I'll have the Pump on whole wheat...insulin on the side

I learned something the other night, completely by accident.
It all started after I ate this homemade veggie burger topped with homemade salsa, yogurt and sprouts on a whole wheat bun with wild rice salad on the side.
It all started when I flat lined.

Generally speaking in the medical world, 'flat lining' is never a good thing.

But when it comes to diabetes and charting blood sugars, a 'flat line' is the ultimate success.

Now I don't mean to brag, but check this out...

Okay, I did mean to brag. This is my REAL-Time (contant glucose monitor) graph from the 3-hour span over dinner time the other night. Not bad, eh?

Basically what this means is that a gazillion factors came together at just the right moment- prior blood sugar value, my day's activities, stress and hormones levels, timing and dosage of insulin delivery, type of food consumed, etc. A gosh-darn miracle right there in my dining room.

Most of the time, when you eat, there is a rise in blood sugar level. This is normal, predictable and often followed by a downturn, as insulin works to return blood glucose to it's original value in approximately 4 hours...in a perfect world that is. Here is my graph from the past 24-hours - see the spikes?

So the flat line was truely remarkable...which got me to thinking...
What the heck did I do?
I attribute a sizable part of the phenomenon to the meal that I ate. In retrospect, that meal was almost solely composed of medium to low GI foods. GI stands for Glycemic Index. Some smart people have rated foods by the way they impact blood sugar levels. High GI meaning they cause spikes in blood sugar, low GI meaning they produce a more controlled and slower rise and fall. The veggie burger made from quinoa and mushrooms, on the whole wheat bun, with wild rice, black bean and corn salad was a killer low GI combo - helping to keep my blood glucose stable over the three hour period during and after the meal.

With the sensor technology, I can watch my blood glucose change - as it happens. The data that I collect provides me with an opportunity to think critically about things that I do, the decisions that I make and the foods that I eat in terms of their impact on my blood sugar and ultimately my control of my diabetes.

Isn't diabetes education delicious?