11:00AM
Blood sugar reading--77 (switched from One Touch to Sidekick blood glucose monitor)
11:15AM
4 local farm free-range eggs cooked in butter with Colby Jack cheese
1:15PM
Blood sugar reading--85
3:00PM
Blood sugar reading--68
3:30PM
Big bowl of salad greens with chopped tomatoes, fresh goat cheese, and Ranch dressing
4 meatballs with provolone cheese, all-natural tomato sauce, and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
Diet Coke with Lime
5:30PM
Blood sugar reading--75
7:30PM
150-minute competitive volleyball
10:15PM
Blood sugar reading--66
10:15PM
4 meatballs with provolone cheese, all-natural tomato sauce, and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
2 slices of Carb One Garlic Bread (eggs, almond flour, flax seed, carrots, garlic, salt) with butter
Coke Zero
12:15AM
Blood sugar reading--80
NOTE: Today I switched over to a new blood glucose monitor I saw at Wal-mart the other day for $20. It's called the Sidekick and is an all-in-one blood sugar meter that includes 50 strips plus a digital reader. It doesn't come with lancets, but I already had those from my One Touch kit. I had a few problems with "dud" test strips, but when I called the company they said they'd be happy to replace the strips that didn't work. Otherwise, it works GREAT and you get a good blood sugar reading within a few seconds.
Once again my fasting blood glucose this morning was fantastic at 77. But then something pretty awesome happened two hours after my eggs breakfast--my blood sugar actually went up to 85. This was a stark difference from the typical drop I've been seeing after a meal. The normal curve is for the blood sugar to rise and come back to baseline over a few hours. It looks like that is exactly what was happening following my first meal. WOO HOO!
Prior to my second meal, my blood sugar was at 68 before I had the salad and meatballs lunch. Again, two hours later my BS was up to 75--UP! Yes! After playing a few hours of volleyball tonight (twisted and slightly sprained my right ankle on the last play, too!), I was hungry for a late supper. When I tested my blood sugar after all that exercise, it was 66 and two hours later just after midnight my BS was 80--a typical rise again for the third meal in a row. This is so unusual for my blood sugar compared to earlier testing, so I'm wondering what the difference is now.
Overall today my blood sugar range from these tests today was 66-85--only a 19-point differential! I don't know about you, but that sounds like pretty darn good blood sugar control thanks to healthy low-carb living to me! And I'm measuring ketone bodies which show I'm spilling moderate amounts in my urine. AWESOME!
Monday, July 6, 2009
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43 comments:
Try testing both meters side-by-side and see what results you get. Then you'll know if it was just the meter.
I've been doing MUCH better since I gave up grains and started eating meat again. I'm more alert, too. I did have to give up diet soda tho, after reading this http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/aspartame.html and this http://www.splendaexposed.com/articles/2005/02/sugarfree_with.html about aspartame and splenda. Turns out any of the fake sugars screw with our blood sugar. Ah well. I'm getting used to water with lemon or lime in it!
THANKS Denise! I'm out of test strips for my One Touch right now. The new meter isn't that radically different than the other reading I had yesterday morning on the One Touch, so I'm sure it's pretty accurate.
Wow, Jimmy! Lookin' good!
YEPPERS!
Lise, read the ingredients on the blue aspartame package and the yellow splenda package. They'll contain either maltodextrin, or dextrose. Those are the bulking agents, which are sugars, and affect blood sugar. Diet soda does not contain these sugars, and does not affect blood sugar.
For packets, I use a version of Splenda with corn fiber as the bulking agent, called "Splenda with Fiber". This does not affect blood sugar either.
I have to disagree with you, Snow Dog.
"Diet Coke, regardless of how many calories it has, wreaks havoc on your fat loss efforts and will ultimately cause you to gain weight. There are two main reasons for the Diet Coke fallacy. First, the sweet taste from Diet Coke elicits an insulin spike, which blocks your ability to burn fat. Second, artificial sweeteners found in Diet Coke disrupt satiety, the feeling of being full. Combined, the actions of Diet Coke go against a healthy lifestyle. Understanding why ensures that we think twice before consuming it."
- Diet Coke is a Joke.
Jimmy,
Do you have a go-to recipe you always use for your meatballs? I've been really craving good meatballs lately and yours look tasty.
Thanks!
Actually, Snow Dog, the Splenda molecule itself can lower our blood sugar.
I read one of Lisa's references and it led me to this: Your Gut Has Taste Receptors. The gut has the same taste receptors as the tongue. When they are stimulated by sweet, including artificial sweet, they cause the release of GLP-1, which in turn causes the release of insulin. So Splenda (not the bulking agent) can cause the release of insulin and a fall in blood sugar. Who knew?
My favorite meatball recipe is this one from my forum moderator LindaSue. It's so tasty and VERY low-carb. :) ENJOY!
Thanks, Jimmy!
I had a hunch that might be the one......thanks for the confirmation. Not sure I would've been as successful thus far without Sue's recipes. Thanks to you, Sue!
I see the AS debate is still going strong. I drink 2-3 Diet Rites daily and 1 Diet Mountain Dew with no effect on BG and I'm also continuing to lose weight. I respect all of those with concerns about their long-term side effects, but I have yet to be convinced by sound evidence. I honestly believe these drinks make the low carb lifestyle a little more enjoyable and, most importantly, sustainable.
Regards
Robert, I could not agree with you more regarding the diet sodas.
I, too, drink sodas and shakes sweetened with Splenda. But now that I've started to look at my blood sugars, it's good to know that Splenda all by itself might increase insulin and lower blood sugar. Just sayin'. :-)
Mr Jimmster, what do you use to shoot your youtube videos with? I remember you said it was a flip camera? Is it correct? If so, csn you spare some review. I am contemplating on buying one and starting a video blog. My thoughts are much faster than my typing and it is much more personal. I am just not computer savvy when it comes to video blogging, but I have heard its easy to do with flip camera. Wanted to know your two cents!
On a different note, I find splenda a wondeful low carb alternative. However it opens a floodgate to other things. I usually overindulge on other stuff after eating it. So for me personally stevia is the better choice. But everyone knows their weakness and strength.
Re: the gut and taste receptors, although the article includes AS in it's assessment, the tests were done with glucose, not AS. Notice the words, "may" or "might." This is supposition.
Re: AS disrupting satiety, please seehttp://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/89/1/1, which states in part, "A critical review of the literature suggests that the addition of NNS to non-energy-yielding products may heighten appetite, but this is not observed under the more common condition in which NNS is ingested in conjunction with other energy sources."
Re: sweet taste increases insulin, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7652029. It doesn't.
On the purely anecdotal side, my daughter lost over 100 lbs. by simply switching from a 2-liter bottle of regular soda a day to diet and lifting weights.
And then there's Jimmy Moore, who lost 180 lbs. while drinking lots of diet soda:-)
Plain and simple, soda is not the best of choice for a daily drink. There are studies of all kinds about the dangers of diet soda and who knows if they are true. However, for me, it's just a better idea to have a glass of water and ditch the soda all together. The carbonation itself is not so nice on my kidneys. More importantly, I have children so I try to set a good example for them and I don't want them to become daily soda drinkers, diet or not. It's the same reason I don't drink vodka everyday. LOL
(sorry Jimmy. This was not a personal attack on YOUR consumption of soda, just my opinion on the subject)
Thanks for sharing your point of view, Penny. Happy to hear any and all opinions anytime. :)
Vadim, I use a built-in camera on my iMac as well as the Flip. Both are easy to use and practical. Look forward to seeing your vlogs. I too like the stevia blends.
My bad, Didirina. I read the original article that the news article refers to. In the original article it says they did use sucralose in the study. Here is the relevant figure.
Didirina said, "Re: sweet taste increases insulin, see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7652029. It doesn't."
Actually the article is about the cephalic phase of insulin release. The subjects never swallowed the solutions, so the solutions never reached the sweet receptors in their gut. Normal weight men sipped and spit four different solutions: water, aspartame, saccharin, and sucrose.
The gut may be "tasting" sweet, but what is the ultimate effect?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14647086?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed
Apparently, if you are diabetic and are taking either insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent, there is no effect when Splenda is taken with breakfast and dinner .
hm, maybe its just that on your volleyball days blood sugar will fluctuate less because of all that exercise.
Diet soda, I thought that Atkins says not to use products with aspartame in them? I stoppe drinking diet dr pepper and now am wondering, can I drink this again?
What does this mean:
"My bad, Didirina".
I presume it means you made an error. Is it some kind of American slang?
But this article http://ajpgi.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/4/G735 indicates that sucralose does not promote insulin release in healthy humans.
It says, "We conclude that sucralose, delivered by intragastric infusion, does not stimulate insulin, GLP-1, or GIP release or slow gastric emptying in healthy humans."
This article http://ajpgi.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/4/G735 is another that reaches a similar conclusion in healthy subjects. (For some reason I can't put these into links--sorry!)
So the question remains: Is Jimmy healthy and is he human? (Just kidding, Jimmy!)
That's pretty funny, Stargazey! Last time I checked, healthy and human both applied. :D
For some reason, my comment from last night didn't get published. Didirina's article is one put out by McNeil, the company that makes Splenda. The subjects were diabetics who were either on insulin or an oral hypoglycemic agent and who took a capsule of Splenda with breakfast and dinner.
They saw no effect of the Splenda, but with the background of insulin/oral hypoglycemic drugs and being taken with meals, that was not too surprising. Drug companies often adjust the conditions of an experiment to be sure their product comes off in a good light. In view of what the other two articles said, the McNeil work is probably correct, but always be careful with studies that come from drug companies.
THANKS Nancy! The blood sugar control happened during the day prior to my volleyball exercise time. That was just strange...in a GOOD way! :)
As for diet soda, try to find ones with Splenda or stevia in them whenever possible. If the aspartame ones are limited, then I don't think there's an issue.
LOL! Yes, Sue, "my bad" is a slang phrase you use when you do or say something wrong.
Stargazey, I wasn't online last night when your original comments came in, but they are posted now along with the one you sent this morning. Patience. :)
Patience??? Who's not patient?!!!
Thanks, Jimmy. :-)
HA! I know I'm not very patient. I want things now Now NOW! :D
Just want to point out that not only was the sucralose in capsules, which bypassed the taste receptors on the tongue, but the capsules contained very high concentrations of sucralose, more than a person would normally consume in a day. The subjects did this for three months; other subjects took placebos.
"CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that, similar to cellulose, sucralose consumption for 3 months at doses of 7.5 mg/kg/day, which is approximately three times the estimated maximum intake, had no effect on glucose homeostasis in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, this study showed that sucralose was as well-tolerated by the study subjects as was the placebo."
I would think that if AS raises insulin levels as claimed by some, there would at least be some indication of this, especially in T2 diabetics. My mother is on insulin, but that doesn't prevent blood sugar from rising if she doesn't watch her intake of foods that cause problems. AS (sucralose) isn't one of them.
I kinda grew out of soda around my teenage years (HATE the carbonation), but I have some Zevia occasionally. Other than water, my normal choice of beverage is tea. So...many...flavors! And it really helps keep my fruit addiction in check, sine I can get the taste without the carbs. Sweet!
Even though I've conceded that sucralose probably doesn't increase insulin secretion when given between meals to normal humans:
Please note that a 220 pound subject would weigh 100 kg. At 7.5mg/kg/day, that would be 750 mg or 0.75 grams of Splenda. What if you gave these folks 0.75 grams of sugar a day along with breakfast and dinner? Do you suppose it would make a measurable difference in their blood glucose or blood sugar over three months?
Amounts of sucralose and sugar are not equivalent. From Wikipedia:
"Research suggests that the amount of sucralose that can be consumed on a daily basis over a person’s lifetime without any adverse effects is 15 mg/kg/day,[11] or about 1 g for a 70 kilogram (150 lb) person. This is equivalent to about 75 packets of Splenda or the sweetness of 612 g or 2500 kcal of sugar."
Halving this, to 7.5 mg/kg/day (37.5 packets/day), would be the equivalent of 1,250 kcal of sugar, which I think would indeed have some effect on a person's glucose/insulin levels.
Just to clarify, I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't drink water, tea, coffee, etc., and exclusively drink diet soda all day long. I'm saying that few diet sodas, or a serving of a sucralose-sweetened dessert, is not harmful to a person's health. If AS triggers a binge for you, or induces you to eat an entire LC cheesecake, then of course don't consume it. Conversely, if having some LC chocolate mousse will keep you from Aunt Lulu's double chocolate brownies with caramel, go for it.
:D
Halving this, to 7.5 mg/kg/day (37.5 packets/day), would be the equivalent of 1,250 kcal of sugar, which I think would indeed have some effect on a person's glucose/insulin levels.
So you're saying that insulin is released in response to sweetness?
Nope, not to sweetness, to sugar:D
Restated:
.75 gm of sugar = less than 3/16 tsp. of sugar
.75 gm of Splenda = 37.5 packets of Splenda = sweetness of 1250 kcal of sugar = 1 5/8 cups of sugar
Consuming an amount of sugar that would provide the same level of sweetness that 37.5 packets of Splenda would supply more-than-likely will jack up blood glucose/insulin levels.
Right, Didirina. But they didn't consume sugar. They consumed Splenda. So if they consumed Splenda, why would their blood sugar go up equivalent to 1 5/8 cups of sugar?
No one said the blood sugar went up. That isn't what it says. It does not say that consuming 37.5 packets a day will make blood sugar go up. You are the one who's trying to ocmpare .75 gm of Splenda to .75 gm of sugar. And I know you know better. They're not equivalent, not in sweetening power, not in the power to raise glucose or insulin.
Bah, artificial sweeteners make me binge. No thanks!
Even natural sweets, like dates, figs, bananas, raw honey, etc. make me binge. =( Thoroughly disappointing... Stevia seems to be OK for me, though. YAY!
I really like the NuNaturals liquid stevia with vanilla.
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