Effect of 'grazing' on Blood sugar

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Effect of 'grazing' on Blood sugar

Postby r-marie » Fri Jul 11, 2008 2:50 pm

Jeff, I was wondering if you had any information on this.

In order to keep from being hungry and not lose any more weight I tend to eat something every hour or two between breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love sweet potatoes, and often snack on one throughout the day - especially if it is freshly baked - along with a handfull of cherry tomatoes, or half a mango, or maybe a Wasa sandwich with a smidgeon of peanut butter and a few banana slices....later in the evening, after dinner, I will often eat 2-3 cups of air-popped popcorn - one of my favorites.

Dr. McDougall says eat till you're full and eat as much and as often as you want. But since I'm insulin resistant. This constant supply of food never allows my BS to return to its base. Maybe it's better to have a slightly elevated BS throughout the day instead of BS spikes??? But how will this impact my A1c reading (coming up in August)

Sometimes my fasting BS is 130 in the morning (6am) presumably from the popcorn I ate at 8pm the night before. I'm pleasantly surprised though that snacking on sweet potato tends to keep my BS at 130 during the day with occasional spikes to 160 from other foods. (My fasting BS still clings to between 110-120 without the popcorn)

I'm looking forward to your comments.
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Postby r-marie » Sat Jul 12, 2008 3:20 pm

Geoffrey, I'm actually not much of a peanut butter fan and maybe I shouldn't have included in my list as I eat that Wasa sandwhich maybe 4-5 times a month. When I say "smidgeon' I mean I scrape half a teaspoon on a wasa cracker and cover that with banana slices and another cracker - but I have found that banana slices alone taste just as good.

A bigger problem for me I think is that I love any kind of fruit - red grapes being one that I can easily succomb to and better not even bring it in the house. But right now, I have my own blueberry bush which is covered with berries providing me a continuous supply for breakfast and snacks.

I do like the Korean sweet potato (they are off white inside and not very sweet) and can nibble on them all day - without raising my BS much (seldom goes over 130). A real surprise to me. In addition SP is the one food that keeps my hunger (that empty feeling) at bay.

Maybe we'll get this thing licked yet!
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Re: Effect of 'grazing' on Blood sugar

Postby JeffN » Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:03 pm

r-marie wrote:Jeff, I was wondering if you had any information on this.

In order to keep from being hungry and not lose any more weight I tend to eat something every hour or two between breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love sweet potatoes, and often snack on one throughout the day - especially if it is freshly baked - along with a handfull of cherry tomatoes, or half a mango, or maybe a Wasa sandwich with a smidgeon of peanut butter and a few banana slices....later in the evening, after dinner, I will often eat 2-3 cups of air-popped popcorn - one of my favorites.

Dr. McDougall says eat till you're full and eat as much and as often as you want. But since I'm insulin resistant. This constant supply of food never allows my BS to return to its base. Maybe it's better to have a slightly elevated BS throughout the day instead of BS spikes??? But how will this impact my A1c reading (coming up in August)

Sometimes my fasting BS is 130 in the morning (6am) presumably from the popcorn I ate at 8pm the night before. I'm pleasantly surprised though that snacking on sweet potato tends to keep my BS at 130 during the day with occasional spikes to 160 from other foods. (My fasting BS still clings to between 110-120 without the popcorn)

I'm looking forward to your comments.


Hi r-marie

My recommendations are virtually the same as Dr McDougalls. The way I say it is...

"Eat when hungry to you are comfortably full. Do not over stuff, and do not starve yourself" And always choose the healthiest foods"

I would be curious as to if you are eating enough at your meals? The reason is, it would be uncommon for someone to have to eat every hour if someone was following these recommendations and eating until they were comfortably full at each meal. Most meals of unrefined unprocessed starch, fruits and veggies, should maintain satiety for at least 2-3 hours, if not more.

You may want to review this thread on my recommendations for the maximum weight loss program and diabetes

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6969

For a diabetic, I would recommend they stay as much away from any refined processed foods (including whole grain ones) until they get their blood sugars under control. I would also include "smoothies" in this category as blended foods impact satiety, insulin and blood sugar negatively more so than whole foods.

I also only recommend checking your blood sugar twice a day, three times maximum. Once upon awakening, and the second time in the afternoon, about 3 hours minimum after "finishing" your lunch. The third time, if desired would be three hours after finishing dinner, before bed.

Also, both fasting blood sugar and A1c are important.

In addition, regular daily physical activity like brisk walking for 30-60 minutes is very important in helping control diabetes.

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Postby JeffN » Sun Jul 13, 2008 5:54 pm

geoffreylevens wrote:Blood sugar is a complicated beast!


Agreed!

geoffreylevens wrote:I get some kind of sweet potato that is pale yellow inside, also not so sweet and a bit "dryer" texture. Maybe the same but a different name I can't recall but I love those. I use the sweeter, orange ones, baked, in my raw kale smoothies.


As mentioned in my above post, if someone was trying to control their blood sugars, I would not recommend them to mechanically grind their food up in a blender, especially any fruit, starchy vegetables, or intact whole grains. I would recommend they only consume them in their whole natural form, untill their blood sugars were under control.

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Postby JeffN » Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:40 am

geoffreylevens wrote:Jeff, I know I have an unusual metabolism and my blood sugar from one of my kale/sweet potato smoothies (large ones) only goes up 10-15 points . A fairly small baked potato however will shoot it up 50 or 60 points or more. (This is all one hour after consuming). Grains, whole, cooked by boiling in water the same as potato actually more as I get a lot more calories in same volume of food!


It is not a fair comparison as you are not comparing the exact same foods and amounts, blended vs not blended.

The closer a food is to its whole natural state, and the less ground (or blended) it is, the better it is, especially for a diabetic. Grinding/blending breaks down fibers, release sugars, & increases surface area. Sometimes, the influence of one meal is not seen to the next meal or later.

A well known (but different) example of this is fat. For most people it will "appear" to lower blood sugar in the immediate meal, but raises it in the following meals.

If it works for you, great, but it is not something I would recommend, especially to someone whose overall blood sugars are not where they want them to be.


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Postby r-marie » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:18 pm

Jeff wrote:
I would be curious as to if you are eating enough at your meals? The reason is, it would be uncommon for someone to have to eat every hour if someone was following these recommendations and eating until they were comfortably full at each meal. Most meals of unrefined unprocessed starch, fruits and veggies, should maintain satiety for at least 2-3 hours, if not more.


Jeff, I can assure you I eat till I'm full at every meal. My husband often says "I can't understand how you can eat so much and stay so little!" All my food is whole and home made. I consume oatmeal, rice, quinoa, barley, occasionally ww pasta, huge mixed salads, cooked veggies, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and fruits on a daily basis. No junk food or refined food.

I'm at home all day and I AM the cook, so food is available all the time. I love to eat and always have. But I've never been a "Keeper." Even before McDougall, food didn't stay with me long unless it had some animal protein and fat in it - at least that's what it seemed like to me.

You may remember that my biggest concern (and anxiety!) is that I'm losing too much weight on this diet. I thought it would turn around the other day, but today I was down to 87 lbs from 93 when I started. My body fat is 19.5%. I suppose that's not too bad for someone as active as I am, but not good either. I look very skinny. I don't have a little 'cushion' in case I catch something. I feel great (always have) so that's not my problem. I just don't want to lose any more weight - and that's why I eat at the first sign of hunger - or even before
:D

My new tests are coming up in August...looking forward to seeing what if any changes there are.

Jeff, I do appreciate the time and care you take in answering our questions here. Such patience!!!

Thank you so much - I think I'll cool it for a while and see what happens.

r-marie
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Postby r-marie » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:30 pm

Geoffrey wrote:
Do you know about the dawn phenomenon? People w/ compromised insulin secretion spike without eating in early morning.


Yes, Geoffrey, I do know about the dawn phenomenon. I don't think it applies to me though. My fasting BS when high is usually a result of eating something close to bedtime (especially fruit which I should never eat late :cry: )

My normal fasting BS for years has been around 115-120. Lately it's gone a little lower (maye 105-110) but NEVER below 100. But my spikes now seldom go higher than 160 - that's something new.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I do monitor my BS and what I eat on Excel, but my analysis is not very precise. It's not my thing. Ah well.

all the best
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Postby JeffN » Sun Jul 20, 2008 10:14 pm

r-marie wrote: My body fat is 19.5%. I suppose that's not too bad for someone as active as I am, but not good either.


While I am not sure how tall you are, a body fat of 19.5% is not exceptionally low or dangerous. I would be curious how this was tested.

According to The American Council on Exercise, ranges of body fat percentages for women are

Essential fat 12–15%
Athletes 16–20%
Fitness 21–24%
Acceptable 25–31%
Obese 32%+

If you are truly concerned about this, then you may want to contact a health professional who you can work with personally as there are limits to what can be accomplished on a public message board.

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Postby Clairembart » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:19 am

"While I am not sure how tall you are, a body fat of 19.5% is not exceptionally low or dangerous. I would be curious how this was tested. "

How does one measure body fat??
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Postby JeffN » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:26 am

Clairembart wrote:"While I am not sure how tall you are, a body fat of 19.5% is not exceptionally low or dangerous. I would be curious how this was tested. "

How does one measure body fat??


There are many ways with none of them being highly accurate.

This article addresses and describes the different methods

http://www.new-fitness.com/body_fat_analyzing.html

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Postby r-marie » Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:03 am

I'm 4'11" and used 87lbs as the weight (age 65)
I got the bodyfat ratio from this site: http://www.healthcentral.com/cholestero ... lthyamount

It requires your age, gender, weight and some measurements (waist, hips, neck, wrist, calf, etc).

Jeff I know you offer your services as a nutritionist. How can I find out what it is you do on a private basis and the cost?

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Postby Clairembart » Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:48 am

Hmmm... I just did the test on that website and my body fat would be at 16.8! I doubt this is accurate at all. While I am certainly not obese I can tell for sure that I have too much belly fat. The caliper measurement says 1 1/4 inch besides the navel. I believe the ideal for a man is 3/4 inch.
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