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More Regular Smaller Meals Versus Lesser But Bigger Meals Per Day

millenium

millenium

Well-Known Member
Messages
434
Location
Singapore
Type of diabetes
Carer
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Urban noise, environmental destruction
I noticed taking more smaller and regular meals per day is recommended by some dietitans for diabetics. But my experience seems to indicate three meals without spiking bgl is the way to go to improve and even regenerate some blood glucose control.

Any idea what is the rationale behind more frequent meals?
 
I don't know what the rationale would be for advising that for diabetes, but my health care team has recommended smaller and more frequent meals as part of managing other disorders, such as a flare-up of gastric reflux episodes.

Personally, my approach has been to aim for only 2-3 meals/snacks a day, to limit the number of times my pancreas has to work on increasing insulin output. I have read about intermittent fasting and it's something I'd like to try because normally I don't feel hungry until mid afternoon anyway. Per the advice of my DN I will need to wait until my medication regime is more settled before I start it, though.
 
Reducing workload of the pancreas and giving the pancreas more rest has good scientific backing.
 
For years now I have had serious pains in my stomach and under my ribs. This was identified this year as gastritis (ie 2 areas of inflammation - stomach and duodenum) and the Emeprozole I have taken for all these years was increased from 40mg daily to 80mg daily. That made it a whole lot worse so now my doctor thinks I should just be glad that, having gone back to 40mg, the pain is not so bad as it was in the last few weeks.

I have been low carbing for the last couple of years without any weight loss but with better control over BS levels but my diabetic nurse suggested that low carbing was not for me and I should introduce more carbs. It helps the stomach pain but I put on a whole stone in weight and my BS levels went haywire in 2 weeks. Damned if I do and damned if I don't. I've reduced the amount of carbs again, but not to the low levels I was on before and I've lost half of the weight I put on recently.

My diabetic nurse also suggested that I have 5 small meals/snacks a day instead of the 2 small meals I have been having but I didn't think to ask if I should be taking insulin 5 times a day as well. Perhaps I should, but I'm already on 30 units X 2 plus 62 overnight and that seems, to me, to be quite a lot.

Has anyone else had experience of this effect on gastritis and what have they done about it?

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

Ann
 
If we look at it all logically, after we eat our levels rise and don't always return to base after 2 to 3 hours, and then we eat again, so our levels will rise again and from a higher starting point, then repeat 3 more times. End result - higher levels all day, and more circulating insulin than is good for us. This is why intermittent fasting is so good for us - all that extra time with hardly any circulating insulin. Insulin that aids weight gain, insulin that is inflammatory and responsible for many other illnesses not least insulin resistance and T2 diabetes.

I regard this "little and often" as grazing. Our bodies are not designed for grazing. It is a modern attitude to food that was never around when I was growing up.
 
Smaller more frequent meals means that the pancreas never gets a break and may lead to hyperinsulinaemia which imo is just as harmful as hyperglycaemia. I cannot fast so I have two meals a day roughly 10 hours apart which means that my bg levels have improved and hopefully I am regaining some insulin sensitivity.
 
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