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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Diabetes / March 2006Indian food and late BG peak
Has anyone noticed any late BG readings after eating Indian food? We eat Indian food about once a week. Normally we get basmati rice and chicken or lamb entree. Even when I measure the amount of basmati rice at home and eat exact amount of carbs needed, I get elevated blood sugar levels much later in the day. Two hours after giving bolus (Novolog) my BG reading may be normal (below 140), but it keeps rising even after 2 hours post-meal. I could only guess that fat content of Indian food delays the peak in BG, but I am not 100% sure this is the cause. Has anyone else noticed that phenomenon? Any idea why this could be happening? Thanks. T1Steve > Has anyone noticed any late BG readings after eating Indian food? We > eat Indian food about once a week. Normally we get basmati rice and [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > BG, but I am not 100% sure this is the cause. Has anyone else noticed > that phenomenon? Any idea why this could be happening? When I was first diagnosed T2, the one food ingredient that could be counted on to have a disproportionate effect on my numbers was coconut milk. At first I assumed that the curries I had it in had *other*, hidden ingredients, but I got the same effect from a coconut milk-based soup in a Thai restaurant.  SignatureAF > I could only guess that fat content of Indian food delays the peak in > > BG, but I am not 100% sure this is the cause. Has anyone else noticed > > that phenomenon? Any idea why this could be happening? I researched the GI values of different types of rice a while back.... I don't have my book with me at the moment, but I think this is on the web at http://www.glycemicindex.com/ which is maintained at the University of Sydney, in Australia. As I recall, basmati rice is one of the lowest in GI value, while jazmati is one of the highest. If you are sure you are getting basmati, please recall the discussions of Quentin and others a few days ago, in which the concepts of the glycemic index and glycemic load were discussed somewhat at length in another thread. Even if you are eating basmati, you would still have to watch the total carb count you are consuming, as well as what you are eating with it, since that would affect the glycemic load. Remember, carbs are carbs.... They all convert to glucose when absorbed and broken down. Some digest and break down more quickly than others, that's all..... For instance, I rarely eat rice at all, and when I do, I rarely have more than 1/2 cup. That stuff is just volatile for my BG. Will, T2 > > I could only guess that fat content of Indian food delays the peak in > > > BG, but I am not 100% sure this is the cause. Has anyone else noticed [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > For instance, I rarely eat rice at all, and when I do, I rarely have more > than 1/2 cup. That stuff is just volatile for my BG. I didn't write anything in what you cited! This one's innocuous, but it isn't always... SignatureAF Sorry Alice, I guess I was responding to the original poster, who was T1Steve.... Sorry about the mixup.... You did not write the bit about the basmati rice. T1Steve apparently wrote that. And yet, I suppose what I had to say would have been the same. Basmati does have a lower GI than say, Jasmine rice, which was my main point. Most rice rates very highly on the GI scale. Both Jasmine and basmati rice are frequently served in Indian cuisine. Will, T2 > Sorry Alice, I guess I was responding to the original poster, who was > T1Steve.... [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Will, T2 Not a problem...I had mentioned coconut milk as a possible culprit... SignatureAF > When I was first diagnosed T2, the one food ingredient that could be > counted on to have a disproportionate effect on my numbers was coconut > milk. At first I assumed that the curries I had it in had *other*, > hidden ingredients, but I got the same effect from a coconut milk-based > soup in a Thai restaurant. That is very interesting. I get much worse numbers from Thai foods, but I assumed it was because there is additional sugar and lots and lots of garlic in all the sauces and the noodles they use are the very fast digesting kind. Are you sure it isn't the added sugar in the soup, not the coconut milk? --Jenny http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes Diabetes Info http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/newlydiagnosed.htm Get Your Blood Sugar Under Control > That is very interesting. I get much worse numbers from Thai foods, but > I assumed it was because there is additional sugar and lots and lots of > garlic in all the sauces and the noodles they use are the very fast > digesting kind. > > Are you sure it isn't the added sugar in the soup, not the coconut milk? I never eat the noodles, but where I live, Thai food in restaurants is heavily sweetened with sugar, some places horribly so. Susan > > When I was first diagnosed T2, the one food ingredient that could be > > counted on to have a disproportionate effect on my numbers was coconut [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Are you sure it isn't the added sugar in the soup, not the coconut milk? It didn't taste at all sweet (I know..), and, because of the effect on my blood sugar, I wasn't inclined to try again. For what it's worth, though, I've had less of a spike from obviously sweetened sauces (like sriracha) than from coconut-milk-based curries that were less obviously sweetened. Just one of the mysteries. YMMV. The message to the original poster would be not to assume what's going to cause spikes but to try food in various combinations. He was assuming his problem was from the rice (not unreasonable), but not considering various ingredients in the curry he was eating. In an Indian restaurant, for instance, I'd suspect hidden potatoes! SignatureAF "Non Sequitur U has a really, really lousy debate team." --artyw raises the bar on rec.sport.baseball Indian Cuisine uses basmati rice which has a GI of 58 Thai Cuisine uses Jamine rice which has a GI of 109 Coconut milk is very "fat" which would slow digestion and possibly acount for a late BG rise. Cookie >> When I was first diagnosed T2, the one food ingredient that could be >> counted on to have a disproportionate effect on my numbers was coconut [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/newlydiagnosed.htm Get Your Blood > Sugar Under Control > Indian Cuisine uses basmati rice which has a GI of 58 > > Thai Cuisine uses Jamine rice which has a GI of 109 > > Coconut milk is very "fat" which would slow digestion and possibly > acount for a late BG rise. I eat neither form of rice though and have substituted bean sprouts for noodles with Thai cuisine and have still seen shockingly high blood sugars afterwards. There either is sugar in things that don't taste sugary, or it may be the concentrated garlic. Garlic is much higher in carbohydrate than people realize and seeing the gallons of chopped garlic in the kitchen at our local Thai takeout I'm wondering if that might explain the high response to the "doesn't taste like sugar" foods. It's a shame. Done right Pad Thai is one of the most delicious foods possible. <Sigh> --Jenny http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes Diabetes Info http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/newlydiagnosed.htm Get Your Blood Sugar Under Control : Has anyone noticed any late BG readings after eating Indian food? We : eat Indian food about once a week. Normally we get basmati rice and [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] : (Novolog) my BG reading may be normal (below 140), but it keeps rising : even after 2 hours post-meal. : I could only guess that fat content of Indian food delays the peak in : BG, but I am not 100% sure this is the cause. Has anyone else noticed : that phenomenon? Any idea why this could be happening? : Thanks. : T1Steve I am not type 1 and insulin dependent, but could the high fat content of the Indian food delay the absorbion of teh carbs in teh rice? tis would be my best bet. Wendy Indian cuisine has wonderfully rich sauces. One never quite knows what is in a sauce, but I know from years of preparing sauces before I was DX'd that sugar almost always makes them taste better. There is a real possibility that dried fruit is used in the sauces or you're getting a fair amount of carb from the chutney. > Has anyone noticed any late BG readings after eating Indian food? We > eat Indian food about once a week. Normally we get basmati rice and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > T1Steve Steve, I too have similar experience. Some of these joints make great spinach dish. When I am forced to eat out in these places I eat this dish with a nan or roti (indian bread mostly white flour!). I never get a spike eating this. So I became curious and asked the cook what went in the Spinach disk. There was at least twp spoon of butter and plenty of milk fat (heavy cream) that was used to make the dish. So I do suspect its the fat. Knowing the ingredients and looking at what I am ready to handle on long term basis I am not going to indulge in eating this food. Most of you may not know but many dishes in Indian restaurants at least are made have sugar added. So do check your meter after you eat. That is the golden rule no matter what and especially when you eat at an unknown place. Anil T2 Great discussion! Thanks guys. I was wondering maybe I am in some way weird or something. In general I would agree that indian sauces have some sugar (not sure how much though but will try to find out). Sugar in my situation is not the problem here. Sugar metabolizes quickly and it would simply cause elevated BG 2 hours post-meal, not the delayed peak that I am noticing. I would think that the fat content of indian food is most likely the problem here - it delays the peak. I just never thought it could delay the peak that much. I also ate that spinach dish that is mentioned above - saag paneer and never thought it's THAT fatty. But I guess I was wrong. I will try next time choosing tomato-based sauces that are less heavy and will try to account for some sugar in the sauces as well. |
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