type 1 diabetes – Optimising Nutrition

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optimising protein and insulin load

“Low carb”, “ketogenic” or “nutrient dense” mean different things to different people. Defining these terms numerically can help us to choose the right tool for the right application. Decreasing the insulin load of your diet can help normalise blood glucose levels and enable your pancreas to keep up. However, at the same time, a high […]

insulin load… the greatest thing since carb counting?

In previous articles I have outlined the idea of the insulin load[1] [2] which is similar to carbohydrate counting, but also accounts for the effect of protein, fibre ad fructose. insulin load = total carbohydrates – fibre + 0.56 x protein show me the data! Most people understand that dietary carbohydrate is the primary nutrient that influences […]

balancing diet and diabetes medications

High blood glucose levels (glucose toxicity) and high insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) are both bad news for your health. The highest priority in the treatment of diabetes should be to reduce foods that require large amounts of insulin. Over reliance on medications can lead to ‘learned helplessness’, meaning that people do not use a dietary intervention […]

how to calculate insulin dosing for type 1 diabetes (including protein and fibre)

This article reviews a range of approaches to calculating insulin requirements for people with type 1 diabetes. The simplest approach is standard carbohydrate counting, which may be ideal for someone whose diet is dominated by carbohydrates. Bernstein recommends standardised meals for which the insulin dose is refined based on ongoing testing and refinement. Stephen Ponder’s […]

standing on the shoulders of giants

People who have type 1 diabetes and excellent blood glucose control are statistically rare. These ‘overachievers’ typically have been influenced by the work of Dr Richard Bernstein. People successful in their management of type 1 diabetes control the amount of carbohydrate in their diet to prevent “the blood sugar roller coaster”. As well as calculating […]

how much insulin is required to cover protein?

Given that protein appears to contribute to insulin demand I ran a number of scenarios with the food insulin index data to see if insulin requirement is better predicted by carbohydrate in a food plus some proportion of the protein. The analysis indicates that insulin demand is related to carbohydrate about 60% of the protein. There’s […]

superfoods for diabetes & nutritional ketosis

These foods will help you to maintain excellent blood glucose levels by reducing the insulin load of your diet while at the same time maximising nutrient density to minimise cravings and allow you to get the nutrients you need with less food. More than carbohydrates or the glycemic index, the food insulin index data suggests that our blood […]

carbohydrates, protein, type 1s and canaries

Quantification of insulin demand is of particular interest for type 1 diabetics who have to inject insulin to manage their blood sugars. Before diagnosis, a type 1 diabetic whose pancreas is failing will have extremely high blood glucose levels and lose weight fast because they can’t access the sugar that they’re eating without insulin. Without insulin the […]

the most nutritious diabetic friendly meals

This article outlines a system to identify nutritious diabetic-friendly meals that minimise insulin load while maximising nutrition. Choosing highly ranked meals will reduce the need to count carbs or calories. Type 1 diabetics can use this system to calculate the total insulin required to cover carbs and protein and the split between the carb and protein bolus. […]