After years (decades) with type-1, I shouldn't have to ask, but here goes.
For at least ten years, I went about my daily life with my testing kit and insulin pens in a reused sunglasses bag (very tough and long-lasting), with the tightening cord wrapped around the neck of a 500ml bottle of full-sugar Coke. It seems to work okay when I need it.
Much more recently, I had a scare over raised liver-fat, and began to understand the nature of the different sugars I have relied upon to raise my level when I dip.
I was shocked to realise that half the sugars in every drink I used to raise my blood sugar, either to pre-empt or to lift myself out of a hypo, will have been fructose, the last thing any of us ought to force our livers to process.
I admit, my knowledge of biology and physiology is minimal, but here goes...
As I understand it, fructose, or fruit sugar (misleading because fructose is heavy in many foods that aren't fruit) can only be processed by the liver - so when you drink orange juice, (and half the sugars in Coke and other soft drinks are also fructose) you are obliging your liver to convert those fruit sugars into a storable form - which it does, as fats, local to the liver itself...hence raised liver fat.
Fructose is seemingly everywhere, but it is particularly unfortunate that I've been relying on Coke, heavy in fructose, to hoist me out of dips in blood glucose. Ordinary caster or granulated sugar is no better - it is one-half fructose - so it's no good mixing up table sugar as a fast cure for low blood glucose - yes, it will work, but it's always a burden on the overburdened liver.
I think I need a pure-glucose-based drink instead. Glucose powder (or dextrose powder - is there a difference?) is available, but not in obvious retailers like Sainsbury, which surprised me.
Do I just order a half-kilo sack of pure glucose powder online, and start mixing spoonfuls into water, in my emptied 375ml plastic Coke bottle, as a portable cure?
How long does the mix stay in good condition?
Thanks for reading!
For at least ten years, I went about my daily life with my testing kit and insulin pens in a reused sunglasses bag (very tough and long-lasting), with the tightening cord wrapped around the neck of a 500ml bottle of full-sugar Coke. It seems to work okay when I need it.
Much more recently, I had a scare over raised liver-fat, and began to understand the nature of the different sugars I have relied upon to raise my level when I dip.
I was shocked to realise that half the sugars in every drink I used to raise my blood sugar, either to pre-empt or to lift myself out of a hypo, will have been fructose, the last thing any of us ought to force our livers to process.
I admit, my knowledge of biology and physiology is minimal, but here goes...
As I understand it, fructose, or fruit sugar (misleading because fructose is heavy in many foods that aren't fruit) can only be processed by the liver - so when you drink orange juice, (and half the sugars in Coke and other soft drinks are also fructose) you are obliging your liver to convert those fruit sugars into a storable form - which it does, as fats, local to the liver itself...hence raised liver fat.
Fructose is seemingly everywhere, but it is particularly unfortunate that I've been relying on Coke, heavy in fructose, to hoist me out of dips in blood glucose. Ordinary caster or granulated sugar is no better - it is one-half fructose - so it's no good mixing up table sugar as a fast cure for low blood glucose - yes, it will work, but it's always a burden on the overburdened liver.
I think I need a pure-glucose-based drink instead. Glucose powder (or dextrose powder - is there a difference?) is available, but not in obvious retailers like Sainsbury, which surprised me.
Do I just order a half-kilo sack of pure glucose powder online, and start mixing spoonfuls into water, in my emptied 375ml plastic Coke bottle, as a portable cure?
How long does the mix stay in good condition?
Thanks for reading!
