Originally Posted by
PeteHski
It’s certainly not my field, but IIRC carbs burnt during hard exercise don’t require insulin for metabolism. That’s probably a massive over-simplification, but I do know that blood sugar spikes are much lower when consuming simple carbs on the bike vs on the sofa. I’ve tested that for myself with a blood sugar sensor. Note that I am not diabetic so I have a normal tolerance to carbs. But I do try to avoid simple carbs off the bike.
Most T2's make insulin, plenty of insulin - they just don't process it very well. Insulin resistance is the issue at hand. (which diet and tons of exercise can fix/heal the body over time, reducing the IR and putting the T2 into remission)
When you are keto/low carb and your body is extremely low on stored glycogen - adding light to moderate carbs during exercise, carbs that will get burnt up, will not cause high blood glucose spikes or any ill effects on your A1C.
And short-term BG spikes are not optimal, but they are not what kills the T2 person. Repeated high spikes and constant high BG's that result in a high A1C and higher than normal levels of circulating insulin are the long-term culprits.
In short, eating some goo while on a 4 hour bike ride will not hurt the typical T2 person. The 4 hour bike ride is doing far more good for the person than the little bit of goo does bad...
Not to go too deep into this but... my A1C was 12 and average BG's were 3-400, all day, every day.
-Keto/low carb got those numbers slowly under control right out of the gate.
-Low and slow exercise coupled with weight/fat loss, over the period of 3+ years, helped heal the body and lower insulin resistance.
-Now I** can eat a carby meal and maintain completely normal BG levels. I don't do it often, but can do it... and carbs for exercise have zero ill effects.
**Not everyone can do this, every case is different. But the majority of T2 people can do this...