2 hour BG reading higher than 1 hour?

[christinamdawson]

Hi everyone

I have GDM and have been controlling it through diet and exercise since I was diagnosed.

I have been given targets of below 5.1 for fasting, and below 7.8 one hour after eating.

I was keeping mainly within range except for a couple of readings, so i thought i would test my 2 hour BG to see what it was. I was shocked to find that it had carried on increasing and was higher than the 1 hour one.

does anyone have any idea why this is happening?

I thought the whole point of testing at 1 hour is because that is when blood sugar is meant to be highest after a meal?

Thanks

 

[Grazer]

1 hour is normally when most meals will peak, but it depends on the food. Fats, including those in things like cheese, will slow the peak. This is sometimes known as the "pizza effect". Other foods can peak later as well.

 

[christinamdawson]

Hi Grazer

Thanks for this. as an example, tonight for dinner i had rice with chicken and some salad - is that something that would normally peak later than 1 hour?

 

[Grazer]

I wouldn't have thought so, unless you had something else before or with the meal, such as nuts. It's not an exact science though, different people react in different ways. Try testing at 1 and 2 hours with different food types and keep a careful record. That way you'll get to know how different foods effect you. In general terms, foods with a high glycemic index raise blood sugars quicker. You can check the GI of different foods on various websites. Just google "glycemic index database"

 

[christinamdawson]

Ok, thank you.

 

[jopar]

Hi Grazer

Thanks for this. as an example, tonight for dinner i had rice with chicken and some salad - is that something that would normally peak later than 1 hour?

I'm a T1 diabetic, Rice is a slow absorber, so wouldn't start really impacting on BG until after the 1 hour mark, I would actually check out the 3 hour mark, just to see if between the 2 and 3 hour your BG's start coming back again.. Other foods like this is pasta, and foods high in fat content all slow the absorption down...

 

[Grazer]

Christina, I'm not sure how type 1's on insulin respond to food, but although pasta is quite average GI, rice is high so for a diabetic like you and I on diet only or metformin, you should have expected to have peaked and be on the way back down at 2 hours with rice.

 

[Grazer]

Here's a link to an easy-to-use GI database from the university of Sydney:-
http://www.glycemicindex.com/foodSearch.php