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Can I take lentils?

Jache

Active Member
Messages
31
Location
Singapore
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Diabetes
I am so confused.

I tried out a recipe for split-pea soup and had it for lunch today. And lo and behold my blood sugar level went up from 4.7 to 8.0 in 2 hours! And I didn't even take a full helping- just the size of a small thermos flask.

I had been reading that beans and lentils are good for diabetics because they are low GI and contain lots of fibre which balances out any effect of the carbs.

Has anyone experienced this?

I'm still kind of hoping it's a one-time thing cos the soup tasted really good.
 
Beans and lentils have too many carbs for me, I can have a very small amount in stews but lentil soup gives me a massive spike. No matter what you read or what advice anyone gives you, we are all different so you have to be guided by your meter.
If it is a meal you really enjoyed you could try it again just in case it was an inaccurate reading. Next time though I would test at 1hr, 2hr and then at regular intervals until I could see the levels coming down, that would show you just how high the spike was. Your 2hr reading of 8·0 could have still been rising.
 
It varies. I can do lentils but not peas. All other beans seem ok for me but I won't eat many without a lot of support from other stuff, especially fats. .So broad beans, butter beans or kidney beans in stew. What else was in your soup?
 
I put a tin of lentils into a big pan of veg soup, about 6 portions, and I'm fine with that. Not sure how I'd be with more than a sixth of a tin in one go though.
 
I put in a cupful of dried split peas. Added celery carrots, garlic, chicken stock and some herbs. I had only 1/3 of the resulting soup today.

I didn't test after the first hour. But when I tested at 3 to 3.5 hours, my blood sugar had dropped to 5.7. I have been testing my blood sugar faithfully for almost 2 months. Sometimes waiting for the result to show up on the meter is nerve wrecking for me. Cos I've had so many "unexpected" results haha.

DeejayR, you mentioned that you wouldn't eat peas and lentils with the support of other things, especially fat. Does fat help to bring blood sugar down? I did read that fibre (e.g. in veggies) will balance out a spike in blood sugar but does fat have that same effect? Also, are you on the LCHF diet? Does it mean that you eat a lot more protein?
 
Sorry I meant "withOUT the support of other things"
 
Fat spreads the load, as I see it, preventing a big spike and even bigger drop afterwards (for some). If I stick to what I know is ok my BS before & after doesn't vary more than 1.5 mmol/l. Alternatively I can eat a nice piece of cake which may indeed contain fat but even more direct sugar and high-carb flour but then I have to exercise quite hard straight away for an hour at least.
Incidentally carrots like all root crops are also no good for me.
 
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