The statement YMMV, your mileage may vary, comes up now and again. It especially shows up with regard to sugar alcohols, yogurt/kefir etc. How do those of you who "test" yourselves go about it?

I know Maggie and some others like myself who have possible diabetic tendencies can use a BGL meter but I don't know how to test a specific food. Do you fast for awhile, eat only that food and then test? How long and how much?? Are there other ways to tell if a specific food is going to cause you trouble?

Rave
232/171.5/130
57yo. 5'2"
Started Atkins 6/1/02

Other than the BG monitor, which I don't use, I think you can tell by several reactions. If it causes cravings after you eat it then you should probably not eat it or moderate the amount. If you feel bloated at some time after eating a certain food it could be you should avoid it or, as I do, just don't eat it within 3 days of weigh-in. Weight gain also is a good indicator of foods that will stall you. But all of these reactions require that you not add a bunch of new foods at once. If everything else in your meal plan are tried and true foods for you then you can be somewhat confident that it's teh new food that's at fault. But YMMV.LOL

Rob
310/234.5/180

Me, a skeptic? I trust you have proof.

Rave

this snippet is from a prior discussion on effects of erythritol, and this is how Maggie tests her tolerance for new foods (thanks for the experiment, Maggie!)

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>So I finally bought some Erythritol and it's been sitting in my cabinet for over a month, now. Today I tested it. I tested it the way I test any suspect item. With a home based mini-GTT (Glucose tolerance test) , ingesting the stuff and then doing blood glucose readings at 30 minutes, 1 hour and 2 hours. In this test, I prepared 50 gms of Erythritol (that is about 4 Tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon) by adding enough water to dissolve it. My results:

Time: BG Action:

3 pm 94 (drank - well, gagged down - erythritol solution)
3:30 93
4:00 92
5:00 93 (celebrated with some porterhouse & an eggplant/zucchini/onion dish)
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

to get true readings, you should fast for several hours beforehand, so if you want to pursue something like this, try it first thing in the am
Hope this helps


"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'."
- Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')
Start Atkins 9.1.03
225/198/130ish
Valentine's Day Goal: 180

Rave,

The way I do it is a bit unusual, but it is described in detail on my site. I avoid ingesting things I might be allergic to! The way I do it avoids it altogether...



Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine," available where ever books are sold.

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

Thank you Tara. I knew Maggie did this but I couldn't remember how much of the stuff she took as a test and how long the fast should be. In the case of sugar alcohols I guess one could assume that if the BGL doesn't rise very much that it is not being digested as a sugar (and therefore might cause digestive upsets?) I would particularly like to see the differences between milk, yogurt and kefir.

That's a lot of fasting and testing!!!

Sharron, I have heard of that method before but the performance of it is confusing to me. How much pressure are you supposed to apply?? I assume the person being tested is to resist the downward pressure as strongly as possible. Is that correct? As an aside, when I view your website the graphics cover up some of the text. Do I have my computer settings wrong?

Rave
232/171.5/130
57yo. 5'2"
Started Atkins 6/1/02

Rave, I suggest we continue this part of our discussion privately, as it really doesn't have anything to do with LCE.

Send me a private topic, and we can chat

Blessings!
Sharron
Author of "Low Carb Cooking at Sharron's Place," and "Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine," available where ever books are sold.

www.thelowcarbcook.com

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart." Colossians 2:2

I'd be interested in hearing the scientific basis behind the test. Who developed it?

The best way to find out whether a food is going to interfere with your plan is to use Ketostix.

This can be controversial, because some people just hate Ketostix. For some people, getting a good reading is a pain in the butt. I use them every day and have for a very long time, and off and on for 25 years, so it's not a problem for me. I keep planning on writing the Ultimate Ketostix FAQ but I've always got something more important to do, heh.

If you test yourself correctly with good Ketostix, and you show positive for ketones, then you know that you are in ketosis and that you have not eaten too many carbs. If you develop problems staying in ketosis after introducing a new food, then you've got a very good indication that that new food could have more carbs than you think or could be sabotaging your WOE in some other way.

Problems with my Ketostix readings were the first indication that I had that those Atkins bars were throwing me out of ketosis. Since then, I've learned to be much, much more suspicious of so-called "low-carb" foods. When I do try them, I watch the sticks to see what happens.

**************
"Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door."