How many carbs is too many?

[Kalobe]

It seems to me that all the diabetes official groups are still pushing carbohydrate as a good thing for diabetics! Please can we get someone on our side to keep our blood sugar normal. How much carbohydrate is ACTUALLY needed?

 

[Jaylee]

It seems to me that all the diabetes official groups are still pushing carbohydrate as a good thing for diabetics! Please can we get someone on our side to keep our blood sugar normal. How much carbohydrate is ACTUALLY needed?

Hi,

I believe you were diagnosed around the same year as me..? From my angle back in the day there was a set dose & if i went low at certain times, I was told to up the carb intake. Or snack. Waking low at night? Snack before bed..

By the same token, there seemed to be the misconception exogenous insulin only works when carbs are consumed.
Crazily, when I was first put on MDI, the basal was recomended twice the dose I actually needed & I was still required to "snack."

To be fair, successful insulin use isn't only about the diet one balances it with. That's easier said than done.
I did a stint working nights in a warehouse last month & found my basal needed lowering by 22% yet I still needed to drop the odd 5g to keep me in the "zone."

I feel the only one qualified to take a stab at keeping my BGs normal is me.. Which at the end of the day, is what it's all about.

I'm not going to stick my neck out & say what's too much for you. But I can funtion happily on 80gs tops.

 

[Robbity]

From a T2 point of view.:

Apparently, we don't actually need any. However our brains DO need a small amount of glucose (130g) which can be generated by our livers, and it seems that somewhere along the line that this has become translated to a minimum requirement for carbs to be converted to this essential brain fodder.

But either carbs or fats can be used as fuel for energy, and of the two, fats are the better bet as they provide more sustainable energy and won't raise glucose levels.

 

[In Response]

If you ask 100 scientists, I am sure you will get 100 different answers.
Maybe that is because we are all different or maybe that is because they are measuring something different.

But I don't think you are going to get a conclusive answer to that question very soon.

 

[Daibell]

In theory you don't need any as long as you eat some fats and proteins for the liver to derive glucose. Personally I would suggest a 150gm limit but we are all different. Yes, ignore any advice that you must eat some carbs and put it into context with the rest of your diet

 

[LaoDan]

Too many? Maybe more than your muscles, body can immediately absorb. Maybe when your body starts to convert it to fat. This would depend on activity levels and meal timing,

 

[Ushthetaff]

Cabs are definitely individual to the individual. When I was first diagnosed it was only carbs that were adjusted in the diet , I think I’m right in saying they started me of on 2400 Cals which translated to 24 portions or 240 g of carbs , I was always starving I was only 17 at the time and had an appetite of a hippo eating an elephant, luckily I don’t put weight on so I guess if I did put on weight it would be an indicator that maybe I was eating too many carbs , However these days with insulin management the way it is I very rarely eat the same amount on consecutive days , personally I eat what I want when I want and adjust insulin to suit, I try to balance meals if I can carb, fat protein etc, but that’s just me as I said it’s very much a personal thing , which like diabetes , is experience and experimentation ,