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Can Protein mess up your levels?

J

joelcam

Well-Known Member
Messages
167
Hi all,

Hope you are well.

I had lots of chicken for tea the other night, with my usual amount of carbs and novorapid..

2 hrs later I was over 10 and am normally back well under 7. The only thing I did differently was eat lots of chicken as I had been training and was real hungry....can the fact that I had so much protein based food stop my insulin working as well as normal?

JC
 
Hi,

If you are on a low-carb diet then protein will be converted into glucose at a slow rate via gluconeogenesis. The figure that often gets quoted is that 10 grams of protein will produce about 6 grams of glucose.

If you are not (low-carb) ketogenic then my understanding is that this won't happen. Possibly your elevated blood sugar was a response to the exercise; which counter intuitively can raise blood sugars rather than lower as your liver kicks in to provide energy.

Dillinger
 
I have experimented with carb/protein content in my meals, after going to the gym. Quite often, when I've had a high protein meal my levels will stay up around 7-8 all afternoon into the evening - I've guessed this was due to the protein being turned into glucose slowly.

Not unusual in my opinion.

Sam.
 
Thanks for the replys...makes sense...I better google that long weird word so I understand the process! :roll:
 
I doubt that you are giving enough information about this for anyone to answer - certainly for me high protein low carb meals have never had the effect of raising my levels - however it depends on a lot of factors - significant information would include
what your normal average levels are
the type of medication you are on insulin/tablet
how strictly you are following low carb diet
what your high protein meals consist of.
In fact an example of a day's diet might help as you may be consuming something earlier in the day that is slowly turning to sugar.

I am also not an expert on the effects of strenuous exercise :oops: (though i am starting a swimming course next week :lol: ) but the combination of exercise and low carb dieting causing increased sugar levels sounds a little unlikely to me but maybe other experts can tell you more

I doubt I shall be able to answer your question but I am sure with a bit more information others will have ideas
 
Hi JC, I don't (personally) think that extra chicken would cause a boost on your BG but exercise definitely could! I once went out running (not very far :P ) and on my return, snacked on some chicken as dinner was ages away :lol: an hour later, BG were low teens and they had been 6ish before the run and I hadn't taken any carbs for the exercise as I wasn't going far - weird and wonderful world of Type 1 and insulin! :lol:
 
Protein taken by itself will definitely up your glucose levels. If I have two scoops of protein powder when I get up (about 35 grams), in water rather than milk, I will still need to inject two units of novorapid to keep my levels ... um, level.

It's worth noting that the body can only absorb a certain amount of protein at any given time. Any protein in addition to that will simply be turned into blood glucose and then fat.
 
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