Diabetics beware!

I'd been wondering about some spikes in my blood sugar readings.

They were infrequent and occurred at times when I hadn't eaten anything. I finally noticed that they seemed to coincide with certain (ahem) "recreational activities".

But a test of what I *thought* was the cause didn't show a spike.

Tuesday morning I forgot to take a fasting level before playing around. Had quite a spike later when I finally did.

So I tried again that evening. Had a spike (50 point jump) but it still didn't seem to track when what I'd been assuming was the cause.

Then a while ago, I thought of something and checked the ingredients list on something. And there it was. Thee first three ingredients were chlorhexidine gluconate, gluconolactone, and glycerin. Culprit found. Those all are essentially sugar when your body gets done with them.

What was it? A water based "personal lubricant" (think K-Y Jelly clone).

Gee, apply that to a mucous membrane and your body will absorb it fairly fast and turn it into glucose.

That's one they don't tell you about in diabetes education classes!

Diabetics beware followup

The nurse was a bit skeptical, but couldn't get hold of the doctor. But I got a reply from a person I know that I sent an email to about this. She's connected with a lot of sex stuff, does reviews of videos and sex toys, also does some education stuff. She recalled hearing about it before.

I also did some research upon getting home. chlorhexidine gluconate is possibly not a problem. It's an antibacterial, and the "gluconate" part is a tint part of the molecule.

But gluconolactone turns out to metabolize pretty much directly to glucose. And glycerin is a sugatr alcohol and considered a carbohydrate. So those two are definitely culprits.

I note that practically every water based lube out there has glycerin as a major component. And a lot have propylene glycol, which is also a sugar alcohol.

For those not in the know, sugar alcohols are often used as sweeteners. They let manufacturers label something "sugar free". Alas, theyt affect the body prety much the same way sugars and other carbohydrates do. In fact the American Dietic Association lists them as carbohydrates. Ditto for glycerin.

Oh yeah, the sugatr alcohols also have a notable laxative effect if you have too much.

In any case, thiis sort of nonsense is why "sugar free" is a bogus label component. It doesn't actuall tell you anything *useful* regarding nutrition. Nor is it of any use if you are diabetic. You have to check the label to see how many grams of carbohydrates are in a serving.

Now, I see that I have to check labels on anything that comes in contact with mucous membranes. That means oral, rectal, vaginsal and urethral applications.