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A simple question to type 1 diabetics

P

Pasha

Expert
Messages
8,558
Location
Middle East
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
When you inject insulin, do you base the amount on carbohydrate count only, or do yo also take into account the amount of protein eaten?.
 
Pasha said:
When you inject insulin, do you base the amount on carbohydrate count only, or do yo also take into account the amount of protein eaten?.
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If it's a balanced meal then carbs only counted. If mainly protein then protein counted.
 
I dose for protein only if I am low carbing and not just if it is a high protein meal. It seems to me that I go low if I dose for protein when I am not low carbing. That makes sense because high insulin inhibits gluconeogenesis (making glucose from protein).
 
Spiker said:
I dose for protein only if I am low carbing and not just if it is a high protein meal. It seems to me that I go low if I dose for protein when I am not low carbing. That makes sense because high insulin inhibits gluconeogenesis (making glucose from protein).
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When you dose for proteins do you calculate based on all the protein or just the 58% of it that presumably undergoes gluconeogenesis?
 
I dose for carbs, protein ( likely to convert by gluconeogenesis) and to an extent, fat, when that meal is higher in fat than I would normally eat . But now I low carb continually , and only know that when I didn't low carb, and didn't bolus for the protein component, the results were unpredictable at best :eek:

Signy
 
Pasha said:
When you dose for proteins do you calculate based on all the protein or just the 58% of it that presumably undergoes gluconeogenesis?
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If 100% of the protein enters gluconeogenesis then it will create 58% of its mass in carbs. So 58% is an absolute maximum.

It varies from individual to individual and based on the exact composition of diet, exercise, muscle demand for protein, etc. My personal "protein ratio" is 1/3, so I dose for carbs = 1/3 of the grams of protein consumed. If I use a higher ratio I go hypo. I use a 2 hour extended bolus for the protein. Before I had a pump I used an after meal Novorapid or Actrapid injection for the protein, vs a pre meal Humalog injection for the carbs.
 
I'm newly diagnosed (4 months) and still in honeymoon period and generally only bolus for carbs, but I have noticed that even when having a zero/low-carb meal I do need 1 unit or so to stay stable, so I keep this in mind when considering my dose
 
coco44 said:
I only inject to cover the carbs. I have never considered the protein eaten :)
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Funny enough neither did i until about 20 years ago when i was trying to sort the blood sugar levels on my old bosses diabetic Jack Russel dog...& baulked at the amount of biscuit & veg that goes into dog food!
 
I think someone who is honeymooning is much less likely to need to dose for protein because their phase 2 insulin response is probably intact and able to handle the load from protein gluconeogenesis.
 
i only do it for carbs at the mo but its a good point. complicates things a bit more. can any one tell me what is the protein to carb ratio?
 
Spencer67 said:
i only do it for carbs at the mo but its a good point. complicates things a bit more. can any one tell me what is the protein to carb ratio?
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I suggest to people who are low carbing that they start with a protein ratio of 1/4, 1 carb g per 4g of protein, and adjust from there by trial and error.
 
Spiker said:
I suggest to people who are low carbing that they start with a protein ratio of 1/4, 1 carb g per 4g of protein, and adjust from there by trial and error.
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So we are saying here that 100g of steak that has 25g protein would convert into approx 6g carb and we should treat it accordingly?
 
Spencer67 said:
So we are saying here that 100g of steak that has 25g protein would convert into approx 6g carb and we should treat it accordingly?
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Exactly. 6g of carbs equivalent as a starting point. Bearing in mind the absolute maximum would be 15g of carbs equivalent.
 
Spencer, 60% of 25 gram protein = 15 grams carb equivalent ie thats the max weight of the protein that can be converted into carbs.

Ie you start at 6 and if need be the maximum will be 15
 
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