Why Carbs?

You know, having discovered carb counting back in 2014 when I was first introduced to insulin pump therapy, I realized that I had spent my entire youth misunderstanding the body’s relationship with sugar, carbohydrates and what they really mean for someone living with Diabetes. When I was a child and known to have “Juvenile Diabetes,” the basic rule was simple; take your shot and don’t eat any sugar. This led to significant errors on my parents’ part. Hungry? Have a slice of bread. There’s no sugar in bread. Thirsty, have a glass of milk. There’s no sugar in milk. It resulted in a number of years where my health was in decline, my blood sugars were rampantly out of control and had me live through a number of Diabetic comas. Not fun. But it was the early 1980’s and my parents, light bless them, did the best they could with the limited information we were given. Even when the health care system was “better,” there were still significant gaps that could have cost me my life early on. If not for the several times my brother woke and ran to my parents to wake them, I likely would have died before reaching my teens. Which is what they expected of me back then. But I digress…

Pump therapy introduced me to the concept of carb counting. So, let’s start with the basics, for those who may not be aware. Carbs, or carbohydrates, are macronutrients found in most food that your body breaks down to use as a primary source of fuel. For the most part, you NEED carbs, even though your favorite celebrity may tell you that you should go carb-free. Complex carbohydrates can include simple carbs, which are usually the ones that act fastest if you need to increase your blood sugars, or complex carbs, which need to be broken down by the body first, which is why they don’t make an ideal blood sugars treatment. This can includes breads and crackers and such. And this also includes fiber, which is included in the carb total on your food label but should be substrates from the carbs you calculate for, as they don’t affect blood sugars. The other main sources of fuel are protein and fat. If your body has no carbs available for fuel, it will begin burning stored fat for energy, which is why some folks believe in fasting and going carb free. All caught up? Good. Moving on.

Since learning to carb count, I’ve altered my mindset when it comes to food. For the most part, the trend in the western world is to add carbs to carbs, when eating a meal. Think about it. When was the last time you went out to your local restaurant for a meal? If it was a burger joint, you likely would have had a burger and fries. The carbohydrates in the burger are paired up with the carbohydrates in the fries, leading to a massive amount of unnecessary carbs within one meal. The second aspect is that since these are all complex carbs, bolusing for the correct amount of carbs will likely cause your blood sugars to drop significantly before your body has a chance to break those complex carbs down into usable energy. Then you end up piling fast-acting carbs on top to, you know, keep from dying… The result usually ends up being that your blood sugars will skyrocket. Even trendier and “full meal” restaurants seem to pile on the carbs. Have a side with your meal? Sure, why not? Potatoes, fries, rice… They’re all an unnecessary and unneeded carb added to the total count of your meal.

Most of this stemmed from the need for restaurants to portray the concept of getting bang for one’s buck, by ensuring full plates or meals. Since most sides are made from something lenticular and cheap, it’s a no-brained, from the business’ perspective. From the perspective of a Type-1 Diabetic who needs to calculate everything, it can be complicated and complicating. And no, that’s not a typo; I mean both. The inherent problem is that a portion of crabs that you yourself didn’t measure out can be extremely difficult to bolus for. A pile of mashed potatoes can quickly turn into bolusing too much or too little for what you’re getting, on top of being a complex carbs within that will take forever to break down. And unfortunately, while salads and veggies are options that would eliminate that problem, most vegetable, especially the high-fiber ones, are fillers that will make you feel fuller, faster. While this is not an inherently bad thing, it sucks when you pay a small fortune for a delicious meal where you might get to full from vegetables to enjoy the main. Plus, I’m one of those “I’m not paying for food that my food eats” people.

When eating out at any dining establishment, have a closer look at your meal and consider the pros and cons. Maybe a particular location has those seasoned, crispy fries that you really like and makes it definitely worth the added insulin. Or maybe, just maybe, you can just enjoy the burger, skip the fires and NOT deal with the added blood sugar issues or bolusing that ensues. Not least of which is the added fullness and bloating from overeating. You don’t have to be an Ozempic user to recognize how to keep your meals reasonable and portions smaller and more manageable. You just need to give a fuck about your health. Food for thought… ☯️