the only way to avoid a migraine in the morning - my body just doesn't like going long without food - is anybody else out there in the same boat? If so, what snack do you have before sleep?
 
Depending upon the type of milk, it is often about 5g carbs per 100g, so a glass of milk could easily be 300g or mls which would be about 15g carbs in the form of lactose which is an easily digestible sugar. A spot of milk in your Rooibos tea is unlikely to be more than a couple of grams of carbs so will not produce any significant rise in BG but if you have the glass of milk around the same time that definitely could be the the cause of your rise in levels or it could be a delayed release of glucose from your earlier evening meal.
 
rebrascora said:
Depending upon the type of milk, it is often about 5g carbs per 100g, so a glass of milk could easily be 300g or mls which would be about 15g carbs in the form of lactose which is an easily digestible sugar. A spot of milk in your Rooibos tea is unlikely to be more than a couple of grams of carbs so will not produce any significant rise in BG but if you have the glass of milk around the same time that definitely could be the the cause of your rise in levels or it could be a delayed release of glucose from your earlier evening meal.
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Thank you for replying! It was just a cup of tea mid-afternoon and it sent my BG up to 10.2 from 8.2 (post lunch). Would you infer from that that I am v sensitive to milk and should avoid it where possible? It was full-fat milk. Maybe I'd better have a glass of water with my late night snack instead. So disappointing as I love milk! I thought it was a good idea as it is more filling... As someone said earlier, this diabetes lark is very confusing...
 
A cup of tea mid afternoon with a splash of milk that contains less than 2g carbs will not be raising your BG levels by 2mmols unless you were lactose intolerant and it irritated your body to the point that your liver responded with a glucose dump, but if you can comfortably drink a glass of milk with no gastric after effects then you are most likely not lactose intolerant and the cause of your rise from 8.2-10.2 is almost certainly something other than the milk. Possibly one of the other 41 factors which impact BG levels. Stress could certainly do it.
Is this a regular occurrence after a cup of tea in the afternoon? What did you have for lunch and what time did you have it?
 
I have my Rooibos(Redbush)with milk(Semi-skinned goats milk)and my BG level never spikes...so it must be the milk you're using.
 
I’d be very surprised if it was connected to the afternoon (caffeine-free) cuppa @Pookie. There simply aren’t enough carbs available in a splash of full fat cow’s milk.

Some times BG does just wobble up or down a little.

Could it be a late rise from your lunch? Or something else non-food-related?
 
rebrascora said:
A cup of tea mid afternoon with a splash of milk that contains less than 2g carbs will not be raising your BG levels by 2mmols unless you were lactose intolerant and it irritated your body to the point that your liver responded with a glucose dump, but if you can comfortably drink a glass of milk with no gastric after effects then you are most likely not lactose intolerant and the cause of your rise from 8.2-10.2 is almost certainly something other than the milk. Possibly one of the other 41 factors which impact BG levels. Stress could certainly do it.
Is this a regular occurrence after a cup of tea in the afternoon? What did you have for lunch and what time did you have it?
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Yes, every time I have an afternoon cup of tea it roars up! But also yes I am quite stressed/anxious and I had no idea that could raise my BG. And some things that I would expect to raise my BG don't seem to - like dark chocolate and some snack bars!
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I’d be very surprised if it was connected to the afternoon (caffeine-free) cuppa @Pookie. There simply aren’t enough carbs available in a splash of full fat cow’s milk.

Some times BG does just wobble up or down a little.

Could it be a late rise from your lunch? Or something else non-food-related?
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Thanks for your reply. What is there that is non-food related that pushes the BG up - apart, I now know, from stress? I am on various medications -beta blockers and PARP inhibitors. Could they push it up? I am underweight and need to snack sometimes but cheese/bacon don't raise my BG as much as a cup of tea! I can't find the logic in the situation!
ps sorry I haven't seen your reply til now, for some reason I don't get alerts anymore....
 
Hey! It's interesting that rooibos with milk raises your blood sugar while yogurt or cheese doesn't have the same effect. Every body reacts differently, but milk might influence glucose levels due to lactose. It might be worth trying without milk or with less.If you're experiencing migraines, it's understandable that you need a late-night snack. Maybe try nuts or a small piece of dark chocolate as better options.It's important to monitor what works for you and adjust your diet to meet your needs! 🙂
 
Ala125 said:
Hey! It's interesting that rooibos with milk raises your blood sugar while yogurt or cheese doesn't have the same effect. Every body reacts differently, but milk might influence glucose levels due to lactose. It might be worth trying without milk or with less.If you're experiencing migraines, it's understandable that you need a late-night snack. Maybe try nuts or a small piece of dark chocolate as better options.It's important to monitor what works for you and adjust your diet to meet your needs! 🙂
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I'll try nuts. My BG is always a little high in the morning, even before the late night snacks...
 
Pookie said:
I'll try nuts. My BG is always a little high in the morning, even before the late night snacks...
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Morning readings can remain higher than daytime reading for some people, it all depends on how high you mean.

What time do you eat your evening meal as it may be that by having a filling meal then you would not need a snack later in the evening as you are having extra carbs that perhaps you don't really need.
Although they are only 12g carbs per 50g bar that is quite a large bar so you could try just half to see if that helps.
 
At about 2am its generally around 9.4 mmol and is about 8 at 8am breakfast time.
Pre-supper its normally around 6.5. Eating at 8pm.
I have to take some pills 2 hours later at 10pm and leave a gap pre and post those, so snack at around 10.30pm. The snack is not because Im hungry but to try and stop the early morning migraine. That tactic worked for 17 days but sadly the migraines came back 3 days ago when I started the new pills. Dammit!

Before having chemo everything was perfectly controlled with just diet and metformin so I was trying to get back to that.

Now I'm trying to again control the diabetes with the Libre and metformin and careful eating. I have noticed that the BG levels are very slowly moving upwards so I guess sooner or later I will be back on the Abasaglar insulin. Since cancer this year I'm under the care of Salisbury hospital and the diabetes prof there says I have slow onset adult diabetes which I think may be T1 in which case insulin at some stage is to be expected? I'm having blood tests next week to confirm that.

Prob too much information, but all advice so much appreciated!
 
It took a while between ending chemo and it's effects fully dissipating. I don't remember exactly how long, but I think 8+ weeks.
 
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