Diabetes: is it time to flatten the curve?

Abstract

A decade ago, out of the blue, I received a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. Over the next few months, I focused on trying to reduce post-meal blood sugar spikes and episodes of hypoglycaemia. In the language of pandemics, I tried to ‘flatten the curve.’ Alongside my insulin regime, I began to reduce my starch and sugar intake. I was careful about how I ate high glycaemic foods and tried to combine the higher glycaemic sugary and starchy foods with unsaturated fats, proteins, or fibre to avoid peaks and troughs in my blood sugar. It worked. My blood sugars quickly fell to under 7 mmol/L. I also started to notice that as a society, we do not pay …