Most of the research we do at work involves measuring the blood glucose of non-diabetics age 18-25 prior to, during and following CHO consumption and/or exercise.
One study we did in summer involved feeding participants a popular fast food breakfast including muffins and hash browns (you know who I'm talking about
) and measuring their blood sugar. It was not uncommon to see a starting blood sugar of 3.0-4.5 mmol/L rise to 10.0-13.0 mmol/L following consumption of the breakfast with a swift return to around 5.0 mmol/L within an hour.
It is simply untrue that non-diabetics do not have spikes in blood sugar, they may not be as spectacular but they're there.
Thank you for that info, it is very interesting, and agrees with other info I have seen elsewhere.
But the huge difference between 'normal' and glucose intolerance, is the speed at which the blood glucose returns to around 5mmol/l
From all the reading I have done, 'normal' people start off lower, spike very briefly, and return to normal. The height of their spikes are rarely more than a few minutes, usually around 15 mins
or less, then back to normal within the hour.
In comparison, we diabetics tend not to test until 90 mins or 120 mins (so most of us haven't got a clue how high we spike), and by then, even with medication, we find that our blood glucose is still higher that we started. Some of our tests are still rising at that point. So our peaks are longer, with proportional increases in damage to nerves and blood vessels.
And how many of us actually start off in the 3-4.5 mmol/l range? I certainly don't. So while 'normals' might peak quicker, they have very different insulin responses and other hormonal action.
So the comparison isn't really useful. We would need to do proper comparisons with a cross section of diabetics, with 15 minute timings for both groups (and factor in medication), to see the true picture.