if she is a type 1 Gliclazide will have absolutely no effect, because there
will be no effective beta cells for the Glic to work on. so, possibly a
misunderstanding, or a typo.

no, she can't take honey without pushing up the blood glucose levels.

unfortunately you were told a barefaced lie by a total idiot. i bet it
wasn't a doctor or dietician.

the reasons artificial sweeteners are made are two
1/ reduce gum/teeth disease
2/ because natural sugars INcrease blood glucose, you can use artificial
sweeteners to achieve the tast without the rise.

HTH

Alan H

Honey is 82.1% carbohydrate, 17.4% fat and has a small amount of protein
0.3% and the rest is ash (0.2%). So being carb it is going to raise bgs (
depending on the amount of course ).
But funnily enough the Glycemic Index of Honey (83 when compared to bread )
is lower than bread ( 100) so the honey would raise the bg slower than the
toast - moral  ; have a teaspoon of honey in the morning if you must (
tested for its effect with your meter ) and chuck the toast in the bin. It's
the toast wot does the damage.
The producers of honey have been claiming that honey has a low GI and is
therefore Ok - it's misleading, the GI ( 83 versus bread at 100 and 55
versus pure glucose at 100 ) is lower than bread or glucose but it is NOT a
low GI food.

"Atlantica" <atlantica@dsl.pipex.com> wrote in alt.support.diabetes.uk:

A diabetic, be it a Type 1 or a Type 2, is not able to process blood
glucose; a T1 because the pancreas doesn't produce any insulin, a T2
because the body has become resistent to the insulin produced by the
pancreas. As your mother uses medication, she's likely a T2 diabetic.
Gliclazide stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin, and that's
impossible for a T1.

Blood glucose comes _almost_ (but not) completely from carbohydrate (carb)
intake, and it doesn't matter what carbs are responsible. "Natural sugars"
are carbs as well. It's the chemical composition making up the stuff, not
the fancy names given to them.

So her BG-level rises from carbohydrates.

Carbs come in a few different flavours.
The more simple they are, the easier they can find their way into the
blood stream (because less need to process them), and the faster they will
raise blood glucose levels.

You have:

"Sugars"
- monosaccharides, which are glucose, fructose and galactose (in some
dairy products)
- disaccharides, which are sucrose, maltose and lactose,
(all a combination of glucose and a monosaccharide)

"Polysaccharides":
- Starches (potatoes, wheat, rice etc.), glycogen (glucose as stored by
muscles and liver), cellulose are polysaccharids.

"Mono-" "di-" and "poly-" stands for the increasing complexity of the
carbohydrates. So glucose, fructose and galactose are the most simple
ones, and will raise her bloodglucose level most rapidly.

Honey consists for the largest part of fructose, a monosaccharide. It will
raise her blood glucose level very rapidly. As a comparison, starches will
have a same effect, but much slower. In this way one can "dose" the carbs
based on both the "carb speed" and the "carb amount".

If it is a  problem or not depends on the level of insulin resistance she
has, and her level of activity. A real good idea would be to check her
blood glucose level with a blood glucose meter, to see how she reacts
after eating different (types and amounts of) carbs. In that case she
should test before her breakfast (or meal) and two hours after.

Levels should be as normal as possible. After two hours she should have
values not (or at most abit) exceeding 115 mg/dl (or 6.5 mmol/l). The
value before her meal shows her the increase due to the carbs, which is as
valuable information as the absolute figures.

If you have doubts, remember to consult a doctor. In any age experimenting
with food must be done with care and consideration, and the older one
becomes, the more critical the care and considerations are. Good luck and
good health to her!