[peruvianpasohi]

I am a newly diagnosed LADA on lantus & humalog. when between meal, if eating only protein (bake chicken breast), or only fat (nuts) do i need to inject again? Usually, I am not hungry until after i inject for the meal, then i eat. s, when eating, does it matter if the carbs are sugar, or is that only how fast they will be in my system?

[dbc]

Originally Posted by peruvianpasohi

I am a newly diagnosed LADA on lantus & humalog. when between meal, if eating only protein (bake chicken breast), or only fat (nuts) do i need to inject again? Usually, I am not hungry until after i inject for the meal, then i eat.

The only good answer to your question is to test, test , test. You have to check what the nuts/chicken breast does to your bs for 2-3 hours after eating it to figure out whether you need to bolus for it or not. That said, being newly diagnosed LADA I reckon you'll find you don't need to bolus - yet. May come later as the diabetes progresses.

Originally Posted by peruvianpasohi

when eating, does it matter if the carbs are sugar, or is that only how fast they will be in my system?

What matters is carbs - sugar is only one of the possiblities. I find a potato has much more effect on my bs than 1/2 teaspoon sugar in my coffee. Everyone is different, we each have to figure out our own response to the foods we eat and the medication we have to take. It sounds like a lot of work - and initially it is, but the payoff is being healthy.

Good luck!

[Gary_W]

With carbohydrate, two things matter. The first is how much carbohydrate there is and the second is how quickly it absorbs.

You need to work out your carb to insulin ration (which it is very likely will vary depending on the time of day) and bolus according to that ratio.

To give you an example, for my evening meal my insulin to carb ratio is 1:10. If I eat a meal comprising 90g of carbs I would bolus 9 units.

For the 'how fast', I sugest you look up glycemic index and glycemic load. What you have to keep in mind is that the insulin will absorb at a certain rate. The food at another. The glycemic index can give a good idea of foods that get into your system really quickly (pure table sugar, French bread, orange juice for instance) and foods where the carbs absorb more slowly (apples, chick peas etc). Many people find that the slower acting carbs work better for them, but it really is a case of testing frequently and seeing what works for you.

As to the protein, some people on here believe you need to bolus for it, others do not. I do bolus for large amounts of protein, but this is really something that you can only decide on for yourself with extensive blood testing. Eat a high protein, carb free meal without bolusing (which is probably what your Dr would recommend) and blood test every hour for the next 5 hours to see what it does. If you get no rise in BG then you can consider it free for you at the moment but keep in mind that this is a changeable condition....

If you do need to bolus for protein, most people seem to find that it absorbs much more slowly than carbs so IF any insulin is needed for you it may be best to leave it until 2 hours after eating. Again, it is only the blood tests that will tell you whether this is good or bad advice.

I have never heard of anyone bolusing for fat, but as ever my mind is open. I believe that the chemistry tells us that insulin is not needed for the body to absorb fat, but as you can probably tell I'm out of my depth with most things as far as chemistry goes. It's a skill I'm trying to improve but don't do so well at the moment

Gary

[xMenace]

You should subtract any fibre from the carbs, not that it's a big deal for those of us hooked on low fibre diets. The fibre simply goes through you.

[pjams]

Originally Posted by peruvianpasohi

when between meal, if eating only protein (bake chicken breast), or only fat (nuts) do i need to inject again?

This reminds me of a diabetic educator, who said that there are only two things in this world which are free of carbs - water and air. Everything else, including "free foods" have carbs to some extent. I also eat nuts for snack, sometimes a bit too many and find the BG to be high then. Talking of nuts, the same educator told to remember "P A W" for Peanuts, Almonds and Walnuts which are good for you (in the reverse order). Of course, all these are more valid if you do not have any weight problem.