Dawn Effect - Diabetes Message Board

Steverino · 02-20-2001, 08:10 PM

I have been diagnosed as borderline diabetic, having an overnight (fasting) blood glucose level around 125-145. The rest of the time, my blood sugar seems to be pretty normal. After the high morning reading, If I eat and move around a little, the reading actually drops. I have read that this can be attributed to something called the Dawn effect where you hormones metabolize stored fat to raise the blood sugar level in preparation for waking up. I have also read that if you wake up at about 3 am and take a test, and it is also high then the high glucose is probably not the dawn effect. Anybody have any experience with this?

JB · 03-02-2001, 08:17 AM

I also am new at this with my blood glucose fasting levels running between 115 and 140 in the mornings. Then they drop the rest of the day to normal and if I watch closely and stay in the 3 carbs per meal routine.
BUT, if I eat any more than that in bread, pizza, rice, or potato for supper, my carbs 2 hrs. later are up way high to 180's. At bedtime they drop back quite abit and by morning are normal. Now this is something that I don't get. I, like you, have not been diagnosed as diabetic as my tests are running high normal--both fasting test and 3 mo. average. But this has me puzzled.
ARE BLOOD SUGARS SUPPOSED TO RISE AFTER EATING IN THOSE 2 HOURS AND FALL BACK AGAIN?
One of these days, I suppose I will ask the dr., but for now, any answers would be appreciated.
Thanks

arkie6 · 03-02-2001, 08:43 AM

JB, starches like those found in bread, rice, and potatoes get converted to glucose (bloodsugar) faster than table sugar (sucrose) or fruit sugar (fructose). That is why your bloodsugar shoots up after you eat these foods. You are probably insulin resistant. If so, your pancreas is releasing insulin into your bloodstream to bring the glucose level down, but your cells are resistant to the action of insulin so the bloodsugar level remains high. Eventually with enough insulin and time, the bloodsugar level comes down. But realize that these temporary bloodsugar spikes are causing damage. And by eating those carbohydrates you are forcing your pancreas to work overtime producing insulin. Overdo it on the carbs long enough and you go from insulin resistance to Type II diabetes. A good book on this subject is "Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution". But be for warned that he recommends severly restricting carbohydrate consumption as the best means to keep bloodsugar levels under tight control.

Alan S.

Oldguy · 03-03-2001, 05:16 AM

Hi JB,
Arkie6 has is pretty well down on the nose. You are a bit on the high side, but a reading of 170 is high normal after eating a high carb diet, and does not put you down as a diabetic. Some time ago, in one of my posts, I mentioned about the baseline HbA1c at 4-6 being the normal level of heamogloben glycation (sugar damage)the average american has on a typical american diet. It's more the permissible level and the best would of course be 0-1, but it's because of these spikes that we establish a baseline average. It's kind of like saying "everyone is a diabetic to some extent". If everyone in the U.S. was a low carber, the baseline would likely be lowered. The glucose meter is also a great dieting tool. Keeping the reading down below 110 at 2 hours after eating will generally result in fat loss to about 25%of body weight in women, and to about 15% in men. This is if your not over the 70 grams of fat intake a day. Fat has about 2 1/2 times the energy content as complex carbs. This is why it's easier to go on a low fat diet and see results. But physiologically, it's not the best. You'll live longer and be healthier by the lo carb method. God bless,,,,,,Oldguy

chrismth · 03-03-2001, 06:49 AM

Hi Old Guy:

I'm having a heck of a time limiting the amount of carbs I eat! It was easy when it was new and gimmicky-but a routine, forget it. There's nothing to eat-unless I want to be starving all the time. I'm not talking about pigging out on sugary garbage-I'm talking about a few slices of bread to make a sandwich, pizza, rice. With the few home glucose tests I have done I have seen where these foods do cause a rise in glucose levels above what is considered to be a normal response, even if just for the 2-3 hours after ingestion.

Chris S.