Blood sugar issue with 6 Week Cure Shake Recipe

[Rishara]

I don't know if anyone will have an answer, but I have no clue, so here goes.

I decided to start the 6 Week Cure Diet to jump start my weight loss (have stalled pretty quickly on Atkins).

So I made my shake this morning with 2 scoops of NOW whey protein powder (1 carb per scoop plus it has enough l-leucine to meet the requirements), 3 squirts of Davinci sugar free banana syrup, 2 tbs of heavy cream, the water and ice plus 1 egg. It tasted pretty good and was quite filling.

The problem is that my blood sugar spiked from 128 to 185! I can't figure out any reason why it would spike (I never spike on my normal Atkins meals). Anyone have any ideas? About the only thing I can think of is that Davinci incorrectly labeled a full sugar syrup bottle as sugar free!

I really wanted to follow this diet, but I won't be able to if my sugar spikes like this... Very odd.

[gitfiddle]

So I made my shake this morning with 2 scoops of NOW whey protein powder (1 carb per scoop plus it has enough l-leucine to meet the requirements), 3 squirts of Davinci sugar free banana syrup, 2 tbs of heavy cream, the water and ice plus 1 egg. It tasted pretty good and was quite filling.

The problem is that my blood sugar spiked from 128 to 185! I can't figure out any reason why it would spike (I never spike on my normal Atkins meals). Anyone have any ideas? About the only thing I can think of is that Davinci incorrectly labeled a full sugar syrup bottle as sugar free!
That is a puzzle, Rishara. I looked up NOW whey protein isolate and the label says 7g total carbs with 1.5g fiber for an ecc of 5.5. in two scoops. Is that what you're using?

I don't see anything in it that would spike your blood glucose. What's the possibility you had something on your fingers that might have contaminated your sample? How long after you had the shake did it spike? How long did it take to get back to normal?

If it were me, I'd try it again and see if I got a repeat spike. Perhaps without the DaVinci.

I don't remember my blood glucose going up any more than ten points and then right back down. I had more problems with hypos.

[laughingW]

Whey protein, I read somewhere, triggers high insulin relative to other proteins. (this is why body builders like it after exercise). Perhaps your liver squirted out some glucose to "under cover" the insulin.

[Rishara]

Hi, thanks so much for the replies.

The NOW whey protein isolate that I have is the unflavored and says it only has 1 carb per scoop.

Here is the info:
Total Calories 105 http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Total Fat 0.3 g <1% http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Cholesterol 4 mg 2% http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Sodium 40 mg 2% http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Potassium 168 mg 4% http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Total Carbohydrates 1 g <1% http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Sugars 1 g http://images.netrition.com/images/pixel.gif
Protein 25 g 50%

The 185 reading I got was 1 hour after having the shake. I took the reading a couple times, washing my hands a second time just to make sure. It was down to about 150 after 2 hours then down to 130 before lunch. I ate a normal lunch of a small salad with meat and cheese. It dropped to 120 about 1 hour after lunch, then down to 108 before dinner.

I'll be bummed if it's the whey protein isolate, since I have a huge container of it, and I wanted to avoid soy protein.

I'll try a plain shake in the morning and see what happens.

[nougat]

so those of us with diabetes 2/ pre-diabetes should avoid whey protein powder???

[gitfiddle]

Rishara, I use whey protein isolate to avoid soy, too, and I've not had a problem with it--until I started the 6WC. After several days of having three servings a day I noticed I felt a little "off". A new glucometer I got is registering a bit higher than my old one, so it's hard to say if my glucose is up as a trend. It seems to be. I also get hypos about three hours after my shakes at times. Maybe just too much of a good thing?

The only other idea I came up with is hydration. Are you drinking enough water?

p.s. The NOW powder I looked up is obviously not the one you're using. That's good, because it contained fructose and some soy. They must market different formulas.

[Rishara]

Giving it another try this morning to see what happens. Unfortunately, my morning number was high this morning (stupid Dawn Phenomenon) at 150 (and my weight was up grrr), so it'll be interesting to see the results.

I think you were looking at their flavored protein powders, which is one reason I got the unflavored. The unflavored doesn't have any additives but the flavored ones have all kinds of nasty stuff in them. I actually like the unflavored a lot. It has pretty much no flavor on its own and dissolves nicely. Even an unflavored shake tastes okay to me because I just get the flavor from the cream (yum).

The shake I made this morning has 2 scoops of powder, water, ice and 2 tbs of cream and that's it (each scoop has 2800 mg of l-leucine).

It might be best for me to eat a regular breakfast and have shakes for lunch and dinner, but unfortunately I'd still have to cook dinner for DH, so that would probably frustrate me to no end, lol. Since I don't cook meals for anyone else for breakfast and lunch (due to differing work schedules) I figured it'd be easiest for me to do the shakes then.

[Rishara]

No joy this morning. My blood sugar 1 hour after the shake was up to 190. I guess I'll have to back off for now and maybe try a different type of protein powder. I'm so frustrated right now that I'm just about in tears.

[gitfiddle]

I'm so frustrated right now that I'm just about in tears.I understand totally, Rishara! I'd be there just from the DP without the help of the scale and the protein powder.

It might be that you're especially sensitive to either the whey or something in the powder. Your body may have held on to some water because of it. That should go away. It sounds like you're going to have to experiment with other kinds. Someone mentioned sample packets.

Have you ever been to Dr. Bernstein's forum (http://www.diabetes-book.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl) for diabetics? They have a huge pool of conversations on dawn phenomenon where you might find some practical advice.

[Rishara]

Yeah, I know very well that I can't obsess over the scale, but it's really hard not to. And of course, I'm constantly obsessing over my blood sugar numbers. My morning numbers have actually been much better over the past few weeks (they've been around 120, still high but at least it's below 140), so this morning was kind of a surprise. I have been to Dr. Bernstein's site and just bought the diabetes diet book. I will get the Diabetes Solution soon--I just wish they had a Kindle edition! Since Atkins is only working so-so, I've been trying to read up on some of the other low carb diets.

The good news today is that the blood sugar spike didn't last nearly as long as yesterday. It was still pretty high 2 hours (160) later but by 3 hours it was down to 108. It dropped to 90 before lunch and only went up to 95 an hour after lunch (just had some tuna salad with olive oil mayo and 1/2 an avocado).

I might try the egg protein powder because I really don't want to mess with soy.

Thanks for all the support so far. :)

[AliceW]

I had a similar, though not quite so dramatic, elevated blood sugars from the shakes. It was disturbing enough that I stopped the shakes at 10 days and went on to the meat weeks early. I'm relieved that the BS are much better now.

You can get Dr Bernstein's books as ebooks at Barnes and Noble. The Solution is especially inexpensive and the B&N reader is free and quite nice.

[gitfiddle]

Rishara, it may be a coincidence, but I ate just meat yesterday and my fbs was ten points lower this morning--on the new glucometer! Even lower on the old one (which I don't trust any more).

Thanks for chiming in, Alice!

[Rishara]

I got a smaller tub of egg protein powder today, so I will see what happens tomorrow using it. The egg is the only ingredient listed, so I know there can't be any hidden carbs in there!

My blood sugar was horrible this morning (176) so something freaky is going on. I'm beginning to wonder if I have caught a virus (I was feeling pretty cruddy yesterday but feel okay today). Either that or I snuck into my hubby's m&m stash while I was sleeping (ha ha).

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with some issues with the whey, though nobody seems to be as drastic as me. I'll let everyone know how the egg works in case someone else runs into a similar problem. If it's slightly high, I can probably live with it, assuming it's cleaning out my liver nicely, but I'm scared of anything over 140 (the dreaded 'lose limbs' threshold).

[gitfiddle]

Never heard of egg protein powder. Is it very different from whey flavor?

If you're not feeling well, that would perhaps explain your readings. I think allergies count, or any inflammation.

I get paranoid when my fbs is over 100. Protein Power has been keeping it slightly less than that for a long time. Between the three-shakes-a-day and the new (more accurate?:paranoid:) glucometer, I'm uneasy. It's been running 105 and today it was 96. I prefer it in the 80's, but that's hard to get. Trying to keep the neuropathy at bay. ;)

[Rishara]

I think egg was one of the proteins Dr. Eades listed in the book as being one of the better ones. I just made a shake with it. Unfortunately, I had to shake instead of blend since hubby was still asleep. When I first opened up the egg powder the smell was kind of unappealing so I figured it'd end up tasting nasty. The shake actually tastes decent--no real flavor coming through from the powder. The downside is that the powder doesn't want to dissolve as well as the whey powder did. I'm sure it would be fine in a blender, but I had some clumps that I couldn't shake out.

I'll take my bs when I get to work to see how it affects me. I'm planning on eating lunch for my meal today and if my bs is good throughout the day I'll have another for dinner. I'm not sure when I can fit a 3rd shake in, since I don't snack. Do you know if it's okay to just have 2 shakes a day instead of 3?

My fasting sugars before lunch and dinner are usually in the 85-95 range. I just have the major issue with my morning number (still high this morning at 155 grrrr). Eating breakfast and taking my meds usually brings it down fairly quickly, but I'm beginning to think I might need to start on a small dose of long acting insulin or something to control it.

[bpm]

RE: egg powder
1-smells bad:(
2-chalky if not blended well :(
3-provides many ingredients you need on the 6 week cure and on any lo carb woe :)
4- zero carbs and 24 gms protein per 2 tbs :)

I have used VITOL from amazon.com for 2 months with great success. I do combine it with a little (or equal) whey powder for taste.

[Rishara]

The egg protein shake didn't raise my bg. It was 155 before shake (again stupid DP) and 145 an hour after the shake. Back to 100 before lunch. So it does look like the egg protein will work. Yay! :) Now I just have to figure out a way to mix it when I can't use my blender. I can maybe get away with the stick blender then just add crushed ice.

bpm, you are so right about the smell. When I took a whiff I was thinking 'ugh no way'. I'm just glad the banana Davinci syrup covered up any odd flavor.

[gitfiddle]

The egg protein shake didn't raise my bg. It was 155 before shake (again stupid DP) and 145 an hour after the shake. Back to 100 before lunch. So it does look like the egg protein will work. Yay! :) That's great, Rishara! Would Glucophage be something appropriate for DP? Mine responds to an early dinner and no late snacks. BTW, fbs was still low this morning.

Now I just have to figure out a way to mix it when I can't use my blender. I can maybe get away with the stick blender then just add crushed ice.I've been known to take my smoothie maker into another room to avoid disturbing sleepers. I've also put it on a thick pad and muffled it with a towel! ;)

[Rishara]

We live in a fairly small condo, so I'm not sure I could muffle the noise sufficiently enough. :) Usually, hubby is up before me, so it's not a big deal anyway.

I'm taking metformin and Januvia (Janumet) now. It doesn't apparently seem to be working too well. I take one dose right before bed. Maybe I'll see if my doc will switch me to a time release metformin. Dr. Bernstein also says that there is a drastic difference between the generic met and Glucophage and to stay on Glucophage if you can, so I might try that. I'm not so sure I want to stay on the Januvia. The more research I've done, the more I think it might be hurting more than helping. Since I pay out the nose for it, switching to Glucophage in lieu of the Janumet might be an option.

[gitfiddle]

Dr. Bernstein also says that there is a drastic difference between the generic met and Glucophage and to stay on Glucophage if you can, so I might try that.Yes, I read that there's a great difference between the two. I'm not so sure I want to stay on the Januvia. The more research I've done, the more I think it might be hurting more than helping. Have you read Jenny Ruhl's blog or seen her site bloodsugar101.com? She gathered some facts on Actos that caused me to stop taking it. I think she's got something on Januvia as well, but I didn't read it.

[Rishara]

Yeah, her site is the main reason why I don't think I should be taking Januvia anymore. Also, she's made me realize that taking insulin is not something to be deathly afraid of. Back in June, my doctor mentioned insulin and I thought 'NO WAY that means I'm helpless'. I really wish I'd have found her site sooner.

I'm going back to my doctor in about a month, so I'll talk over this stuff with him then.

My next official weigh-in date is Monday, but I was already down 5 lbs this morning from Monday's weigh-in. And my bs was 135 this morning, so the DP is going back down again it looks like. :) (my bs before bed is usually around 85-90)

[AliceW]

I'm glad to hear the egg protein is working for you. I'll order some and give it a try. There are times when a shake is just so convenient. Now that I have identified whey as a problem it's nice to know there may be an alternative.

About insulin - I use a combination of low carb (almost Bernstein), metformin and basal insulin (Lantus). That may be why I did not have the extreme reaction you did. Injecting the insulin really is no big deal. When you are following a low carb diet, the dose can be quite small and the pens are a joy to use they make it so easy. Definitely something to discuss with your doctor again.

[Rishara]

Thanks for the info Alice. I'm thinking that might be the route I want to go. I have no aversion to needles, so that's not an issue for me (I inject myself with vitamin B once a month). Regardless, I'll always stay low-carb, probably along the lines of Bernstein's plan.

[Sunny]

Hi there.... read about this forum in one of gitfiddles' posts, and thought I'd pop in. Guess there are not many diabetics in the group yet? Seems kinda nice to have such a small group.... maybe even safe!! I'm a type 2 and not on metformin anymore ( have leucocytic colitis and specialist at OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University took me off it.) so trying to manage with diet and very limited exercise. The EAS protein powder from Costco doesn't seem to impact my sugars for which I am thankful. I'm going to investigate the egg protein powder that you all wrote about and see how I do on that. I basically follow Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Eades books for diet. But have no support, especially from my docs. My endocrinologist fired me for refusing to take the metformin and a statin. She said it made her "nervous" that i wouldn't comply and so I needed a different doctor.... even tho I have a tumor (slow growing and benign on my thyroid) that isn't being checked.... sigh.... so I'm glad to have found protein power forums!!! I can undersatnd your frustraiton Rishara to be so compliant with the 6WC program & watch those sugars sky rocket.... I'd be panicked big time!!! So Hi every body!!!:)

[bookwyrm]

Hi, this is my first post. I'm a type 1 diabetic. Have any other type 1s tried the 6-week cure plan? I bought the 6-Week Cure but I wonder if it should have come with a disclaimer that this plan is not for type 1 diabetics. I hope I didn't waste twenty bucks. My blood sugar spiked over 200 when I tried the shakes, even when I thought I was dosing for the carbs. I don't know if I should still try the plan and just take extra insulin or if the extra insulin will absolutely prevent weight loss.

I could let myself be a guinea pig I suppose but I sure don't want to GAIN weight.

I gained about 8 pounds in three months since I went on the insulin pump. Very frustrating.

Thanks,
Bookwyrm

[artsdesireincanada]

We live in a fairly small condo, so I'm not sure I could muffle the noise sufficiently enough. :) Usually, hubby is up before me, so it's not a big deal anyway.



I am on insulen three times a day. It doesn't hurt most of the time when you inject, sometimes, it starts to and I just choose another spot. I have such a big belly, I have lots of padding to inject to. :nod: For real, the blood testing is worse than the injections and best part of the injections is you can adjust it daily if you have to, with metforman and glucopage and actos, (all of which I quit) you cannot adjust for your blood sugar readings. So it is easier to manage your bs with insulen and there are no side effects. There are major risks on all of the pills out there for diabetics. metforman I call the pill from hell.

[artsdesireincanada]

If you're not feeling well, that would perhaps explain your readings. I think allergies count, or any inflammation.

I get paranoid when my fbs is over 100. Protein Power has been keeping it slightly less than that for a long time. Between the three-shakes-a-day and the new (more accurate?:paranoid:) glucometer, I'm uneasy. It's been running 105 and today it was 96. I prefer it in the 80's, but that's hard to get. Trying to keep the neuropathy at bay. ;)


the Dr had a blog on that try B1 three times a day, it helps. Yeah BS jumps if you have pain, if you are upset, if you are worried, if you have inflammations, if you have allergies, or if your ex husband walks in the door!:evil:

[Rishara]

I have just started lying to my doctor. He basically refused to listen to me when I said that there were a lot of studies out that linked Januvia to cancer and refused to take me off of it. I did get a prescription for the time release metformin that I want to try at night to see if that helps my morning numbers. Otherwise, I can completely control my blood sugar with food alone. He still prescribes me like 18 million things that I won't take. I just lie and pretend I'm taking them.

Lol, he also asked if I wanted a prescription to talk to a diabetic nutritionist about weight loss. As if. They'd just tell me to east 'whole grains' most likely. Not to mention that I've lost just about 20 lbs in 3 months, which I think is a decent enough pace. Why would I need to see someone about how to lose weight??

[Rishara]

I am on insulen three times a day. It doesn't hurt most of the time when you inject, sometimes, it starts to and I just choose another spot. I have such a big belly, I have lots of padding to inject to. :nod: For real, the blood testing is worse than the injections and best part of the injections is you can adjust it daily if you have to, with metforman and glucopage and actos, (all of which I quit) you cannot adjust for your blood sugar readings. So it is easier to manage your bs with insulen and there are no side effects. There are major risks on all of the pills out there for diabetics. metforman I call the pill from hell.

What were your experiences with Metformin? That's about the only diabetic pill I'm still willing to take. My doctor just won't put me on insulin, because he thinks my last "6.9" A1C was "pretty good". While it's a pretty nice improvement over my reading a couple months back (8.0), I'm still not happy with it at all.

[kelsey]

That is a great reduction in your HbA1c. It takes over 3-4 months for a new reading to register, as your glucose carrying hemoglobin dies off. It is a cumulation of glucose carrying hemoglobin over a period of time that makes the HbA1c more accurate reading than fbs. That 6.9 down from 8 is fantastic. Keep doing what you are doing and get another reading in 3months before you decide about taking Metformin, perhaps you won't need it at all. The decrease in the HbA1c shows your body is responding.

[artsdesireincanada]

What were your experiences with Metformin? That's about the only diabetic pill I'm still willing to take. My doctor just won't put me on insulin, because he thinks my last "6.9" A1C was "pretty good". While it's a pretty nice improvement over my reading a couple months back (8.0), I'm still not happy with it at all.

Metformin, and me, nope. I get diahreaah (spelling???) really bad to the point where I had a real problem and had trouble leaving the house. It only took me a year to get a doctor to listen to me. I even had one doctor listen to me, and nod his head, then when he said he would send me to specialist, added, Oh and I want you to double up on the metformin. Duuuuhhhhhh.

I am for the most part happy if my bs is between 5 and 8. when i started out it was 22 and 24 and I thought the meter was broken.

With the six week cure, I had a problem with BS and the protien powders as they spiked the bs. I found one you can check the wheydepot.com there is another name for the site I mentioned on an earlier post. They are from Quebec, and they use stevia for sweetening. I now have my bs between 6 and 8 again. It was freaky for a while. I understand the bs dives on the second week or the 6wc. So I will pack lots of the protien powder with em for those days. the powder I got doesn'ttaste too bad, and i got enough for the two weeks for about fifty canadian dollars. I am really pleased with it.

dianne

[Rishara]

That is a great reduction in your HbA1c. It takes over 3-4 months for a new reading to register, as your glucose carrying hemoglobin dies off. It is a cumulation of glucose carrying hemoglobin over a period of time that makes the HbA1c more accurate reading than fbs. That 6.9 down from 8 is fantastic. Keep doing what you are doing and get another reading in 3months before you decide about taking Metformin, perhaps you won't need it at all. The decrease in the HbA1c shows your body is responding.

I am already on Janumet, a pretty big dose. I was trying to get my doctor to take me off the Januvia portion altogether, and since wouldn't do it, I'm just going to do it myself. I'm not sure if I should drop the metformin or not. He asked if I thought Januvia was helping. How can I answer that if I don't go off it and see how well I do? I told him the only way I can keep my bs from spiking is not eating the carbs. Obviously, the medicine isn't able to allow me to eat carbs and keep my bs down, so how much good is it really doing? I have a feeling the diet alone would do just as well.

The other reason I take metformin right now is because I have PCOS, and it does help alleviate some of those symptoms (hair growth, acne, etc). I have no idea if just low carb dieting alone would help with the pcos symptoms or not.

[gitfiddle]

The other reason I take metformin right now is because I have PCOS, and it does help alleviate some of those symptoms (hair growth, acne, etc). I have no idea if just low carb dieting alone would help with the pcos symptoms or not.It did for me, Rishara. I can't say how long it took, but one day I realized the dark skin had faded to normal!

The anecdotal research I've read seems to favor the brand name Glucophage over metformin for fewer side effects. That said, I just found this info about metformin on Jenny's Blog (http://phlauntdiabetesupdates.blogspot.com/).

[Rishara]

That's an interesting article Gitfiddle. I think I'll stay with the met for now. My insurance will not allow me to take a non-generic if a viable generic exists, so I'm not going to be able to do Glucophage. :( (definitely can't afford out of pocket). I'm going to just silently take myself off the Januvia and see how I do. If my blood sugar starts spiking then I'll know it was actually doing something for me.

Since I started low-carbing a little over 3 months ago, my periods have pretty much been normal (this past one was only a few days late), which I think is a good sign that the diet is helping to regulate my hormones. Before I'd go 5-6 months between periods.

[gitfiddle]

I think I'll stay with the met for now. My insurance will not allow me to take a non-generic if a viable generic exists, so I'm not going to be able to do Glucophage. :( (definitely can't afford out of pocket). The insurance companies telling the doctors how to practice medicine. :peeved:

I'm going to just silently take myself off the Januvia and see how I do. If my blood sugar starts spiking then I'll know it was actually doing something for me.I think that's reasonable. I always like to have a better reason for taking a drug than "the book says so".

Since I started low-carbing a little over 3 months ago, my periods have pretty much been normal (this past one was only a few days late), which I think is a good sign that the diet is helping to regulate my hormones. Wouldn't that be nice! :)