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Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,739
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Diabetes and ice cream

[ Edited ]

I heard something that gave me a surprise. The waitress at out diner told me her husband is a type 2 diabetic

 

She also said he eats a 1/2 gallon of ice cream(cookie dough) every 2 days, and his A1c is perfect. She didn't tell me what his numbers were.  I asked her what he takes for medication. She said he takes insulin and metformin. She did say it was regular ice cream ,not artificially sweetened, nor low fat

 

I think this is a bit far fetched, but maybe I am wrong. I am only on metformin ,and I am careful with carbs. When I eat ice cream ,it is an occasional treat, ,and I have  one mini cone ,that is only 85 calories. I doubt if I get more than 2 tbls of ice cream ,and  about 11 carbs.

 

Do you think it is possible to have this tight of control,l and still eat this way?  I am learning about diabetes everyday, and I understand we are all different.  I wonder if the insulin, is what makes it possible to eat like this?

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,199
Registered: ‎11-16-2014

@cherrywrote:

I heard something that gave me a surprise. The waitress at out diner told me her husband is a type 2 diabetic

 

She also said he eats a 1/2 gallon of ice cream(cookie dough) every 2 days, and his A1c is perfect. She didn't tell me what his numbers were.  I asked her what he takes for medication. She said he takes insulin and metformin

 

I think this is a bit far fetched, but maybe I am wrong. I am only on metformin ,and I am careful with carbs. When I eat ice cream ,it is an occasional treat, ,and I have  one mini cone ,that is only 85 calories. I doubt if I get more than 2 tbls of ice cream ,and  about 11 carbs.

 

Do you think it is possible to have this tight of control,l and still eat this way?  I am learning about diabetes everyday, and I understand we are all different.  I wonder if the insulin, is what makes it possible to eat like this?

 

 


@cherry...ice cream has a lot of fat, so it burns slower and does not raise the blood sugar quite as much as other desserts. If I ate half of a half gallon of ice cream I would need about 28 units of Novolog (fast acting insulin). 2 hours later my blood glucose would be around 200. 3 hours later around 160. Yet, there is a lot more to diabetes than a good A1C.

 

My BIL did this all the time. He was Type 1 like I am. He died a horrific death from transplants and amputations. Also my husband's cousin's spouse used to eat lots of cake at birthdays and social events. He would ask me why I didn't and used to chide me how much I was missing because he had such great control. He died at 44 from keto-acidosis. Both used insulin to eat junk food. I always have believed in not using insulin to eat desserts. The fat alone is bad for the body and I don't believe that injected insulin is the same as your own.

 

Insulin does make it possible to eat junk food if you take enough of it to cover carbohydrates. The question is eating junk food makes you gain weight and raises cholesterol all risk factors for dying from diabetes. All unhealthy..

 

As a long time survivor of nearly 50 years, I have heard this story time and time again about "covering" carbohydrates with insulin. I only use insulin to cover a few carbs like vegetables and even coffee with half n half I bolus. Insulin dependent diabetics need to be vigilant with everything they put in their mouth. I don't believe anecdotal stories of people with perfect A1C's that eat junk in excess.. I have conducted Diabetes Support meetings for years and heard it all. The people who ate junk food paid an awful price for it. 

Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I did a bit of math @Trinity11 and he was getting 144 grams of  carbs, just from this bowl of ice cream, and  over 1000 calories and he does this every day!

 

The waitress seems nice , but a tad dim. She said she just couldn't deny him ice cream, because he loved it so much

 

She said this was the only carb he eats, but then said he has a bowl of bran cereal in the morning ,and  2 chili dogs at night

 

I sort of got the feeling, she doesn't even know what a carb really is

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,152
Registered: ‎02-05-2018

I try not to speculate on anyone else's health issues because there are too many (I hope!) details and variables that I don't know about. 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 8,235
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I have been diagnoised pre-diabetic, but have discovered CarbSmart ice cream by Breyers, and really like it!

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,199
Registered: ‎11-16-2014

@cherrywrote:

I did a bit of math @Trinity11 and he was getting 144 grams of  carbs, just from this bowl of ice cream, and  over 1000 calories and he does this every day!

 

The waitress seems nice , but a tad dim. She said she just couldn't deny him ice cream, because he loved it so much

 

She said this was the only carb he eats, but then said he has a bowl of bran cereal in the morning ,and  2 chili dogs at night

 

I sort of got the feeling, she doesn't even know what a carb really is


Chili dogs? Cereal is pure carbohydrate. Clearly, this person needs a good diabetes educator. Kind of sad, though, because this is very common. A diabetic diet isn't all that adventurous and delicious food isn't always easy to eat without taking a lot of insulin. 

 

I agree with you @cherry. I doubt either one of them understands what a carbohydrate even is...

Honored Contributor
Posts: 12,927
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

What is pre-diabetic and what is the diff between sugar and carbs?

Sure could use a little good news today.
Frequent Visitor
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Registered: ‎03-01-2016

They have an ice cream called halo that diabetics can eat and is a good source of protein.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 17,739
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

I felt really sorry for her @Trinity11. I wonder if  he had any nutritional training at all?

 

I just didn't say anything, because I didn't want to offend her.I don't think that she understand about carbs being in milk ,and so many different things besides sugar

 

 

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,199
Registered: ‎11-16-2014

5.7-6.4 A1C is generally labeled as pre-diabetes @Group 5 minus 1. Carbohydrates raise blood glucose levels. Examples would be bread, bagels, rice, pasta and desserts. Fruit has fructose that can raise blood sugar. Healthy women can ingest 22 grams of sugar per day but probably more than that in a pre-diabetic patient will cause insulin resistance.