• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Type 1: Is It Ok To Eat Chinese

I am not a Chinese food eater but I would say no to the rice and noodles
I love Indian curries but will not now eat the rice or naan bread
 
it all depends on the food choices you make.

personally I avoid the rice, noodles, gloopy MSG sauces, sweet sauces and deep fried batters. It doesn't leave much, but it does mean I won't go hungry if my friends insist on Chinese.
 
Julia McCoulough said:
I don't like a lot of rice but I do like my noodles
Click to expand...

Yes, you can eat Chinese and Indian. I personally don't eat the full portion of rice or noodles as they can have a lot of carbs in.

Also, watch out for sweet sauces.

You'll need to carb count and adjust your insulin. Test lots afterwards.
 
azure said:
Yes, you can eat Chinese and Indian. I personally don't eat the full portion of rice or noodles as they can have a lot of carbs in.

Also, watch out for sweet sauces.

You'll need to carb count and adjust your insulin. Test lots afterwards.
Click to expand...
But I was told to eat a little bit
 
Problem with those types of take-aways are they are full or carbs, sugars and fats. You can eat them if your on insulin, those on pumps most likely use an extended bolus, those on injections may need to work at it to work out how much and when to inject to help avoid the spikes and pro-longed highs normally associated with this kind of meal. Trial and error and lots of testing is the only way to go I'm afraid. As an example if I'm having a curry (with rice and naan) I'll bolus about 60% just before the meal, and then the rest ~2-3hrs after - I've still not found this satisfactory as I tend to still be higher than a want to be through the night and in the morning but correct again at breakfast. Work in progress - not that I have lots of Indians and Chinese's.

If you give 100% bolus just before the meal I found I'd go low 1-2hrs later then much higher over night, the slow release carbs+fat and the amount play havoc with the BG levels!

Your experiences may be different.
 
There's a lovely meme which says: things a diabetic can't eat : 1) poison; 2) cookies with poison. Yep, it should probably be refined to apply to type 1s on insulin.

I don't really understand what you mean by is it ok to eat x y or z. There is no yes or no answer. It really depends on your personal preferences of what you are trying to achieve with your diabetic management.

Of course you can eat a Chinese or Indian, they might be a bit difficult to bolus for, you might need to experiment with the timing or dosage of the bolus. It might have an undesirable impact on your blood sugar and that might make you decide it's more trouble than it's worth.
 
A good Chinese or Indian more trouble than it's worth????!!!! NEVER! :pompous:

LOL
 
Personally I find takeaways a minefield, some add lots of sugar, and the rice and the prawn crackers, nan etc can take ages to work through your system with the insulin doses, it's never an accurate insulin injection, so corrections are required hours later, and so I find them difficult to get right. I try and eat things like a mixed grill with salad from the indian or a soup or egg foo yung from the chinese as these are easier to bolus for.

You can still eat your takeaway if you want as long as your prepared to put the work in to get this right but it will take some trial and error to get right - using an app like carbs and cals to help calculate the carb content may help.
 
I love Chinese food and we probably have a big Chinese takeaway every 6 months or so because it does need a lot of insulin management.

My advice would be

1. Don't eat it really late in the evening; if you eat it earlier in the evening you're awake to manage the inevitable rises in blood sugar hours after your initial bolus(es) have worn off

2. Order whatever you like; it's treat dammit!

3. I've got a Libre so I tend to try and sugar surf my way through the meal. I'll give myself a good 65% of my bolus before the meal, eat fairly slowly and bolus another 20% mid-way or at the end of the meal. I'll then keep an eye on it and when the slower digesting food kicks in I'll give myself the rest of my bolus as and when required.

4. Because the carb content is such a guess I'll give myself extra or less insulin as I go depending on what the Libre says

5. If I start spiking massively, I might go for a walk or go up and down the stairs a few times just to herd that glucose to my muscles ASAP!

Enjoy your meal and remember it's a tricky thing to manage so you might need a few attempts to perfect your bolus approach to your favourite dishes!
 
Julia McCoulough said:
Is it ok to have Chinese food please and also Indian because I was told I could
Click to expand...

Of course it is, but as mentioned it's a case of trial & error knowing how many carbs are in each meal and how the fat content may effect your bg levels for several hours after, on injections I would split-dose for these meals but now use an extended bolus on a pump.

Julia McCoulough said:
I don't like a lot of rice but I do like my noodles
Click to expand...

Look at Carbs & Cals, it has a picture of a Chinese noodle dish with the weight and carb content listed which will give you a rough idea, if you tend to stick with the same restaurant/takeaway then keep a record of your bg levels (and how you bolused) so you can refer to it next time you eat the same meal.
 
i eat any amount of rice or bread regardless of carbs, you shouldn't feel the need to limit yourself, just inject more if you want to eat a whole load of rice or sauce
 
Julia McCoulough said:
Is it ok to have Chinese food please and also Indian because I was told I could
Click to expand...
I'm type 1 and when I have eating Chinese I've not really had a problem with it just keeping an eye on your blood readings as noodles are carbs and they can send your bloods up

Hope this helps
 
Yes, you can eat them, make a note of what you have and how it affects your bloods; if you build up a reference chart, you'll know what you need to take to match it. I love a Chinese for a treat maybe once a month, but whereas I'd normally have around 50g carbs in a day, that one meal will contain around 130g, so I can jab a few mins before the meal, and not have a vicious spike which used to give me a rough 12 hours afterwards!

Everything in moderation
 
I went to an all you can eat Chinese in Austria at Easter and stuck to the meat / vegetable selection only. I skipped all rice / noodles / deserts (high carb content) dishes. I went overboard with the crispy duck but managed keep my BS stable with no spike by pure guess work.
 
Wow it's amazing what people believe.
I eat both until I'm stuffed. I take enough Novo Rapid to counter the carbs etc. My BG is always under 8 after enjoying my meals.
Fried rice is loaded with sugar.
Love Indian food as hot as I can handle.
 
Last edited:
oh man, is it ever okay! I love chinese and indian food! (and all you can eat sushi!)

Its not particularly healthy so i try to avoid it on that regard, but every now and again i will gladly load my plate(s) haha

In terms of BS I find -depending on what you eat - its very high in carbs so make sure that you bolus properly and its no different then eating any other meal. It would likely take a couple attempts, but if you can nail 'Your chinese food dinner' you should be able to repeat with similar results whenever you wanted to.
 
Back
Top