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Egg Increasing My Blood Sugars

Rrar

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
Location
South Wales
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
So I've noticed a pattern emerging... Every time I eat eggs, my sugar levels increase? My sugar level on waking today were 7mmol, tested an hour after eating & they were 12mmol. No carbs eaten, just a cheese & ham omelette. Same thing every time I eat eggs. But any other protein such as chicken, tuna etc, my sugar levels are always fine. Any ideas?
 
Hello Rrar,
I have also noticed the exact same thing.
Also, this was mentioned by another participant during my DAFNE course who said that eggs makes him spike!

I also have a spike from chicken and turkey.
When I called my doctor and asked him about it he came up with a hypothesis and he told me it may not be valid but, it is what he can come up with.

His hypothesis was, that if the chicken (or the eggs) is not free range then, the animals are fed with hormones and antibiotics in order to mature within 40-45 days (for consumption). My doctor's theory is that the hormones and the antibiotics, which exist in the end product, could theoretically affect our blood sugar.

Again, this is not a valid point, it is only his theory.
He told me to try free range and observe if I have the same results. (But, then again, I guess finding a actual "free range" might be someone difficult... I am a bit of consiparcy theorist and don't always believe the product labels...).
 

Thanks for your comment I usually buy free range but like you say, can't guarantee that it is actually fully free range lol. My friend buys eggs from a guy who sells eggs from his own chickens who are actually free range so I could always try these. I'm not a fan of eggs anyway to be honest, I've only recently started eating them due to me trying to limit my carb intake & finding a new alternative for breakfast other than toast or cereal, so I could easily live without them. I just need a new alternative again haha
 
@Rrar @Bluemarine Josephine Many of us find that protein causes blood glucose increases. There are a number of topics on the forum. One of mine is here:http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/how-does-protein-affect-blood-glucose.75156/

Typically it has nothing to do with anything the chicken is fed on! It's not clear why eggs particularly spike people, but there's something about the format of it in eggs.

The other thing to be aware of is that eating it with cheese has a kind of "accelerant" effect. Again this is not something that affects everyone, but it has been observed in T1s. Fats can induce some form of insulin resistance that stops subcutaneous insulin absorption being as effective.

There's a whole load of discussion on this topic.http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/insulin-load-index-most-ketogenic-foods.75704/
 
Thank you Tim! What does that reveal about my doctor?..
 
@Rrar, that is quite a spike, maybe next time you should bolus ahead of your egg breakfast to reduce the postprandial spike.

On MDI I would have to split-dose for a breakfast like a cheese omelette, I'd take half the dose before eating and the rest 2 hours later to cope with the delayed bg spike due to the fat & protein content of the meal.

It's a strange one how the body reacts to low carb meals like eggs as I would need nearly as much insulin for a breakfast of eggs than I do for a breakfast of porridge oats, the difference being 1 unit.
 
Thanks everyone, I'll sometimes have a few slices of cheese as a snack if I'm getting sweet cravings & haven't noticed a spike with cheese by itself but maybe with eggs it's different. Thank you for sharing your links, I'm going to have a read of them all to help me decide what to do. Anyone know of any other low carb high protein alternatives for breakfast?
 
97% meat sausages,field mushrooms and coffee with cream
 
tim2000s said:
The anecdotal feedback from T1s is rather different!
Click to expand...
Don't doubt it one bit. I realize what I posted is hardly what I'd consider any sort of evidence (or even a consideration), but it's the only related link I could find so far.

I'm still at a point where protein gradually effects my blood sugar (we're talking over the course of 2-3 hrs), but as many here know, I'm a "Newbie" to type 1.
 
If you haven't read "Think Like a pancreas", I can highly recommend it. There is a section that explains that when protein is eaten without carbohydrate, the liver begins to convert some dietary protein to glucose causing a spike, with eggs being specifically noted. Meanwhile, if eggs are eaten with carbs, they will seem to have no effect on BG. Hope this helps, Paul
 
I think you have the benefit of having some beta cells left. My theory is that for some reason eggs invoke an immediate glucagon reaction due to easily accessible amino acids, and with beta cells, you are still able to suppress the immediate action of the Glucagon through Amylin and maybe a bit of insulin. Once your beta cells are gone, these two functions don't exist so there's nothing to block the glucagon.

No idea whether that is right though!
 

Always need Insulin for eggs, tried it once without Insulin, I went up to 13 nightmare
 
Rrar said:
Anyone know of any other low carb high protein alternatives for breakfast?
Click to expand...


Don't forego on the eggs, eggs are a powerhouse of nutrition and with some trial & error you will eventually get the bolus dose right.
 
I always bolus for eggs. Normally buy large ones and count each egg as 4g. I don't faff round with splitting doses etc as I'm not mixing with say cheese etc. mine are just plain boiled or poached eggs by themselves and counted as 4g per egg.
 
donnellysdogs said:
I always bolus for eggs. Normally buy large ones and count each egg as 4g. I don't faff round with splitting doses etc as I'm not mixing with say cheese etc. mine are just plain boiled or poached eggs by themselves and counted as 4g per egg.
Click to expand...

I've not read much on protein synthesis but i think this converts into glucose which is facilitated by gluconeogenesis, the liver converts proteins/enzymes etc but if you read into chemistry/biology its highly complex.
 
PseudoBob77 said:
I've not read much on protein synthesis but i think this converts into glucose which is facilitated by gluconeogenesis, the liver converts proteins/enzymes etc but if you read into chemistry/biology its highly complex.
Click to expand...
Yes. It is. Under normal circumstances (if not diabetic) there are two things go on.

As part of the protein processing function, insulin is released to allow muscles to take up protein when it is available in the form of amino acids.

In a non-diabetic, there is also a glucagon response to release glucose from glycogen in order to counter the insulin. There is also amylin and between the three of them, they regulate protein uptake and glucose generation.

In a diabetic, I think you still see the body reacting as though it is releasing insulin when there are readily available amino acids (eggs and whey protein shakes) and countering it with glucagon. That would explain the quick spike that some see.

Gluconeogenesis is typically a much slower process taking 2-4 hours post eating protein (at least in my observations of eating large amounts of protein). In this case it's more a case of converting protein that isn't required for muscle repair to glucose and storing as either glycogen, using it as fuel or potentially converting it to fat.

It can make insulin dosing quite difficult and is usually a case of trial and error.
 
Good concise overview, i didn't get to find out in the medical journals about the process time of gluconeogenesis. I had been mainly interested in the cortisol awakening response function of the pituitary gland as that also facilitates gluconeogenesis causing morning highs.

Interesting that you elaborated on protein synthesis and its function/role in glycogen release, you explained in good depth.
 
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