[Ronin]

Volleyball, et al.,

"It also helps to have your carbs before a heavy physical activity." True, because the carbs will be consumed by the exercise. However, I have also found a resonable amount of complex carbohydrates after some intense exercise (like today's almost two hour ride through some really hilly sections of NJ that had my thighs burning) are also absorbed rather quickly as the muscle tissue is screaming to replenish the stores of energy that have been depleted by the exercise.

One factor in this discussion that has not been addressed is the pancreas secreting insulin to make use of glycogen/glucose supplied from the stores in the liver when one has not consumed any/sufficient carbohydrates to cover the effort being performed.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Ronin

.... One factor in this discussion that has not been addressed is the pancreas secreting insulin to make use of glycogen/glucose supplied from the stores in the liver when one has not consumed any/sufficient carbohydrates to cover the effort being performed.

Most of the glycogen that gets used during exercise is stored in the muscles where it is needed. Muscle glycogen differs from liver glycogen in that it never leaves the muscle it is stored in. Insulin is used to get it there in the first place. But I don't know if insulin is required for it to be burned as energy. Maybe Redlan can help us out on that one.

Keeping muscle glycogen reserves topped up in preparation for fight/flight situations is a high priority. The liver releases glucose into the boodstream for this purpose. Which is why T1 diabetics often see a big surge in blood glucose during and after glycogen depleting exercise. Insulin resistance can result in a similar effect in T2s. Here is an interesting article about glycogen and the processes involved.

http://members.tripod.com/JPE_Sports...mpensation.htm

[Tropo]

Originally Posted by Ronin

Everyone:
As a personal experiment I have changed my breakfast regimine to spread the foods eaten over a period of two hours or more. The result is that my one-hour post prandial BG levels have dropped to a range between 85-95 mg/dl whereas before this my one-hour post-prandial was usually in the 120's. The only change was spreading the foods over time. (i.e., I have 140 g. fruit with 60 g. youghrt around 0530, a three egg white omlette with Fat Free cheese and Turkey ham and one slice of low carb toast at 0715 with 0.25 cup of OJ, and black coffee with Equal) I used to eat all of this at 0715 in a single sitting. The separation, I beleive, is responsible for the lowered Post-Prandial BG levels (finally a corelation between what I eat and what happens to my BG levels).

Apart from being labour intensive and difficult for working people, your method really goes against the principles of good digestion and may introduce other health problems such as indigestion and heart burn.

Another problem could be that people would be eating when not hungry because their stomach is working on the previous meal, and therefore never really enjoy their food.

Your BG levels after a one-sitting-breakfast are well within normal levels, so do you really need to be mixing freshly eaten food with partially digested food?

Perhaps your breakfast is ok because the yogurt and fruit would digest very quickly clearing the way for your eggs, cheese and ham. Other combinations eaten at close duration could present quite a challenge to the digestive system, especially if meat or other high protein foods are included.

[volleyball]

I don't see how spreading your meal out over time would hamper your digestive system. I think it would be easier on it. Expert agree spreading your meal out is good.
Eating when not hungry is not a bad thing. If it is because you overate before, then thats different. eating a little bit would seem to make you ready for the next meal sooner.
I don't believe our ancestors nibbled all day. More likely some did and some ate whatever they killed and may not eat for 2 or 3 days or nibbled on some fruit or vegetable in between, it depended on what was available to them.
To the idea that you never want your BG to go high,spreading your meal out may be ok. But what is better 135 for hours or 200 for and hour and then 100 for hours. I guess it would depend on your activity level. Say having your cake and then exercising and then going low glycemic for the rest of your day sitting in the office may work for you. But adding bits of fuel during a long hike may be ideal then.

[Tropo]

Originally Posted by volleyball

I don't see how spreading your meal out over time would hamper your digestive system. I think it would be easier on it. Expert agree spreading your meal out is good.

It all depends how spread out your eating is and what you are eating.

Most diabetics are advocating less carbohydrates in their diet, so it's likely they're eating meat or other high protein foods with most meals so it wouldn't be good to eat more often than once every 3 hours.

[volleyball]

If the meal were proteins and fats, the BG would not rise unless the glycemic load was high so that point is moot. The meal was spread out to keep BG in check, so there has to be carbs. And mixing of food is not a problem. We are born with one stomach, it all goes through the same system. And you don't have to be hungry to enjoy a meal. Hungry makes you enjoy foods you may not otherwise care for.

[Tropo]

Originally Posted by volleyball

. And you don't have to be hungry to enjoy a meal. Hungry makes you enjoy foods you may not otherwise care for.

There are degrees of hungry.

Not many people would enjoy eating while their stomach is still working on a previous meal and it's a recipe for indigestion.

[Ronin]

Hi Guys!

Thanks for continuing the discussion. I think Tropo has an interesting definition of the word "meal." 140 grams of fruit and 70 grams of youghrt is hardly a "meal" it qualifies as a snack. My omlette and toast comes a bit closer to a meal, but my plan was to take what I was eating already and spread it out over time. As just about every morning contains a 90+ minute bicycle ride at fairly intense levels I don't think I'm over-eating. Quite the opposite, I'm having trouble maintaining my weight as it tends to drop if I don't have all my planned snacks and mini-meals during the day. (Yeah, I burn a lot of calories.)

As to our ancient ancestors, I looked into the research on primitive living peoples and found that they do tend to snack on fruits and vegetables all day long, whereas high protien foods -- fish and meat are consumed in large amounts. Some also have high carb foods but those require a lot of preparation and are not eaten constantly.

I cannot make the case that their lifestyle is a cure for diabetes because I have the sense that diabetics in thier culture would die off pretty fast. Adult onset doesn't happen probably because they don't live that long either. However, grazing tends to work for me -- YMMV.

[xMenace]

Spreading carbs out is a very effective way of managing your BGs. I do it often, especially with large meals.