Delighted, I'm Gisèle, from the blog La Belle & le Diabète. In this article, I share with you my experience as a type 1 diabetic around food, and later, my discovery of the Archie brand!
Food and carbohydrates in type 1 diabetes.
As a reminder, type 1 diabetes, which only represents 10% of cases of diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that is not caused by diet. It is our antibodies that have attacked every last one of our pancreatic cells, and so we have to administer insulin manually, whether by insulin pens or insulin pump. When a healthy person eats something that contains carbohydrates, the brain sends the information to the pancreas, and the latter will then release insulin. Insulin is the key to allowing sugar to pass from the blood to cells and organs to nourish them. Without it, sugar remains stuck in the blood in too large quantities: this is called hyperglycemia. A non-diabetic person cannot do this with a functioning pancreas. On the contrary, if too much insulin was administered, or a surprise sporting activity emptied the stock, we speak of hypoglycemia. The latter is not reserved for diabetics.
A type 1 diabetic therefore does not have a diet in practice, but he must know his sensitivity to insulin, and be aware of each carbohydrate he ingests, so that he can adapt his insulin dose. We continually manage our blood sugar level, called glycemia, depending on many factors that can cause it to vary, such as diet, sport, emotions, stress, infections, etc. This can get very technical.
HEALTHY diet, HAPPY blood sugar
Even though we theoretically have no diet, type 1 diabetics are still human beings. The more varied and balanced we eat, the better the body will function (including our insulin sensitivity), and the easier it will be to manage our Diabetes.
Some people are already lucky enough to be very responsive to insulin, and have not necessarily had to progress in this direction. But personally, this was not my case, and my quality of life did not satisfy me. As soon as I ate a little fatty or sweet, I couldn't regulate my blood sugar, and whole days went up in smoke, for the simple pleasure of a Carbonara dish. So I started to find out about the types of foods and their effects on blood sugar levels, and I sought support from nutrition professionals, in addition to a good diabetologist.
To begin with, it is obvious that we must avoid processed foods, which are often too rich in sugar and fat, but poor in nutrients. It is interesting to turn to healthier foods, such as fruits and vegetables, cereals, legumes, etc. As soon as we compose complete meals with fiber (raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, fruits, etc.), proteins (animal or vegetable) and starchy foods, whether they are complete or not, we realize that the body assimilates carbohydrates much better. By doing this, we naturally come across low GI meals (low Glycemic Index = refers to foods that release glucose slowly, thus helping to maintain stable blood sugar levels: whole foods, rich in fiber and unprocessed). The consumption of lipids is also important, but in our society of opulence, it is done without much effort between the fat of our fish and our accompanying sauces... We are rather advised to be vigilant not to exceed our limits. needs. For my part, as soon as I lose insulin sensitivity, it is my first lever, and I quickly regain better responsiveness. I should point out, however, that I do a lot of exercise, which is also a powerful tool for becoming more responsive to insulin.
The limits and pitfalls of control
The problem when you embark on the path of “optimizing” your diet is that you quickly fall into hyper-control and deprivation. In addition, it is not necessary (and depending on your health profile, it may even be dangerous) to only eat low GI. Let's be realistic, life can't be all quinoa and salad. Sometimes we want a more comforting meal, or to enjoy an aperitif with friends, without depriving ourselves. And it's very important to know how to do it, so as to always keep a balance between your blood sugar and your mental health.
How to Survive a Rich Meal
The first thing is of course to know your insulin sensitivity and your settings to correctly adapt your doses. I won't go into detail here, but it's a subject I've covered many times in my blog.
Unfortunately, whether it is because you have not yet mastered everything, or because your diabetes is not very cooperative, it happens that this is not enough to avoid post-prandial hyperglycemia: that which occurs several hours after a good, very rich meal.
How did Archie become my ally?
And this is finally where I'm going to tell you about my experience with Archie cider vinegar! I've heard a lot about so-called natural blood sugar regulators, like rice oil, cinnamon, and so on. But personally, it never made any difference (except to my wallet). So I was very skeptical when I was told about apple cider vinegar.
However, reading what Google had to offer me on the subject, I quickly found that studies had been done. These studies showed that the acetic acid in cider vinegar improved insulin sensitivity, and therefore stabilized blood sugar (in addition to an appropriate dose of insulin for insulin-dependent people, or taking insulin). oral anti-diabetics for type 2 diabetics), while avoiding violent peaks of hyperglycemia. For the curious, it seems that cider vinegar manages, thanks to its enzymes, to facilitate digestion. This is explained by the “predigestion” of proteins and therefore the facilitation of the breakdown of fats.
Brief. I felt reassured and decided to try the experience, which was very, very positive. As I explained in detail on my blog, I noticed an improvement of more than 40% in my major high blood sugar peaks. When I published the article, I also got a lot of feedback from other patients. I sincerely invite you to try it if you are still hesitant. You have nothing to lose either way, as the positive effects of apple cider vinegar don't stop at regulating blood sugar levels.
My routine with Archie
You will have understood, since this experience, I regularly consume cider vinegar. I don't necessarily take it every day, not being someone who is very diligent outside of my insulin. But when a rich meal awaits me, and I know it's going to give me a hard time, I take a tablespoon (with Yacon syrup because I'm a little person), and everything is going much better!
As for the choice of this brand, it seemed obvious to me when I learned that it was better to choose organic, preferably unfiltered and unpasteurized. I quickly noticed the Archie brand with these additional features in my search, and seeing the beauty of the bottle, I fell in love. I am also a graphic designer by training, and I admit, their sunny communication got the better of me. It's always more pleasant to consume a product created by dynamic and ethical people, right?
Article written by Gisèle, you can find her blog right here: https://labelleetlediabete.com/ .
