Study: Training to estimate blood glucose and to form associations with initial hunger

http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/3/1/42

Background

The will to eat is a decision associated with conditioned responses and with
unconditioned body sensations that reflect changes in metabolic biomarkers.
Here, we investigate whether this decision can be delayed until blood
glucose is allowed to fall to low levels, when presumably feeding behavior
is mostly unconditioned. Following such an eating pattern might avoid some
of the metabolic risk factors that are associated with high glycemia.

Results

In this 7-week study, patients were trained to estimate their blood glucose
at meal times by associating feelings of hunger with glycemic levels
determined by standard blood glucose monitors and to eat only when glycemia
was < 85 mg/dL. At the end of the 7-week training period, estimated and
measured glycemic values were found to be linearly correlated in the trained
group (r = 0.82; p = 0.0001) but not in the control (untrained) group (r =
0.10; p = 0.40). Fewer subjects in the trained group were hungry than those
in the control group (p = 0.001). The 18 hungry subjects of the trained
group had significantly lower glucose levels (80.1 +/- 6.3 mg/dL) than the
42 hungry control subjects (89.2 +/- 10.2 mg/dL; p = 0.01). Moreover, the
trained hungry subjects estimated their glycemia (78.1 +/- 6.7 mg/dL;
estimation error: 3.2 +/- 2.4% of the measured glycemia) more accurately
than the control hungry subjects (75.9 +/- 9.8 mg/dL; estimation error: 16.7
+/- 11.0%; p = 0.0001). Also the estimation error of the entire trained
group (4.7 +/- 3.6%) was significantly lower than that of the control group
(17.1 +/- 11.5%; p = 0.0001). A value of glycemia at initial feelings of
hunger was provisionally identified as 87 mg/dL. Below this level,
estimation showed lower error in both trained (p = 0.04) and control
subjects (p = 0.001).

Conclusion

Subjects could be trained to accurately estimate their blood glucose and to
recognize their sensations of initial hunger at low glucose concentrations.
These results suggest that it is possible to make a behavioral distinction
between unconditioned and conditioned hunger, and to achieve a cognitive
will to eat by training.

"Roger Zoul" <Rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:12nql52j3ibih60@news.supernews.com...
> http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/3/1/42
> Subjects could be trained to accurately estimate their blood glucose and
> to recognize their sensations of initial hunger at low glucose
> concentrations. These results suggest that it is possible to make a
> behavioral distinction between unconditioned and conditioned hunger, and
> to achieve a cognitive will to eat by training.

That assumes your leptin response works. Mine didn't until I got thyroid
meds sorted.

Nicky.

--
A1c 10.5/5.5/<6 T2 DX 05/2004
100ug Thyroxine
95/72/72Kg

Nicky wrote:
> That assumes your leptin response works. Mine didn't until I got thyroid
> meds sorted.

If I were to be trained to only eat when my bg was < 85, I'd never eat
again!

Jackie Patti <jackiepatti@gmail.com> wrote:
: Nicky wrote:
: > That assumes your leptin response works. Mine didn't until I got thyroid
: > meds sorted.

: If I were to be trained to only eat when my bg was < 85, I'd never eat
: again!

Usually, if I am eating in my nrmal pattern if I feel hungry anda bit
"hollow inside" I will test on the lowish, normal side, like 87-96 and can
eat a snack or meal. Yesterday, I had some good cheese in the house and I
ate rather to much of it, bu tnothing carby. shortly before my usual
dinner time I was still feelign quite full but, as my DH was getting
hungry I was going in to fix a quick dinner(heat up the filling
vegetable-lentil soup and make a quick salad). I tested, just to see
where I was (I actually thought I was high as I did feel full. I,
actually was at 87! It went against my usual patten until I rememer that
I had had a glass of wine at the cocktail hour while my husband had had
his bourbon. Usually, if I fell that full I will test at 100-110.

I think that there well may be too man variables to be able to trust a
retrained hunger response.

Wendy

"W. Baker" <wbaker@panix.com> wrote in message
news:ell6f7$fr9$2@reader2.panix.com
:: Jackie Patti <jackiepatti@gmail.com> wrote:
::: Nicky wrote:
:::: That assumes your leptin response works. Mine didn't
:::: until I got thyroid meds sorted.
::
::: If I were to be trained to only eat when my bg was <
::: 85, I'd never eat again!
::
:: Usually, if I am eating in my nrmal pattern if I feel
:: hungry anda bit "hollow inside" I will test on the
:: lowish, normal side, like 87-96 and can eat a snack or
:: meal. Yesterday, I had some good cheese in the house
:: and I ate rather to much of it, bu tnothing carby.
:: shortly before my usual dinner time I was still feelign
:: quite full but, as my DH was getting hungry I was going
:: in to fix a quick dinner(heat up the filling
:: vegetable-lentil soup and make a quick salad). I
:: tested, just to see where I was (I actually thought I
:: was high as I did feel full. I, actually was at 87! It
:: went against my usual patten until I rememer that I had
:: had a glass of wine at the cocktail hour while my
:: husband had had his bourbon. Usually, if I fell that
:: full I will test at 100-110.
::
:: I think that there well may be too man variables to be
:: able to trust a retrained hunger response.

I think it all depends....it seems to work well for me.

Roger Zoul wrote:

> I think it all depends....it seems to work well for me.

I think you're correct.

In the past 3 or 4 years, my bg was only under 100 once, so I'd be
pretty hungry by now if I used the < 85 measure to decide when to eat.