Vitamin C and blood sugar levels (by meter)

(Bob M) #1

I have covid. So, I’ve been taking some vitamin C. Specifically, 2 grams at lunch. See the following:

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That peak lasted waaaaaay longer than it should have, and I think is higher than it should be based on the many other times I’ve eaten about the same meal.

Oddly, I ate a sandwich (ham, cheese, mustard on an egg white “tortilla”), and my blood sugar went DOWN.

I think this is what is happening:

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I think the meter is showing higher blood glucose, and that’s not correct.

I did not check with a pinprick meter.

So, if you’re taking larger doses of vitamin C, the meter might read incorrectly.

(Bob M) #2

Well, that didn’t work out. I had two “sandwiches” (meat, cheese, mustard, zero-sugar ketchup, egg white tortillas, fermented pickles) for lunch, along with 2 grams of vitamin C.

The result?

My blood sugar is totally flat.

UGH! I’m wrong – again.

Yesterday, I had milk + protein powders, which I did not have today. I’ve had that at other times, though, and didn’t get that spike. I’d love to test:

  1. milk + protein powders
  2. water + protein powders
  3. individual protein powders

Protein powders = l-citrulline, creatine, and collagen peptides.

Unfortunately, I only have a few hours on this CGM sensor and might not get another one for a while.

Edit. I ate about 10 am.Doesn’t get much flatter.

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(Doug) #3

Bob, that is some admirable blood sugar control. :+1::sunglasses:

(Joey) #4

That’s my impression too. Checking the y-axis… These variations are minimal excursions, not the uncontrolled spikes associated with severe insulin resistance.

(Bob M) #5

@OldDoug and @SomeGuy Thanks.

When I wasn’t on Jardiance, my blood sugar was remarkably stable while eating keto.

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(The dots on the graphs are because you needed to read the sensor using a device, and that’s when it was read. You’d then download the data to computer. Old school, compared to the new ones on phones.)

I think something is up with me – maybe covid is causing issues? Or maybe the stuff I’m taking (like multiple grams of vitamin C) to “help” with covid? Possibly in combination with Jardiance?

Case in point: We had some quiche left over from a Mother’s day event. So, on the left, I ate 3 pieces of quiche, and got basically no blood sugar rise. On the right, I ate the last two pieces of quiche and got a huge rise that lasted around 3 hours.

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That “today” is actually from yesterday, and “yesterday” was 2 days ago. My sensor ended last night.

Right now, my blood sugar is all over the map. Considering that I ate 3 pieces of quiche the day before and didn’t see anything, I was shocked to see the large spike for a smaller amount of quiche.

And this freaking covid is taking a while. I don’t feel THAT bad, but I keep getting cold then hotter (no fever though), then cold, repeat ad nauseam. Days aren’t too bad, but nights aren’t great.

(Joey) #6

Apparently you are better off eating 3 pieces of quiche instead of 2. :wink:

On a more serious note… Illness (cold, flu, various viral infections) can easily affect serum glucose levels. Yes, it’s odd (interesting?) that you get these variations in measured glucose. But I’d still submit for your consideration that (a) the excursions seen are relatively tame and (b) they are short-lived, supporting the conclusion that you have solid homeostatic insulin/glucose control function.

But with your current COVID struggle - which sounds miserable - you might expect all kinds of out-of-the-usual glucose behaviors. Hopefully that’s the least of it!

[E.g., My wife and I both shared a nasty cold (from the grandkids) last year and our HbA1c levels rose sharply. Then both receded again to our normal levels. Not COVID but lots of congestion/sore throat response to the virus they lovingly shared.]

(Tracie Angel) #7

:no_mouth::no_mouth::no_mouth:

(Joey) #8

@Angel143 Well put. :wink:

#9

Ever tried Ivermectin. Not advising you but I take it zero effects. They shut down the person that tested it for Covid it works. If you need more information I can send podcasts of top retired doctors that brought this to light.

(Ohio ) #10

Ivermectin vs. Placebo in a trial measures metabolic effects, I’ve read Ivermectin out performs placebo! It’s well known it’s almost completely inert. (Similar effects to the microbiome as Vitamin C btw). It’s a failure of the healthcare industry to need a f-ing prescription for it.

Bob M I always thought my green tea, that had Vita C as a preservative, screwed w/ my blood sugar.

(Bob M) #11

Sorry for the delay. Think covid might have affected my pancreas, and I’m now getting hypoglycemia-like glucose readings. Got in the low 70s the first day of a fast, which is weird, and I had to bail the fast. Low 70s is usually delayed for me until day 3. I got 72 on the CGM and 74 on my pin-prick monitor.

I do think higher vitamin C cause higher blood sugar readings (though not higher actual blood sugar). I took 2 grams of vitamin C and my blood sugar by CGM stayed high for many hours. The next day, I did not take vitamin C, and got a normal slight bump for my lunch then nothing. The following day, I took 2.5 grams of vitamin C and got a longer rise, though not as long as the first day.

The problem is that it’s not exactly repeatable. That is, sometimes I get a really long “high”(er) blood sugar, but then not as long for about the same vitamin C. And I haven’t been able to standardize the lunches, which also would have some (minor) effect. Compared to when I don’t take vitamin C, the highs shown on the CGM are longer.

@Hippie That’s interesting about the green tea. I’m not sure I could test that one, because I have green tea last after black coffee and pu erh tea, and I generally work out in the morning. So, that means my blood sugar is higher in the morning, and it would be tough to separate the effect of the green tea from everything else. I’ll see if I can do this.

This shows the effect of 2 grams of vitamin c:

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I had pulled pork, some salsa, milk with proteins. This usually causes a minor bump, less than an hour in duration. In fact, I had salsa at a different time, and I couldn’t even tell I ate. Milk usually causes a minor bump. This “hump”, though, was about 5 hours in duration, which to me means there was some effect by vitamin C.

(Bob M) #12

This was the first day of what was supposed to be a 3.5-4.5 day fast:

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I tested 74 with a pin-prick meter. I felt a bit shaky. So I bailed on the fast.

I think covid caused this, but I have no way of knowing or proving. And I have no long-term symptoms.

(Niko Neko) #13

I hope you’re feeling okay - covid is rough. My oxygen saturation was low afterwards for months.

(Delbert Carr) #14

Perhaps your stress level when taking it has something to do with it?