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Type 1 and chocolate

mo1905

mo1905

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Messages
4,334
Location
Cambs
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Rude people !
Firstly, Happy Easter ! OK, I want some clarification please regarding insulin. I am fairly recently diagnosed type 1 ( Jan 2013 ). I am 46 years old and am still possibly in "honeymoon period". I take a basal insulin at night and inject humalog with meals. I also take metformin. Now, my question is regarding chocolate but could be anything I guess. I read many posts here about people saying they can't eat certain things and long for bread etc and I'm confused. My nurse told me to eat whatever I want ( within reason ) as long as I try to limit carbs and exercise. So, I've just had half a chicolate Easter and and injected 4 units. Is this wrong ? Is the idea to reduce insulin intake as well ? If not, why are people so fearful of certain foods ? I appreciate a healthy diet is the way forward and I try as much as possible but just wondered what the general consensus was ! Thanks.


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I eat what I want when I want and just inject insulin to cover the carbs. Im an active 35 year old type 1, not overweight and I do eat healthily with the occasional treat such as easter eggs :). The problem some have where they have to watch what they eat is insulin resistance where the insulin can't cover the carbs properly or people wanting to lose weight. Also diabetes being an auto immune condition can result in certain food intolerances such as celiac disease where gluten, wheat have to be avoided. If you are not overweight, not insulin resistant, know how to carb count and can prevent high sugars eat away and match carbs/insulin. Myself happily eat 300 carbs a day, do gym exercises and only have occasional hypers/hypos, usually when ill.

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sorry Brett, when you say "insulin resistant' do you mean type 2 ? Can you be type 1 and insulin resistant ?
 
hi, yes you can have insulin resistance with type 1 or 2. Type 2s are insulin resistant to their own insulin they produce so have meds to enable their body to use their own insulin. Some even need injections to top their own up. As a type 1, some become resistant to the injected insulin and may need more or meds to enable the injected insulin to work better. With both being a normal weight will improve insulin resistance in some.

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Last thing lol ! If someone is both type 1, insulin dependant but is also insulin resistant, how can you manage your bloods ? Sorry, trying to get my head around it. Also, what is the test for insulin resistance ?


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mo1905 said:
If not, why are people so fearful of certain foods ? I appreciate a healthy diet is the way forward and I try as much as possible but just wondered what the general consensus was ! Thanks.
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It's not a case of being fearful Mo it's just understanding what impact food has on our bodies, for example we all know as diabetics that carbohydrates raise bg levels so some restraint is necessary even for us type 1's who inject insulin.

I believe (as a type 1) that a healthy balanced diet that contains healthy portions of carbs, fats and protein is important to maintain good health, I don't think I've ever as a type 1 ate much more than 250g of carbs a day and I've even been down to as low as eating 90-130g of carbs for a period of time, more recently my carb intake is more like 150-180g of carbs a day but very rarely I go above this and I would have to go back to Christmas when I last ate above 200g.

A good book I would recommend to read is Think like a Pancreas by Gary Scheiner, you can purchase it on Amazon for around £10 and it covers all subjects of diabetes management including insulin resistance :thumbup:
 
But surely if you inject enough insulin to counteract the carbs there will be no rise in blood sugar levels ? Sorry to prolong the thread but still trying to understand it all in my own head. Also, going back to insulin resistance, if you're type 1 and resistant, how can you maintain a healthy control ? Thanks for reading.


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brett said:
Myself happily eat 300 carbs a day, do gym exercises and only have occasional hypers/hypos, usually when ill.
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THANK YOU!

I've been on this forum since I was diagnosed in February and was starting to think I'm the only one who didnt watch their carbs (apart from to match insulin)

I eat porridge for breakfast, baked potatoes at lunch and pasta at dinner most days. I haven't been particularly high since diagnosis and my hypos have been minimal, not particularly low and through exercise.

I have 3 Easter eggs staring me out. I intend to enjoy them the same way I do every year, slowly and over the course of a fortnight or so!
 
hale710 said:
brett said:
Myself happily eat 300 carbs a day, do gym exercises and only have occasional hypers/hypos, usually when ill.
Click to expand...

THANK YOU!

I've been on this forum since I was diagnosed in February and was starting to think I'm the only one who didnt watch their carbs (apart from to match insulin)

I eat porridge for breakfast, baked potatoes at lunch and pasta at dinner most days. I haven't been particularly high since diagnosis and my hypos have been minimal, not particularly low and through exercise.

I have 3 Easter eggs staring me out. I intend to enjoy them the same way I do every year, slowly and over the course of a fortnight or so!
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Haha, me too, I thought the same. some might even be tut tuting me for that. But at 6ft 3 and Still slightly underweight I do need to eat that much so have learned to match out to insulin quite successfully if I say so myself.

To answer mos question about type 1 and insulin resistance also referred to double diabetes it is not straight forward to simply take more insulin. To manage that often enormous amounts of insulin are needed which will undoubtedly cause weight gain so to avoid that often they have to.reduce carb intake but still take quite high amounts of insulin.

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Will add also I ate a whole egg already with the chocs aswell. Blood didnt go above 8 two hours later and back to 6 within 4 hours
Mmm, it was very nice :)
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Thanks ! Good to know I'm not the only one who seems to eat and drink what they want ! I do exercise a fair bit though ;-)


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mo1905 said:
Thanks ! Good to know I'm not the only one who seems to eat and drink what they want ! I do exercise a fair bit though ;-)


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No problem, I will say I only have a treat at special occasions as although I havnt got much fat on the outside, I am aware of the bad fats on the inside, though ask my cholesterol tests have been well within range. I may eat alot of carbs but other than special occasions I choose wholemeal versions if possible, plenty of fruit and veg. Along with regular excercise I seem to be able to have the occasional treat with minimal impact on my glucose levels.

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mo1905 said:
Thanks ! Good to know I'm not the only one who seems to eat and drink what they want ! I do exercise a fair bit though ;-)
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Yeah i walk for an hour daily after work and my initial weight gain after starting insulin has levelled out so I've not seen a real need to change my diet. I'm 23, my metabolism is still keeping me going! I guess if all starts to go belly up ill have to change things. But 200g carbs a day seems to work fine for me for now!
 
Yes you can have insulin resistance with type 1 or 2. Type 2s are insulin resistant to their own insulin they produce so have meds to enable their body to use their own insulin
it keep you healthy but chocolate has a disadvantages ,they spoil our teeth
i hear first time that chocolate is best for health
 
I've heard of some type 1 patients who are overweight using metformin as well as insulin for presumed insulin resistance, if it works you should see your insulin needs reduce. There's a trial going on at the moment to see if giving metformin to type 1s helps control - I read about it in Balance & wanted to get involved, but couldn't because I take replacement steroids for Addison's disease (my autoimmune system knocked out my cortisol production as well as my pancreas & thyroid).

Still have the e-mail about it from the nurse running the trial, so could hunt it down if anyone wanted to put themselves forward for inclusion in it.
 
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