Eating high protein meals or snacks

[mark_in_toronto]

I've definitely found that eating a couple of burgers means that 5 hours later my sugar will rise due to the protein in the meat. That goes for all protein like chicken wings, sausage snacks, steak, chili, fish.....usually about 50% of the protein gets "converted" to carbs meaning that 50g of protein generally equates to 25g of carbs 5 hours or so later.....I want to find out others' experiences here...

[xMenace]

I know Cyborg quotes one or more sites, this may be it. Protein, Fat, and Blood Sugar (http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/pfandbs.html) They suggest .6, but they also say everyone is different.

Walsh in "Pumping Insulin" p70 suggests the effect may occur up to 8-12 hours later.

[mark_in_toronto]

I know Cyborg quotes one or more sites, this may be it. Protein, Fat, and Blood Sugar (http://www.insulin-pumpers.org/howto/pfandbs.html) They suggest .6, but they also say everyone is different.

Walsh in "Pumping Insulin" p70 suggests the effect may occur up to 8-12 hours later.
My doc's response to protein affecting my sugars was "we have seen that in some patients"....I'm hoping to find more evidence that more than "some" diabetics have a significant sugar rise several hours after eating a large steak, etc.

Dietitian I saw also didn't seem to believe that this was common.

[Cyborg]

About 75% for me... I use a 30/70 combo bolus over 3 hours for the protein portion of my meals and an immediate bolus for the carbs.

[BlueSky]

My doc's response to protein affecting my sugars was "we have seen that in some patients".... Dietitian I saw also didn't seem to believe that this was common.
It depends to some extent on how much protein you eat. The body won't use protein for energy until amino acid requirements have been satisfied. So if you don't eat a lot of protein, it won't raise your blood sugars. And the rise that you see 5 hours after ating protein is probably delayed carbohydrate. But if you eat a lot of protein, it definitely will push up your blood sugars.

[rzrbks]

Nope, don't have to deal with that particular problem.

In fact, I hate to eat high protein meals, I generally go low at 2 hrs and feel sluggish for many hrs even though B/G is in normal range.

[LancetChick]

I need extra bolus(es) when I eat moderate to large quantities of protein. It's never all that consistent, so I just test often and inject as needed. I'm nowhere near a 50% conversion rate, but then again, I rarely eat huge quantities of protein.

[shabbie6247]

Nope, don't have to deal with that particular problem.

In fact, I hate to eat high protein meals, I generally go low at 2 hrs and feel sluggish for many hrs even though B/G is in normal range.

aha!! i get this too!!! i need at least some carbs, usually green veggies with my proteins

[Scratch]

I've been finding it to be dependent on how much protein I ingest along with how much exercise and training I've been doing. If I've been active, exercising or strength training, a lot of that protein will get used to repair the muscles that need repairing.

[mark_in_toronto]

And the rise that you see 5 hours after eating protein is probably delayed carbohydrate.

Nope. The rise still happens after eating something like fish (I don't eat anything else just to confirm that it's NOT carbs causing the rise) containing 0g carb but something like 50g protein.

I usually increase my basal (I'm using a pump) four hours later for one hour, to cover 25g of carbs (half of the protein grams). This has been successful for me.:cool:

[Cyborg]

Nope. The rise still happens after eating something like fish (I don't eat anything else just to confirm that it's NOT carbs causing the rise) containing 0g carb but something like 50g protein.

I usually increase my basal (I'm using a pump) four hours later for one hour, to cover 25g of carbs (half of the protein grams). This has been successful for me.:cool:

I have the same type of experience. I have to bolus for even a handful of almonds or a couple ounces of chicken, fish, etc...

[cheryl]

For me, I find I can eat protien no matter how much either for breakfast or lunch and usually am fine with no rise but if I eat more then 20 grams of protien for dinner, I am on a rise because I am starting to get less active, so I am still experimenting with this one.......but I definately see a rise, and if I decide to be lazy after lunch I will see a rise to but breakfast I never ever do....

Cheryl

[REDLAN]

know Cyborg quotes one or more sites, this may be it. Protein, Fat, and Blood Sugar They suggest .6, but they also say everyone is different.

yep true - I have no discernible reaction to protein

there are some errors in the site - one concerns fat metabolism...

Fatty acids cannot be used directly to produce glucose. However, gycerol, a product of fat metabolism, can and does go through the gluconeogenic pathway to produce glucose. Glycerol is a minor component in fats, and accounts for only 9 to 15% of the total mass.

this is not entirely correct...

glycerol is required for the transport of fatty acids - it is synthesized by the body (presumably the intestines and liver) - it allows for their incorporation into lipoproteins. The lipoproteins are transported to the body tissues - where the lipoproteins are broken open, glycerol is removed, releasing the fats (this is what LDL receptors are all about) - glycerol is then converted back into glucose via the gluconeogenic pathway.

(this is as described by the Gluconeogenesis (http://web.indstate.edu/thcme/mwking/gluconeogenesis.html))

in theory there should be no net effect on glucose levels - unless you eat glycerol. By law in the US, glycerol content has to be listed - you will find it recorded as sugar alcohols.

glycerols are in margarines and spreads, but I can't find details of glycerols in non-processed foods.

so it's hard to know where the 9 to 15% figure comes from.

[REDLAN]

sorry my assertion is incorrect - I rechecked my sources...

fat is primarily stored as triglycerides - which is broken down in the intestines to fatty acids and glycerol - this is then reassembled into triglycerides - and released into the blood stream as a chylomicron - the fats from chylomicrons are primarily absorbed by fat cells - which store the fat as triglycerides.

this is released as free fatty acids into the blood stream (and is then passively absorbed by cells) - not sure what the fat cells do with the spare glycerol...

cells also absorb the fat from LDL, via LDL receptors - triglycerides are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol - the fatty acids are then available for catablism (i.e converting into energy), and the glycerol is available for gluconeogenisis

seems to me that the actual contribution of glycerol to your blood sugars would actually depend on the energy balance of your meal...

a high carb, low fat diet - the vast majority of the body's needs are supplied by carbs, the excess carbs are converted into fat, which would require the synthesis of glycerol by the body. The glycerol derived from fat would be required for fat storage - therefore the glycerol would have a negligible effect on blood sugars.

high fat, low carb diet - significant proportion of your energy needs now come from fat, there is very little synthesis of fats from glucose, and hence little synthesis of glycerol - the bodies utilisation of free fatty acids, leaves glycerol available for gluconeogenesis, enabling the body to maintain blood sugars.

just a theory...