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2 hours after first bite
- Thread starter millenium
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kaylz91
Well-Known Member
No afraid not, it depends on so many factors, the type of carbs consumed for instance, if its a longer acting carb then the spike may come later for example, also depends on activity levels and many other things xx
If you are eating something "naughty" i.e. high carb.. it could be worth testing every 30 minutes for 4 hours just to monitor what happens... If that sort of thing appeals to you.
We test at 2 hours to give us comparable readings, but different foods, portion sizes and combinations will all digest differently.
For instance, fruit eaten on its own digests very quickly. The peak will probably be be within the first hour, and blood glucose back to normal at 2 hours. This is why people often think that fruit is 'ok' though if they saw the high peak at 45mins, they would realise it isn't.
On the other hand, a high protein or high fat meal like steak and salad will peak much later than 2 hours. Mine usually peak at 2.5 - 3 hours. But they are lovely low gentle peaks, so the delay isn't a problem for those of us who don't need to calculate insulin injections.
And if I have that steak and salad, with a dessert of fruit and cream, then I get a combination of both effects.
Don't worry, you will find out all these things with a bit of comparison testing, and then suddenly it will all make sense.
For instance, fruit eaten on its own digests very quickly. The peak will probably be be within the first hour, and blood glucose back to normal at 2 hours. This is why people often think that fruit is 'ok' though if they saw the high peak at 45mins, they would realise it isn't.
On the other hand, a high protein or high fat meal like steak and salad will peak much later than 2 hours. Mine usually peak at 2.5 - 3 hours. But they are lovely low gentle peaks, so the delay isn't a problem for those of us who don't need to calculate insulin injections.
And if I have that steak and salad, with a dessert of fruit and cream, then I get a combination of both effects.
Don't worry, you will find out all these things with a bit of comparison testing, and then suddenly it will all make sense.
That graph is probably calculated averages taken from a lot of type 2s, a lot of pre-diabetics, and a lot of non-diabetics when they take the glucose tolerance test.
But since that test is 75 g of glucose in water, drunk within 3 minutes, and then the patient sits around doing nothing for 2 hours and while their blood glucose is tracked, it doesn't bear much relation to what happens to people after real food with fat and protein mixed in, while living their real lives. Sad but true.
If you want to see what happens to type 2 diabetics after real food, in real life situations, then have a google for images of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) screens.
Here is a link to start you off. The thing to remember is that everyone reacts slightly differently, even to the same meal eaten at the same time over several days, there will be slight variations in our blood glucose readings.
Think of it more as an art, than a science.
Edited for typo
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=b...pbaAhXJCMAKHWyYAbwQ_AUICigB&biw=1717&bih=1895
Last edited:
Alison Campbell
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That is a oral glucose tolerence test with 75g of glucose liquid and these are standard patterns based on research of hundreds of people not real life eating of meal with multiple ingredients.
Mr_Pot
Well-Known Member
The 2 hour reading is the average time it takes for a non diabetic to get back to their normal BG level. It is the aim of diabetics controlling with diet to emulate non-diabetics although that is an ambitious target and many are satisfied with a rise after 2 hours of less than 2 mmol/L. As others have said different foods and combinations of food peak at different times but the 2 hour test is a good guide. Most of the CGM charts are for type1's and probably not relevant for the prediabetic OP.
millenium
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Just yesterday i have a series of readings that is rather weird. Before lunch 6.1, lunch consists of 1OOg tomato blend, celery, carrot, chicken soup and 50g cooked basmati rice, 125mL unsweeten soy milk with 1O milled flaxseed and 1Og psyllium husk powder.
After two hours, reading is 7.2. Very happy i am.
And after another two and a half hours (4.5 hours after lunch), i took anither reading before dinner time, it read 7.2. I was baffled. I immediately take another reading from the same finger, this time 6.9. It is not far off. So i am sure the bg is around the same as the lunch post two hours reading.
So what has happened? Could the lunch that is high in soluble fibre caused so much delay in gastric emptying or the liver somehow dump some glucose at the point before dinner?
Bluetit1802
Legend
What were you doing in that period between lunch and dinner? Activities play a major part, as do stress, anxiety etc.
Try the meal again, test at half hourly intervals to see if it drops to nearer where you started and then goes up again, and note down what you were doing/feeling.
millenium
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The subject is my early diabete 8O years old father. He was resting on the sofa all the time and maybe got up once to go pee.
Probably need a post 3 hours reading to fill in the puzzle.
Bluetit1802
Legend
That would help, but more intensive testing would be better, if his fingers can stand all the pricking!
Mr_Pot
Well-Known Member
Could be the fibre but does it really matter? If your father is 80 years old with a reasonable HbA1c then trying to understand small variations in BG seems pointless. General trends are more important than specific readings so I wouldn't subject him to more tests than necessary in the interest of a science experiment.
Robbity
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Meals with different combinations/levels of carbs and/or fats may show a rise at different times. In general I find low carbs with normal fat will result at most in a little "hump", sugar will result in high sharpish spike peaking at about an hour and come back down within approx 2 hours. and a fairly lethal combination of high carbs and hign fats will result in larger, longer and possibly later humps.
Example of pure sugar spike, but also shows a fairly normal low carb meal result near end of graph. (hourly intervals)
Example of eating both high levels of fat and carbs - a whole 200g Lindt dark chocolate Easter Bunny last year - approx 80 fat plus same quantity of carbs, in the knowledge that it would probably do me what my mum used to call a power of no good, and definitly not a good combination or something I would in my right mind ever consider doing!
So in this case my highest level came after 2 hour point. Dip may have been due to me not eating him all at once but gradually. (2 hourly intervals; yellow apple indicates pre dining on bunny test) :
Robbity
Example of pure sugar spike, but also shows a fairly normal low carb meal result near end of graph. (hourly intervals)
Example of eating both high levels of fat and carbs - a whole 200g Lindt dark chocolate Easter Bunny last year - approx 80 fat plus same quantity of carbs, in the knowledge that it would probably do me what my mum used to call a power of no good, and definitly not a good combination or something I would in my right mind ever consider doing!
So in this case my highest level came after 2 hour point. Dip may have been due to me not eating him all at once but gradually. (2 hourly intervals; yellow apple indicates pre dining on bunny test) :Robbity
millenium
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Thank you for your advice. His hba1c was 5.8% in july 2017. I am doing more test on him last few weeks to ensure he is still on track. To collect some meaningful data, i did a seven times a day bg measurements, wake up, before and after eating (3 meals), recording his food intake and exercise session for a straight five days. The data has made how much carb and type of carb he can tolerate per meal very clear. I would very much like his bg reading to not go higher than 9.5 at its highest point, post lunch and dinner, for breakfast it has never been a problem. I must admit i am quite interested in testing to know more as i have an australian degree in human nutrition.
lindijanice
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Hey @millenium, I think it is great that you want to help your Dad be the best he can be at 80 with diabetes....but can I ask a favor? Give him some slack in all that testing!! Don't let your intrigue cause him discomfort!! If you are that interested in what is going on, than by all means get a Libre for him and you won't have to poke him so often and get all the data you desire!! Don't mean to sound rude, but, I do think he deserves a gold badge for letting you do all this testing - I don't know many octogenerians who would!! Regards/L
millenium
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Yes. I
Yes i understand. I am considering that option. On the other hand, i am taking less readings now that i have a clearer picture of his conditions. As long as he is eating within the limit, there is no need to take reading for a while. But it is best not to slack just because of a good hbac1. One thing about him is that when i explained to him about why i do this and that, and the significances of certain readings, he understands and is as concern as me. So he deserves an award from me also. Haha.
Yes i understand. I am considering that option. On the other hand, i am taking less readings now that i have a clearer picture of his conditions. As long as he is eating within the limit, there is no need to take reading for a while. But it is best not to slack just because of a good hbac1. One thing about him is that when i explained to him about why i do this and that, and the significances of certain readings, he understands and is as concern as me. So he deserves an award from me also. Haha.
