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Type 1 and High Protein Diet??

Nomi

Nomi

Well-Known Member
Messages
151
Hi Guys,

My HbA1C has gone a bit wacky recently and I was thinking of trying to replace some of the carbs I do eat with protein. I just have one question, as protein is broken down more slowly but still gives glucose at the end, how does this affect taking of insulin? I know my BG goes up if I a lot of peanuts, but it takes a while for it to happen.

any advice/ experiences with this?

Thanks :)
 
Hi Nomi,

I'm type 1 on a pump, and reduced my carbs by over half about 3 months ago. I did find I had to give insulin to cover protein, still not got it quite right but am getting there through trial & error.
I like numbers & ratios or formulae, I'm no good at just guesstimating insulin doses.
I read that the grams of protein in a protein food is 30-50% converted to glucose slowly, with a peak at about 3hrs after eating.
To deal with this, if I eat just an omelette with cheese & ham for breakfast, I use nutritional scales to tell me how much protein I'm eating (it's about 20g for 2 large eggs), divide by 2 & give the amount of insulin I'd use for 10g carbs, but not as a bolus straight away.
I did it as a "combo bolus" where my pump gives tiny amounts over whatever time you choose - I did over 2hrs - until you reach the total. I tested hourly & had no rise at all until 3hrs, when I rose by about 2mml/L, then went back to my starting BG by 4hrs. I've done this twice & got same results.
I think it'd work better to give the whole bolus at about 2hrs after eating, or maybe 1.5hrs, so that the peak insulin action was at the same time as the peak glucose release, and I intend to do this next time. Am just worried I'll forget as am not used to bolusing so long after food!

I've been nervous to give extra insulin to cover the protein when I'm actually eating carbs as part of the same meal, but have recently found that if I've eaten a lot of protein I do go high at 3-4hrs after the meal, so think I'll need to try a 2 stage bolus, part before & part after eating. No experience yet of whether this will work though.
 
I like numbers and ratios too and am also worried about forgetting my bolus if i have to take it later than usual. I'm not on a pump so I guess it would work differently for me, but I can do split doses or whatever if thats needed. I know that i'm only slightly affected by something like omlettes which only puts me up a couple of notches. I guess its all by trial and error, although it must be possible because there must be diabetics who have protein shakes etc for the gym and get away with it :) :?:
 
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