22 Comments
Do you consider the glycemic index of different foods before deciding what to eat?
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I chose “other” because while I don’t really stop to consider the glycemic index of my foods, I eat a high fiber diet which includes alot of low glycemic foods already. I’ve been on this diet for @40 years, long before the lists of low/high glycemic foods became available.
I put yes, often but I don’t consider an actual number. I just know foods to be fast or slow or hit me hard and need more insulin. I also consider fat eaten with carbs just as another variable to consider when guesstimating insulin needs.
No. I eat a low amount of carbs so it doesn’t really affect me much one way or the other.
Since I started using Loop I have been far more in tune with the nature of the carbs in a meal. When programming a bolus the food icons are labeled fast, medium, or slow indicating how quickly the food will impact blood sugar (glycemic index). Candy is 2 hours, casseroles, soups, sandwiches are 3 hours and fatty foods like meat, nuts, avocados are slow 4 hour foods.
Hi Clare, I’ve never heard this about Loop. Can you tell me more, or point me to a website that discusses these Loop food icons? (I’m on tandem pump with dexcom cgm).
Thanks,
Carol Evans
Hi Carol, can’t reply directly to your post, Loop is a DIY hybrid closed loop system. It works similarly to your tandem system but it is community created. It works on iOS.
Like some of the previous comments, I don’t actually use a glycemic index number. It’s all done subconsciously after many years of guesstimating carbs, speed of digestion, etc. I try to eat fresh fruits and vegetables as much as possible. But, the fatty foods mess up my digestive process more than anything.
Not so much whether to eat something as how much to eat.
I studies the index many times in the past, and I continue now to use it indirectly.
I’m in the US which doesn’t require GI listing on nutrition labels. This means either a working knowledge of GIs or yet another app! Other countries, notably Australia, require posting. It would be helpful to have the info immediately available and is something manufacturers probably already have in hand.
Been at this for a very long time. It’s a guide not an absolute. I adjust for carbs depending whether fast or slow absorbing and acting.
The answers above indicate that we mostly have internalized concepts abo8t the GI of foods. After all, each one of us has known for a very long time that orange juice raises our blood sugar rapidly. And through the years , I am sure that we all learned that certain other carbs were slower or faster. So we don’t need a number define by a laboratory each time we eat.
I consider it in regard to the time of the meal, past history with the food and what else is in the meal. That helps me determine how much of the food to eat.
I never learned glycemic indices. I just know the more while our complex a food is the slower it absorbs.
I don’t know what a “glycemic index” is. I count carbs and stay away from fructose and granulated sugar. No more than 75 grams of carbs per day in my bland diet…
Yes- especially if I am participating in strenuous activity for a longer duration- some higher glycemic foods during the activity. On more resting days- lower glycemic foods. Most times I choose whole foods which are generally lower glycemic. The more processes foods are higher glycemic and not as healthy for a variety of reasons.
Ice cream has a lower glycemic index than rice.
I don’t actually look up the glycemic index for particular foods, but I will adjust how much insulin I give myself based on how particular foods affect me.
I chose other. My stomach is the one who decides and it often feels like it is based on multiple factors along with glycemic index. My appetite at times has no desire for slow digesting foods, if I’ve had too much during the last few days. I think that is my digestion in general.
I said other as I don’t directly consider the glycemic index as I find it misleading if used without considering overall glycemic load. However we count carbs and stick with a LCHF (low carb high fat) diet so we are indirectly considering both GI and GL.
I do consider this factor, but usually do a pretty good job of bolusing based on the GI of what I am eating. Is it always perfect….. no. But if you log those occasions of what you ate and how it effected you, you can improve on it going forward. With that said, life is easier if you meals that are low glycemic…
Not exactly! I’ve been T1D 55 years and know how different foods affect by BG. Lows require fast-acting carbs. I DO consider Total Carbs along with IOB and BG level before deciding what to eat and/or deciding how to bolus (extended vs immediate).