Different Kinds of Sugar

Something that hit me the other day that people might not realize is that there are several different kinds of sugar. I don't necessarily mean ploysaccharides, disaccharides and monosaccharides. I suppose that has something to do with it, but I'm talking more about how different sugars affect diabetes and the body.

Quick-sugars are like most fruit juices, sweet foods and stuff like that. These kinds of sugars get my blood sugar to spike fast, but the sugars also work quickly so it doesn't last for very long. I like to use this as half of my correction for lows because I will go up in less than five minutes. Quick sugars are sometimes hard to correct for, though. This is because the insulin will be working for 45 minutes to an hour and the the sugar will have worked and been gone for at least 40 minutes by the time the insulin is done. This is where the false belief that diabetic's cannot have sugar comes from. It is not that we cannot have sugar, it is that quick sugar can be dangerous or hard to correct for. If we could not have sugar, then we would not be able to eat. Because there is sugar in everything. I do try to avoid having too much of this kind of sugar because it can be very hard to manage diabetes on a quick-sugar diet, but I can have cake, candy, or apple juice if I want to.

Long-lasting sugars are usually breads, pastries, milk and other such things. Pizza is a long-lasting carbohydrate/sugar, and it is more dangerous for me than any quick-sugar is. The yeast hits me repeatedly, so sometimes it is like no amount of insulin will be enough. It can continue to affect me for 8 hours after a meal. Not all long-lasting sugars/carbs are like that. A biscuit in the morning is a good idea especially for a long day with a lot of activity. It will keep my sugar steady so I don't have to worry about dropping. Usually. Milk isn't quite as long lasting as bread, so it's good to keep my sugar up after a low. I usually try to couple quick-acting and long-lasting sugars when treating a hypoglycemic event, because one will bring me up almost instantly and the other will help me maintain the good blood sugar.

Something else that people might not consider is foods that do not typically have an overabundance in carbs/sugars. I can eat bacon all day long and it doesn't have any affect on my blood sugar, because there are no carbs/sugars in it. Same thing applies to other kinds of meats, cheeses, most vegetables and water. On high blood sugar days I try to stick to this kind of diet. Especially if I am having a consistent stream of highs and can't seem to figure out what the problem is. I can't really fast, so this helps me figure out if it is a basal (amount of insulin the pump gives me over a 24 hour period of time), food or under correction issue.

I just wanted to raise awareness about the different kinds of sugars and the different affects they can have on my body. Since it is Diabetes Awareness Month and all. I guess I hadn't really considered that people don't know how it affects me. But now you know!