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I recently used the Libre Sense continuous glucose sensor as an experiment (I don't have diabetes). I noticed that after eating pasta, my blood sugar stayed el

I recently used the Libre Sense continuous glucose sensor as an experiment (I don't have diabetes). I noticed that after eating pasta, my blood sugar stayed elevated for 4-5 hours. It looks like calling pasta and bread "slow carbs" is appropriate. One of my conclusions from the experiment is that I will probably never buy wheat again (but I'll eat it if I get it served).

jmnicolas 6y ago
> I noticed that after eating pasta, my blood sugar stayed elevated for 4-5 hours. But how long your blood sugar stayed high after eating "fast carbs"?
- arnejenssen 6y ago
  My meals without slow carbs usually had a "rounded" elevation that last for about 1 hour and converges do my baseline after about 3 hours. I never tried only carbs/fruits in a meal. I always add fat and some protein. I should try it for my next experiment. The glucose response also appears to be affected by physical activity before or after a meal. You can "walk-off" a heavy meal.
  - jmnicolas 6y ago
    Thanks!
ummonk 6y ago
Do you mean that in a negative way? A food with carbs that release over 4-5 hours seems ideal for lunch.
- arnejenssen 6y ago
  Practitioners of intermittent fasting and keto diet claim we have more mental clarity when we are in ketosis. During the experiment I made a homemade pizza with about 300 g of flour. After eating it I experienced brain-fog and I was not able to focus on reading a book that evening.
  - treeman79 6y ago
    Personally I think mental clarity comes lack of immune response to all the sugar. Ate mostly plain sweet potatoes for a month. Mental clarity sky rocketed. Most foods make me mentally sluggish for hours. Strict keto leaves me physically weak though
  - ummonk 6y ago
    That likely very much depends on the individual. Personally I'm probably mildly hypoglycemic; I get brain-fog if I haven't eaten in a while - eating some fast carbs lifts the brain-fog.
thinkingemote 6y ago
Do you eat any carbs? Potatoes, rice?. How did they affect the sensor
- arnejenssen 6y ago
  Yes. I get my carbs from vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrot, tomato, and kale. Fruits like banana, apples and clementine appears to be fine. The highest glucose I measured was after a parsimon. I tested potatoes as a part of a meal, and it gave a small and short elevation. I tried rice twice and it gave a high but short elevation. Sequencing also appears to be important. Start the meal with fat and protein and finish with carbs. The French desert is a good idea. Bread as an appetiser at restaurants is a bad idea.
simonebrunozzi 6y ago
Add fibers and you'll mitigate most of the issues. E.g. a good vegetable-based sauce with the pasta, "e via".
rland 6y ago
I have diabetes. For me, pasta is in the "normal" range. "Fast" -- candy, soda, etc. Hits in 20 mins and is gone in 2.5 hrs. "Normal" -- pasta, a sandwich, rice, etc. Hits in 30-45 mins and is gone in 4/5 hrs "Slow" -- high fat foods, peanut butter, meats, etc. hits in ~2h and is gone in 7-9 Made a little chart (†). The area under those curves is the same for the same g of carbohydrate but the shape is different. The thing is, pasta is heavy. Compared to most meals it's dense and almost pure carbohydrate. So if you have even a little bit of insulin resistance you will definitely feel it. Then there's alcohol, that lives in the complete opposite corner: a shot of vodka hits in the "fast" category but then actually lowers the BG later on. † https://i.postimg.cc/5tqc24zn/fast-slow.png https://i.postimg.cc/5tqc24zn/fast-slow.png

jmnicolas 6y ago

> I noticed that after eating pasta, my blood sugar stayed elevated for 4-5 hours. But how long your blood sugar stayed high after eating "fast carbs"?

arnejenssen 6y ago
My meals without slow carbs usually had a "rounded" elevation that last for about 1 hour and converges do my baseline after about 3 hours. I never tried only carbs/fruits in a meal. I always add fat and some protein. I should try it for my next experiment. The glucose response also appears to be affected by physical activity before or after a meal. You can "walk-off" a heavy meal.
- jmnicolas 6y ago
  Thanks!

ummonk 6y ago

Do you mean that in a negative way? A food with carbs that release over 4-5 hours seems ideal for lunch.

arnejenssen 6y ago
Practitioners of intermittent fasting and keto diet claim we have more mental clarity when we are in ketosis. During the experiment I made a homemade pizza with about 300 g of flour. After eating it I experienced brain-fog and I was not able to focus on reading a book that evening.
- treeman79 6y ago
  Personally I think mental clarity comes lack of immune response to all the sugar. Ate mostly plain sweet potatoes for a month. Mental clarity sky rocketed. Most foods make me mentally sluggish for hours. Strict keto leaves me physically weak though
- ummonk 6y ago
  That likely very much depends on the individual. Personally I'm probably mildly hypoglycemic; I get brain-fog if I haven't eaten in a while - eating some fast carbs lifts the brain-fog.

thinkingemote 6y ago

Do you eat any carbs? Potatoes, rice?. How did they affect the sensor

arnejenssen 6y ago
Yes. I get my carbs from vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrot, tomato, and kale. Fruits like banana, apples and clementine appears to be fine. The highest glucose I measured was after a parsimon. I tested potatoes as a part of a meal, and it gave a small and short elevation. I tried rice twice and it gave a high but short elevation. Sequencing also appears to be important. Start the meal with fat and protein and finish with carbs. The French desert is a good idea. Bread as an appetiser at restaurants is a bad idea.

simonebrunozzi 6y ago

Add fibers and you'll mitigate most of the issues. E.g. a good vegetable-based sauce with the pasta, "e via".

rland 6y ago

I have diabetes. For me, pasta is in the "normal" range. "Fast" -- candy, soda, etc. Hits in 20 mins and is gone in 2.5 hrs. "Normal" -- pasta, a sandwich, rice, etc. Hits in 30-45 mins and is gone in 4/5 hrs "Slow" -- high fat foods, peanut butter, meats, etc. hits in ~2h and is gone in 7-9 Made a little chart (†). The area under those curves is the same for the same g of carbohydrate but the shape is different. The thing is, pasta is heavy. Compared to most meals it's dense and almost pure carbohydrate. So if you have even a little bit of insulin resistance you will definitely feel it. Then there's alcohol, that lives in the complete opposite corner: a shot of vodka hits in the "fast" category but then actually lowers the BG later on. † https://i.postimg.cc/5tqc24zn/fast-slow.png https://i.postimg.cc/5tqc24zn/fast-slow.png