# Naan bread



## Northerner

Anyone get a big spike from naan bread? I had chicken curry with naan instead of my usual basmati rice tonight. Naan was same carbs as my rice would have been, so dosed according to that, but have just tested 2.5 hours after meal and I've gone to 14.3! I don't normally go above 8 or 9, so I can only put it down to the naan bread which I haven't had for months.


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## Proudspirit

was it a shop bought one or from take away? i like a naan with a curry, must remember to add the madras recipe on the noticeboard! will do at weekend

Julie x


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## katie

I dont routinely check 2 hours after meals but I think naan def give me a spike as I know lots of things do and naan is a particularly bad thing to eat 

They are so nice though, whenever I eat curry I have it with naan instead of rice, mmm.


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## Northerner

Proudspirit said:


> was it a shop bought one or from take away? i like a naan with a curry, must remember to add the madras recipe on the noticeboard! will do at weekend
> 
> Julie x



It was shop-bought, from the co-op and tasted very nice! The curry was home-made. I've just checked now 4 hours after and I'm down to 7.4 so it looks like my insulin dose was pretty accurate. So, something to bear in mind as I've got another one in the fridge!


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## AlisonM

There's sugar and fat (oil, yoghurt and milk) in naan bread, maybe that's why. Oh but I'm going to miss my naans.  Maybe try a chapati next time, they're really easy to make. The link is to a recipe for a wholewheat one the poster makes for her diabetic husband.


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## Northerner

AlisonM said:


> There's sugar and fat (oil, yoghurt and milk) in naan bread, maybe that's why. Oh but I'm going to miss my naans.  Maybe try a chapati next time, they're really easy to make. The link is to a recipe for a wholewheat one the poster makes for her diabetic husband.



Thanks for the recipe Alison! The naan I had was 'medium' on fat and salt, and low in sugar with 75grams carb. Interestingly, I have just taken another reading as I'd got absorbed in something and hadn't taken my lantus - now down to 4.9!

So that means I was


4.4 before meal
14.3 2.5 hours later
7.4 4 hours later
4.9 5 hours later

I've had a digestive as I don't like goig to bed below 5. Seems the dose was correct, but does it mean my insulin peaked first, or that my insulin was slow to peak? I did consider a correction at 14.3 but felt confident I'd got the original bolus right and that it was a timing issue. Sigh!


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## rossi_mac

mmmm curry! 

Must look at some of these recepies!

Any bread fair chance of Mr. Milligan (spike) unless granary which I don;t believe nana is.

I must ask how do you go 5 hours with no more than 1 dig?

I would have to ask about bed time testing, I generally can't be arsed!? Unless I've had a strange evening but going to bed below 5 I would perhaps have a yellow or greenie!!


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## Mand

Sounds like you got the carb/ratio correct but it was just the timing. Perhaps try a split dose next time?

Hope you are well! 

Mand x


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## Becca

Northerner said:


> Anyone get a big spike from naan bread? I had chicken curry with naan instead of my usual basmati rice tonight. Naan was same carbs as my rice would have been, so dosed according to that, but have just tested 2.5 hours after meal and I've gone to 14.3! I don't normally go above 8 or 9, so I can only put it down to the naan bread which I haven't had for months.



Oh gawd!  Naan bread is AWFUL for Rose, haven't figured out the right dosage on the pump yet but last time she spiked up to 20, 6 hours after eating   She loves it though....


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## tracey w

Northerner said:


> Thanks for the recipe Alison! The naan I had was 'medium' on fat and salt, and low in sugar with 75grams carb. Interestingly, I have just taken another reading as I'd got absorbed in something and hadn't taken my lantus - now down to 4.9!
> 
> So that means I was
> 
> 
> 4.4 before meal
> 14.3 2.5 hours later
> 7.4 4 hours later
> 4.9 5 hours later
> 
> I've had a digestive as I don't like goig to bed below 5. Seems the dose was correct, but does it mean my insulin peaked first, or that my insulin was slow to peak? I did consider a correction at 14.3 but felt confident I'd got the original bolus right and that it was a timing issue. Sigh!



sounds like the naan peaked first, but then the insulin brought it down after as dose was right. maybe think about taking insulin bit before next time you are having a naan? 75g carbs sound like a big naan, i had one too last night with curry , was a big one too and was 45g and i know that  the small ones are 30g. Last night i had curry, bhajis, rice and naan  and split my dose, 75/25 taking the 25% an hour after the first, did not test at two hours but before bed was 9.7 and 7.1 this morning, both a little high but not too bad considering all the food!


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## Steff

i've cut out all naan bread now and when i have speg bol i dont have garlic bread either , i seem to have it in the back of my head that bread is bad !


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## sofaraway

I love naan bread and have it aswell as rice  Maybe try injecting 10 minutes before you start eating, the peak of the insulin then may match the spike of the food. If you normally eat rice (I think basmati is the low GI one)with the curry the combination will lower the GI of the whole meal and reduce the spike. Without the rice slowing down the curry, it might have also contributed to the spike to 14 you experienced. 

It's not even 8am and 5 fancy a curry with naan right now!


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## katie

Well I did a test last night for you Northe, had curry and naan.  I was 22 later on, but think the jelly babies I ate contributed considerably to that number. So yeah, not much help... sorry


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## Northerner

katie said:


> Well I did a test last night for you Northe, had curry and naan.  I was 22 later on, but think the jelly babies I ate contributed considerably to that number. So yeah, not much help... sorry



Thank you Katie, for your strictly-controlled, laboratory-conditions and peer-reviewed test. It will help me enormously when I have my next curry and naan.


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## katie

Northerner said:


> Thank you Katie, for your strictly-controlled, laboratory-conditions and peer-reviewed test. It will help me enormously when I have my next curry and naan.



lol sorry, i'll try harder next time.  The jelly babies binge has back fired again today, I just had a hypo and really didn't feel like eating any


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## VBH

Erm why all this talk of sugar and fat content?  Naan is mostly white flour.  i.e. carbs - and fast carbs at that.  Depending on the preparation and cooking methods white flour products can be faster than sugar.  The volume of carbs from the flour dwarfs the sugar irrespective of any speed difference.  Fat slows down BG spikes anyway (but only slightly) so it would be a slight advantage.

Carbs from naan hit fast, from experience and its not surprising given the above.  Rice is not much further behind.  I suspect that if you had tested earlier, you might have found a much higher peak - although the fat content of the curry itself might have delayed the spike to a later time, rather than reduced it.

Looks like you got the dose right, but its the speed of the carbs thats the problem.  Injecting before a meal so that you match the insulin profile to the peak BG release helps, but you could be having so much fast carb that the bolus wouldn't stand a chance of keeping up anyway.

Or to put it another way.....would you have that many carbs in the form of table sugar?  White flour products (and potatoes, notably) can be much faster than sugar.

Hope you can work out something that's palatable and tolerable though, Northerner.


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## Northerner

Thanks VBH. I must admit, I hadn't really considered the white flour aspect of it, and you're absolutely right that I wouldn't have eaten 75g table sugar (or 15 jelly babies KATIE)

I suppose it's likely to be a rare treat, given its effect. Actually, you have made me think - does novorapid always show the same profile in a person whatever they eat? That is, does it always peak in me at one hour, for example, and then slowly decline? Does insulin resistance play any part in the peak, or is it all down to the in-built profile of the insulin itself? Hmmm... I think that NR in me lasts for 5 hours, but have never really worked out when it is peaking - just gone off the general rule of 1-2 hours.


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## MarcLister

When I have an Indian takeaway I have some naan and I'm always pretty fine when it comes to Levemir shot at night and again OK the next morning.


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## Northerner

MarcLister said:


> When I have an Indian takeaway I have some naan and I'm always pretty fine when it comes to Levemir shot at night and again OK the next morning.



Yes Marc, this is where it was sneaky! I had the correct bolus and I was nicely in range by the time it came for my lantus - but it had thrown in a big evil spike! If I hadn't happened to have tested I would never have known! I think it has been mentioned here before that there is some evidence that it is these big swings and spikes that can be at the root of complications, so I'm trying to avoid them.


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## katie

VBH said:


> ...
> I suspect that if you had tested earlier, you might have found a much higher peak
> 
> Or to put it another way.....would you have that many carbs in the form of table sugar?



i doubt northe had a higher peak, with his honeymooning pancreas! 



Northerner said:


> Thanks VBH. I must admit, I hadn't really considered the white flour aspect of it, and you're absolutely right that I wouldn't have eaten 75g table sugar (or 15 jelly babies KATIE)



in that case I would eat 75g of sugar haha. i cant help it, ok  never buying jelly babies again!

I think eating a naan bread is COMPLETELY different to eating table sugar.  and if you eat curry you HAVE to have naan, pita or some other indian bread, it's the law  dont bother with rice though...

hehe!


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## Northerner

katie said:


> ...I think eating a naan bread is COMPLETELY different to eating table sugar.  and if you eat curry you HAVE to have naan, pita or some other indian bread, it's the law  dont bother with rice though...
> 
> hehe!



I often have pitta bread with chilli - usually wholemeal pitta, slurp!


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## katie

never use a knife and fork, just bread, it's indian law


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## Pattidevans

katie said:


> I think eating a naan bread is COMPLETELY different to eating table sugar.  and if you eat curry you HAVE to have naan, pita or some other indian bread, it's the law  dont bother with rice though...
> 
> hehe!


Actually, don't fool yourself, white bread (including Naan) is definitely as bad as eating table sugar, if not worse.  I have every intention of avoiding complications and therefore am careful with my diet, which does not mean that I have a boring diet or a non-enjoyable one.  On the contrary, I have a hugely diverse diet which I enjoy tremendously, but it's adapted to suit my own body's way of handling carbs and a good understanding of insulin dosage.  I enjoy a curry as much as the rest of you, but I'd avoid the Naan and the white rice (OK I may pinch a mouthful of hubby's Naan,), I simply substitute sag-aloo made with new potatoes or Lentil Dahl.  The less carbs in any meal the easier it is to control insulin doses.

It's really not hard to maintain a decent Hba1c and iron those spikes out if you just gain an understanding of how your own body handles carbohydrates and yes, to begin with this means intensive testing.  My Hba1c has never been over 5.7 in 6 years, the last one was 5.3.

Northerner see this link for Novorapid profile http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/joomla/insulin/iprof It doesn't peak as rapidly as Apidra but the injection devices for Apidra tend to be rubbish, so with Novorapid it is possible, with a little intensive testing, to decide when it peaks for you and therefore move your injection timing forward or back to deal with different foods.


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## Northerner

Pattidevans said:


> ...Northerner see this link for Novorapid profile http://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/joomla/insulin/iprof It doesn't peak as rapidly as Apidra but the injection devices for Apidra tend to be rubbish, so with Novorapid it is possible, with a little intensive testing, to decide when it peaks for you and therefore move your injection timing forward or back to deal with different foods.



Thanks Patti. I suppose the other variable that then comes into play is absorbtion rates according to the injection site?


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## katie

I didnt really mean in terms of diabetes, I meant as food generally.  Better to have 75g of carbs in the form of naan bread, than sugar.


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## MarcLister

katie said:


> I didnt really mean in terms of diabetes, I meant as food generally.  Better to have 75g of carbs in the form of naan bread, than sugar.


I agree. Slower uptake surely?


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## C*5_Dodger

katie said:


> I didnt really mean in terms of diabetes, I meant as food generally.  Better to have 75g of carbs in the form of naan bread, than sugar.



Dear Katie,

It sounds obvious that sugar would be worse than naan, but consider this:
10g of sucrose breaks down into 5.26g of fructose and 5.26g of glucose, whereas starch (white flour) is almost totally converted to glucose. The rate of absorption of starch may be a little slower but with sugar the body has to deal with almost half the glucose so which is better? BTW do any of you T1s take into account the fact that sucrose only yields approx half the glucose when you calculate the amount of insulin you need?

Regards  Dodger


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## katie

C*5_Dodger said:


> BTW do any of you T1s take into account the fact that sucrose only yields approx half the glucose when you calculate the amount of insulin you need?
> 
> Regards  Dodger



thanks for the info.

We take into account the whole amount of carbohydrate - we dont look at sugar content etc.


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## insulinaddict09

katie said:


> thanks for the info.
> 
> We take into account the whole amount of carbohydrate - we dont look at sugar content etc.



*What Twin said  I calculate the whole Carb content >> then usually wont have it !! hehehe *


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## rossi_mac

katie said:


> never use a knife and fork, just bread, it's indian law



Thats a great law and a great way to eat generally!



C*5_Dodger said:


> Dear Katie,
> 
> It sounds obvious that sugar would be worse than naan, but consider this:
> 10g of sucrose breaks down into 5.26g of fructose and 5.26g of glucose, whereas starch (white flour) is almost totally converted to glucose. The rate of absorption of starch may be a little slower but with sugar the body has to deal with almost half the glucose so which is better? BTW do any of you T1s take into account the fact that sucrose only yields approx half the glucose when you calculate the amount of insulin you need?
> 
> Regards  Dodger



Always so informative dodger cheers, but I'm guessing, now this may just be me, but I'd rather eat naan bread with a ruby than a stack of sugar


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## MarcLister

katie said:


> thanks for the info.
> 
> We take into account the whole amount of carbohydrate - we dont look at sugar content etc.


Yep. I just want to know the total carbs in what I'm eating.


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## Northerner

rossi_mac said:


> ...Always so informative dodger cheers, but I'm guessing, now this may just be me, but I'd rather eat naan bread with a ruby than a stack of sugar



Where's your sense of adventure Rossi?


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## Proudspirit

i had a curry tonight with rice, chips and mini naan, BG b4 food 7.8, + 2hrs 7.5... Bargain

Rice was brown and chips ( a hand full) were cooked in the actifryer, curry was a ww recipe

Just thought i'd share! 

Julie x


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## C*5_Dodger

*I couldn't agree more!*



rossi_mac said:


> Thats a great law and a great way to eat generally!
> 
> 
> 
> Always so informative dodger cheers, but I'm guessing, now this may just be me, but I'd rather eat naan bread with a ruby than a stack of sugar



Dear rossi_mac,

I too would take a naan anyday if I could tolerate the carbs. I had never thought about the blood sugar/insulin thing before since I look upon fructose as a toxin. You only store fat if you eat too much glucose, but the only way the body can metabolise fructose, any amount of fructose, is for the liver to convert it to fat, then ship it out (on VLDLs) to your fat depots.

Regards   Dodger


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## HelenM

some alternatives to Naan here from an Indian site, they all contain fenugreek which may (or may not!) have a lowering effect on glucose levels.They're all carb counted.
http://diabetestotalcontrol.com/diabetes_recipes.html


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## Northerner

*Update!*

OK, I have tried the naan again tonight, with chicken curry again but this time with some basmati rice. I took my insulin before cooking the rice and was 4.9 before eating. I didn't eat the whole naan this time, as I had the rice - so about 50g this time rather than the 75g full naan. I gave the remainder to the birds and the rat that lives at the bottom of my garden...


After 1.5 hours I was 8.2
After 2.5 hours I was 7.6
After 4 hours I was 5.9

No spike! Either that or I missed it somehow. Or maybe the inclusion of the rice slowed it down.


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## Steff

mmmm strange one aint it, i mean i had the dreaded pizza 2 weeks back and it effected me but then i had it last friday and it was fine with me


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## AlisonM

steff09 said:


> mmmm strange one aint it, i mean i had the dreaded pizza 2 weeks back and it effected me but then i had it last friday and it was fine with me



Same kind of pizza, or a different one?


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