Category: Diabetes

Carbophobia

I realized yesterday how carbophobic I’ve become. My friends were coming over for poker night, and I was setting the table with snacks – mini pretzels, crisps, chili nuts, and jelly candy. As I was inspecting the setup, I found myself pondering about carbohydrates and wondering why people eat these things. In the same way…
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The blood glucose meter that gives you smiley faces

I’m on the libre detox. After obsessively scanning myself thirty times a day for the past year, I’m going old-school. To celebrate I got a new meter, the Fora Diamond Prima. It came free with two boxes of strips, which makes sense because after buying two boxes you’ve most likely already paid the production cost…
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The role of insulin in the body

Diabulimia is a sad condition where diabetics skip taking their insulin in the fear that it’s making them fat. Blood sugars go up, and if you’re unlucky, you can end up with diabetic ketoacidosis and die. It helps to know a little bit about insulin as a type 1 diabetic, as you’re going to spend…
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Below 7: Roasted pumpkin (success)

It’s pumpkin season! Someone was kind enough to give me one, so the option was either to eat it or turn it into a trumpkin. I went with the eating option and chopped my pumpkin into 40g pieces, that I tossed in olive oil and salt, before roasting in the oven for 25 minutes. It…
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Below 7: Wild keta salmon with potato salad and green beans (success)

After listening to a very insightful podcast from Peter Attia on omega-3 fatty acids I’m eating more fish. I also started eating potatoes again, after avoiding them altogether on my low carb diet. The trick seems to be very small servings and pre-bolusing insulin by thirty minutes. Pre-bolusing insulin is not as tedious as it…
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Below 7: Chocolate chip and vanilla muffins (success)

Low carb baking with coconut flour lets you eat delicious things without spiking your blood sugar. These muffins make for an excellent dessert and they freeze well. They’re a variant of my low carb blueberry muffins but with 60g of Lindt 85% chocolate chunks instead of the blueberries. Split the mixture in two and add…
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Below 7: Greek salad (success)

I’ve been studying the philosophy of ancient Greece lately, and have concluded that everything comes from the Greeks. Even salad. For my Greek salad, I have 100g of feta cheese, 10 small olives, lots of cucumber…
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It’s the dose, not the poison

While you shouldn’t base your whole treatment strategy on the glycemic index (GI), it’s helpful to determine which foods are more likely to spike your blood sugar. Many diabetics avoid high GI foods altogether and eat from the lower range of the spectrum. Some fruits that are excellent blood sugar spikers have a low GI, so…
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Why carb counting doesn’t always work

In theory, it works like this. You weigh your food and check the food database. This gives you the exact carb count for your meal. You dose the insulin according to ratio. For many of us, this is 1:10. If you’re extra good you pre-bolus the insulin to give it time to hit the bloodstream. You expect a nice steady line on your continuous glucose monitor. Maybe a small bump. Only this is not what happens. At all. Instead…
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My diabetes PA

Diabetes:M was a real life-saver when I was new to diabetes, and it remains part of my day to day management. When I first left the hospital with insulin pens and fixed doses, I was terrified of making any changes. As I dropped the carbs from the two-hundred grams recommended by the diabetic nurse I had no choice. The insulin…
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