My daughter is on NPH with Humalog. If I check my daughter and she is 125 mg/dl [6.9 mmol/L] one hour after eating, should I expect the macaroni and cheese to kick in two to three hours later? Should I have her eat additional food to keep from getting low during the next two to three hours? How soon does macaroni and cheese affect the blood sugar?

You ask a good question. Foods (like macaroni and cheese) with a higher fat content generally tend to be more slowly absorbed and affect blood sugars more in the two to three hour range (or longer). Popcorn, since it is mainly carbohydrate, should have more of an immediate effect rather than higher fat meals. It may depend although on how much butter or margarine is incorporated into the popcorn.

Foods can affect blood sugars differently among individuals so the best way to determine how to cover insulin with various foods is to perform post meal blood sugar checks. Your dietitian can help individualize how various foods affect blood sugars.

JMS