General Carbohydrate Supplementation Recommendations

It is important for all people with type 1 diabetes to have carbohydrates available for consumption during and after exercise. For those who wish not to decrease their insulin dosages before exercise, the recommended intake of simple carbohydrate (sport drinks, juice, nondiet soda, hard candy) for endurance-type exercise (such as running, swimming, and cycling) is 15 to 30 grams every 30 to 60 minutes during prolonged exercise (White and Sherman 1999).

If your preexercise glucose is less than 100 mg/dl, it is recommended that you ingest 10 to 15 grams of additional carbohydrate and wait 5 to 10 minutes before starting activity. If the activity will last less than 30 minutes, then you may not need to supplement with carbohydrate again for that session (Colberg and Swain 2000). You are likely to avoid hypoglycemia if you start replenishing carbohydrates immediately after exercising and continue for several hours.