Insulin spike how long

The long-term effects of postprandial hyperglycemia have been studied extensively. For those with type 1 diabetes, significant post-meal rises have been shown to produce earlier onset of kidney disease and accelerate the progression of existing eye problems retinopathy.

And like a dagger through the heart, post-meal hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular problems. Recently, post-meal spikes and glucose variability have been associated with diminished brain function and an increased risk of dementia.

But the problems are not limited to long-term health issues. Any time blood sugars rise particularly high, even temporarily, our quality of life suffers. The rapid blood sugar decline that usually follows a post-meal spike can cause false hypoglycemic symptoms. The exact timing of blood sugar spikes can vary from person to person and meal to meal.

However, on average, the post-meal peaks tend to be about one hour and 15 minutes after starting a meal. But the best way to measure post-meal patterns is by using a continuous glucose monitor CGM. So exactly how high is TOO High?

There is no universal answer. However, no specific guidelines are provided for type-1 vs. Post-meal readings that are consistently above these levels should be addressed by you and your healthcare team see strategies in the sections below. To reduce the spike, a number of strategies can be used. Some involve medications while others involve our lifestyle choices. Here are a few medical approaches:. The right insulin can make or break your ability to control those after-meal spikes.

In general, insulin that works quickly and for a short period of time will work better than those that work slowly over a long period of time. For instance, rapid-acting insulin analogs Humalog, Novolog or Apidra will cover the post-meal blood sugar rise much better than regular insulin. Newer ultra-rapid insulins, such as Fiasp , work even faster. The way insulin is administered can dramatically affect its speed of action.

Afrezza is an inhaled insulin that can be used at mealtimes. Because the dry powder is absorbed through the lungs, its onset and peak are much earlier than injected insulin. Research has also shown that injected insulin can work much faster when the injection site is warmed by rubbing the site, immersing in warm water, or exercising the muscle near the site. Warming the site causes the blood vessels near the skin to dilate, which allows the insulin to absorb more quickly.

By the way, smoking causes the blood vessels to constrict, so quitting smoking might improve your post-meal blood sugar in addition to helping you and those around you to live longer. Unless you suffer from gastroparesis, it is best to give boluses before eating. How long before? It depends. The higher your blood sugar, the earlier the bolus should be given. With a pre-meal blood sugar that is well above-target, it is best to give the bolus and then wait 30 minutes before eating.

Near your target blood sugar? Wait 15 minutes. Below target? Take the bolus and eat right away. In order to have more insulin working right after eating and less working several hours later, a pump user can run a substantial temporary basal reduction for 3 hours just before eating and give a normal bolus equal to the basal insulin that would have been delivered.

For example, if your basal rate in the morning is. Two classes of injectable hormones, GLP-1 receptor agonists and amylin mimetics, have powerful effects on post-meal blood sugar. Both GLP-1s and Symlin slow gastric emptying and keep carbohydrates from raising the blood sugar too quickly after meals.

Symlin, which is a replacement for the amylin hormone which is lacking in people with diabetes , also helps to diminish appetite and blunt post-meal glucagon secretion. GLP-1s blunts appetite and promote the growth of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas of those with type So both can contribute to better post-meal blood sugar control.

For type-2s, the choice of oral medication can also impact your after-meal control. Sulfonylureas stimulate the pancreas to secrete extra insulin throughout the day, without regard to meal timing. There are alternative medications called meglitinides which also stimulate the pancreas but do so in a much faster and shorter manner.

When taken at mealtimes, meglitinides produce better after-meal control than sulfonylureas. Glycemic Index GI refers to the speed with which food raises the blood sugar level.

While all carbohydrates except for fiber convert into blood sugar eventually, some do so much faster than others. Many starchy foods breads, cereals, potatoes, rice have a high GI; they digest easily and convert into blood sugar quickly. Some starchy foods pasta, beans, peas have lower GI values. Foods that have dextrose in them tend to have a very high GI.

Table sugar sucrose and fructose fruit sugar have moderate GI values, while lactose milk sugar is slower to raise blood sugar. A number of books, such as Dr. As a general rule, switching to lower-GI foods will help to reduce your after-meal blood sugar spikes.

Another unique food property that affects rate of digestion is acidity. This is why sourdough bread has a much lower GI value than regular bread. When having a full meal or large snack, consider saving a portion for one or two hours later. For example, if you have a bowl of cereal and juice for breakfast, considering having the cereal at breakfast time, and postpone the juice until mid-morning.

Physical activity after eating can reduce post-meal spikes by diverting blood flow away from the intestines, resulting in slower absorption of sugars into the bloodstream.

The key is to avoid sitting for extended periods of time after eating. Low blood sugar is problematic in many ways. Prevention of hypoglycemia prior to meals and snacks is yet another effective strategy for controlling post-meal blood sugars. Gary has had Type-1 diabetes for 34 years. He and his team of Certified Diabetes Educators consult with people throughout the world via phone and the internet.

He can be reached at gary integrateddiabetes. To find out the answer, some people reference the glycemic index , a rating system that's used to show the effect of carb-containing foods on blood sugar. On the glycemic index , carbs are assigned a score from zero to At the high end, represents a significant spike caused by glucose. Scores of 70 to indicate high-glycemic foods. A score of 55 or less goes to low-glycemic foods. Scores falling between these two groups have a moderate effect, according to the Mayo Clinic.

While your blood sugar will still peak within a general timeframe after eating, low-glycemic foods ensure that the peak is not too large. But you don't have to rely solely on the glycemic index if you want to know how a food will affect your blood sugar levels, says Palinski-Wade.

While the tool can be useful, it also has some flaws: "It can be confusing," she says. The rate at which food leaves your stomach, called gastric emptying, affects the amount of sugar in your blood after you eat.

In untreated diabetes patients, the blood sugar level does not return to the pre-meal level of its own accord. Some people's blood sugar level remains high two hours after eating, even though on an empty stomach it would be at a normal level. As a result, the risk of developing diabetes increases as insulin is not properly secreted, or does not work properly in the body. In order to make sure insulin works properly, it is important not to overeat and to avoid becoming obese.

Knowing which foods will not cause a sudden and extreme spike in blood sugar level and using this knowledge in your daily life will help you to prevent obesity and diabetes, and maintain good health. Many people think that all high-calorie foods raise blood sugar level, but this is not always the case.

In general, foods that cause blood sugar level to rise the most are those that are high in carbohydrates, which are quickly converted into energy, such as rice, bread, fruits and sugar. Next are foods high in protein, such as meats, fish eggs, milk and dairy products, and oily foods.

However, even though carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels, if you don't eat them your diet will be unbalanced and you won't feel satisfied after your meal, which can lead to excessive consumption of foods rich in protein and fat.

To explain how different kinds of carbohydrate-rich foods directly affect blood sugar, the glycemic index was developed and is considered a better way of categorizing carbohydrates, especially starchy foods.

The glycemic index ranks carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to based on how quickly and how much they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high glycemic index, like white bread, are rapidly digested and cause substantial fluctuations in blood sugar. Foods with a low glycemic index, like whole oats, are digested more slowly, prompting a more gradual rise in blood sugar. Numerous epidemiologic studies have shown a positive association between higher dietary glycemic index and increased risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

However, the relationship between glycemic index and body weight is less well studied and remains controversial. This measure is called the glycemic load. In general, a glycemic load of 20 or more is high, 11 to 19 is medium, and 10 or under is low.

The glycemic load has been used to study whether or not high-glycemic load diets are associated with increased risks for type 2 diabetes risk and cardiac events. In a large meta-analysis of 24 prospective cohort studies, researchers concluded that people who consumed lower-glycemic load diets were at a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who ate a diet of higher-glycemic load foods.

Here is a listing of low, medium, and high glycemic load foods. For good health, choose foods that have a low or medium glycemic load, and limit foods that have a high glycemic load. Whole grain, bran, and germ intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study and systematic review. PLoS Med. High dietary glycemic load and glycemic index increase risk of cardiovascular disease among middle-aged women: a population-based follow-up study.

J Am Coll Cardiol. Low-carbohydrate-diet score and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. N Engl J Med.