Experiments with Continuous Glucose Monitor

[nabilla]

Hi,
I'm prediabetic (only just-HBA1c 42) and am following a lowish carb Mediterranean (and Indian!) diet. I've been using a BGM to try and find what spikes me. So far, it seems to be wheat, even if it's wholewheat and even in small amounts. I've not tested any other higher carb foods yet (not eating any rice, bread, pasta, potatoes), but seem to tolerate jumbo oats in small quantities.
I'm going to try the free trial of the libre 2 CGM for two weeks. In the past, I used the FODMAP diet to systematically cut food out from my diet then reintroduce in a controlled way (unrelated to prediabetes). This cured my IBS symptoms and allowed me to have most foods, but only if I watched potion sizes. For example, a bit of milk in my coffee is fine, but I've ditched lattes and I know what happens if I have a hot chocolate from time to time. Weirdly, I've started eating a lot of full fat greek yoghurt recently and it doesn't cause any issues. Anyway...
I'm wondering if there's a systematic method for testing my reaction to food using the CGM? I want to get the most out of the two weeks and approach it like a scientific experiment. Any fellow geeks with ideas?!! I'm imagining that the best time for testing a food would be in the morning? I'm unsure about eating items in isolation though as I'm vaguely aware that fat can help moderate how the body copes with sugars (I think?)
Open to any ideas and up for reading recommended links.

 

[Melgar]

Hi there @nabilla . I can tolerate small amounts of regular milk but if I drink more than 1/2 cup IBS is sure to come along. Gluten also gives me IBS amongst other reactions so I’m 100% gluten free.

As for using a CGM to see what foods are causing your blood sugars to rise, these devices will provide this for you. There are a number of features they provide, one of them is a continous graph plotted over a 24 hr period. This graph allows you see the effects of food on your blood sugar, how high your blood sugars rise and for how long. I personally find them very useful.

 

[nabilla]

Hi there @nabilla . I can tolerate small amounts of regular milk but if I drink more than 1/2 cup IBS is sure to come along. Gluten also gives me IBS amongst other reactions so I’m 100% gluten free.

As for using a CGM to see what foods are causing your blood sugars to rise, these devices will provide this for you. There are a number of features they provide, one of them is a continous graph plotted over a 24 hr period. This graph allows you see the effects of food on your blood sugar, how high your blood sugars rise and for how long. I personally find them very useful.

Melgar are you able to tolerate full fat greek yoghurt? I seem fine with that but not with straight milk? Just curious.
I understand that the graphs will be provided, but I was looking for an approach similar to that used by folk with IBS starting the FODMAP diet to get the most out of the data. I need to make sure I try as many different foods as I can in different amounts and at different times of the day and look to see how eating them is affected by exercise, what I eat them with, before, after etc. I'll only have two weeks with the device which is why I'm interested to hear of any methodical approaches to eating to discover as much as i can

 

[Melgar]

I am unable to tolerate much fat. I can tolerate a very small amount of lactose, so I am cautious with any milk products, especially fatty foods. I do eat full fat Greek yoghurt, but I’m very careful around the quantity so I’m not much help. I also have coeliac disease which curtails what I can eat. All I can say is I use CGM devices and I find them extremely useful for knowing what sends my blood sugars up and what doesn’t.

 

[nabilla]

Thanks Melgar, good to know. I'd like to use one longer but not possible at the moment