can 2 slices really do this?

Andy, bread can easily have this effect. Surprising I know but I am the same. I can pretty much eat most things but bread causes huge spikes for me. Your numbers are actually not too bad, lesson learned I guess !

I've been reading about low carb diets increasing insulin resistance. I'm no expert but I've noticed that cutting carbs initially reduces my BG and then the following week my BG levels jump up a bit. My response initially was to cut carbs but then the same thing happened again. I haven't tested for ketosis so I can't say whether or not I'm in ketosis. However, there is information available on the internet that explains how ketogenesis increases insulin resistance, referred to as 'physiological insulin resistance' by some. I'll leave it to you to research and decide how much significance this holds for you.

All I can say is that my carb intake has been very low recently but my fasting and pre prandials have gone up a bit. Not hugely, but there was a small and seemingly overnight jump. My bedtime readings have also gone up, sometimes slightly higher than my 2 hours. This evening, I had a snack of 2 plain Finn Crisp original rye with nothing else, not what I'd normally do as I don't snack but I was hungry and I thought I'd treat it as an experiment. I started off at 5.1. At 1 hour I was 5.6 and expected it it to be falling at 2 hours, but when I tested I was 6.1. I'll see what I am at 3 hours if I'm still awake.

There may be explanations for why I'm higher at 2 hours, low GI carb, slower release of glucose; failure of first phase insulin response; diurnal variations, perhaps. I have made a decision to increase my carb intake slightly to see if it makes any difference. Not drastically but just a bit. I have no idea what is going on but some people have reported the same on low carbs—overall rise in baseline BG, the later than expected peak in BG after eating and staying at a higher level for longer.

Of course, some people have great results on low carb and I'm not here to say this or that is bad, just that perhaps one approach might not suit everyone's physiology.


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Two hours is not a peak in the sense you mean it. Foods of different glycemic index peak differently. A low GI means that they will cause a lower rise which could last longer than other foods. The reason we are advised to test at the two hour mark is because NICE said that we should be below 8.5 then. It also gives us a standard enabling us to compare our figures with those of others. Not intended to indicate when the sugar peaks.

Yes, bread is a hazard for most of us but it takes a bit of believing. In my case it doesn't matter what colour or name it has. If it has flour in it then it's not good for me.

Its worth mentioning that wholemeal bread is no better than white bread as far as bg levels are concerned it simply has a little more fibre but is no better on the Glycemic Index (GI).

The breads that are better on the GI are wholegrain and multigrain breads, it is because the whole GRAINS are dificult for us to break down that makes it slower to digest so kinder on bg levels. Burgen soya and linseed is another bread that is kinder for most in the bG stakes.

And as janeecee has said low carbing is often claimed to make you more sensitive to carbs which seems a little self defeating to me for obvious reasons.

I understand the difference between foods of lower Gi and higher GI, and the slower release of carbohydrates from low GI carbs, but what I have observed is that within the space of about a week after reducing carbs the same food regardless of GI results in a later and longer peak. Last night's 2x Finn Crisps still gave me 6.1 at 3 hours, the same as at 2 hours, which I found a bit odd considering I had no fat or protein with them, nothing at all. I'm cautiously increasing my carb consumption in the hope that I will undo any insulin resistance that may have resulted from ketosis. I could be wrong in which case the numbers will show me.





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Andy,

Why don't you experiment again.
Use a seeded loaf, add cheese/egg/ mackerel pate to the toast and a side salad or some vegetables. You will now be eating all the food groups in one meal.
A lot of people say they cannot eat fruits but then find if they add them as a dessert then the overall G.I. of the meal is lower and they can tolerate them.

I an not a low carber but do notice that people who low carb report that their weight seems to stall and their blood sugar goes up when they try carbs on their own.

It is easy to take a salad to work. Just put it in a tupperware container and take a fork with you. Even if you do not have a fridge it will be alright for that day provided you do not leave it near a heat source.

Bread does that to me too. Except Burgen Soya and Linseed. where I can manage 1 slice without problems. Go to their website, you should be able to get a voucher towards the price of a loaf.
Hana

Andy12345 said:

could it really be that 2 slices of brown bread could have such an effect on my bg?

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That's quite normal for white bread and most brown bread is white bread with colouring, often molasses. Wholemeal bread has no legal definition in the UK. It is a requirement that flour can only be described as wholemeal only if it contains the product of the whole grain but wholemeal bread doesn't have to contain 100% wholemeal flour. In fact, Waitrose's wholemeal bread only contains 6% wholegrain according to this article:

A Wholegrain of Truth? http://www.sustainweb.org/news/feb13_re ... rain_truth

In addition, when you buy some so called artisan loaves, they add things like molasses because it sounds better than adding sugar and it adds colour and flavour, but it is a by product of sugar cane. Moreover, many bakers use molasses in loaves they describe, accurately, as wholemeal, but it's still like having a sugar coated wholegrain sandwich. Proper bread takes time to rise and time is money but, bung in a bit of extra yeast and some sugar and hey presto, it rises quickly. The bread is as bad for you as all that really cheaply home brewed beer in the 1970s, all yeast fermented sugar water. Things take time and everyone seems too keen to cut the time element out of the process.

I think there's certainly some problems with bread even for non-diabetics. And I just love bread!

For me, giving up wheat leads to improved alertness and less sluggishness. When I slip back to eaing wheat (and it's in loads of ready made stuff) I soon feel tireder.

As a treat, I occasionally have a slice of Bjorg 3 cereals wholemeal toast with fish paté.

janewatt said:

As a treat, I occasionally have a slice of Bjorg 3 cereals wholemeal toast with fish paté.

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I have something similar but use ryvita thins or lidl's sesame rye crispbread with sardine paste. Nice crunch, light and very tasty. I had to start eating crispbread when I could no longer eat toast and marmelade. I missed the crunch.

I have an almost morbid fear of having high blood glucose levels, so am never tempted by foods that I know would send my bg off the scale.
I never forget Good Friday 2009, I felt so smug, such contiuously good HB1ac results, I had a hot cross bun with lots of butter, bg before was 5.1, 2 hours after 13.7, I stayed high all day, despite drinking copious amounts of water and cycling for an hour.
NEVER AGAIN for me.

catherinecherub said:

I an not a low carber but do notice that people who low carb report that their weight seems to stall and their blood sugar goes up when they try carbs on their own.
.

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I've been low carb for over three years and not had those problems.