To estimate how much four Smarties (about 3.6 grams of sugar) would raise your blood sugar:
- Each gram of glucose raises blood sugar by about 5 mg/dL in an average adult.
- 3.6 grams of glucose would theoretically raise blood sugar by approximately 18 mg/dL (3.6 x 5 mg/dL).
However, this can vary depending on individual factors like body weight, insulin sensitivity, and activity level. Given that you’re in the honeymoon phase of type 1 diabetes, your pancreas may still produce some insulin, which could affect how much your blood sugar rises.
Glucose tablets are designed to be fast-acting and consist of pure glucose (dextrose), which is immediately absorbed into the bloodstream. This makes them very effective for quickly raising blood sugar levels.
Smarties, on the other hand, contain mostly dextrose (glucose) as well, along with small amounts of flavoring and other ingredients. Since they also consist primarily of glucose, they are fairly effective for raising blood sugar, though glucose tablets might be slightly faster because they’re made for that specific purpose.
In practice, both are effective for treating low blood sugar, but glucose tablets may offer a more predictable response since they are standardized in terms of dosage.
A typical glucose tablet contains 4 grams of glucose. This is a standardized amount, making it easy to calculate how much it will raise blood sugar. Since 1 gram of glucose typically raises blood sugar by about 5 mg/dL, a glucose tablet containing 4 grams of glucose would raise blood sugar by approximately 20 mg/dL (4 grams × 5 mg/dL).
4-5 smarties or 1 glucose tablet should raise blood sugars by roughly 20 mg after 15 minutes.