Quantified Diabetes
"Quantified Diabetes" (QD) is the psuedonym of a self researcher that has shared various self experiments, primarily focused on using blood glucose tracking to study the effects of foods in the context of Type 2 diabetes. Experiments are primarily shared on a personal blog, and via links to these entries within a subforum on Reddit.
About
According to a post in January 2020, QD developed Type 2 diabetes at the age of 29. QD decided to engage in self-tracking and self experimentation at the age of 38 in the hopes of improving managing the condition, as well as hopefully collaborating with others that have similar interests.
Self Experimentation
QD's experiments have a strong focus on rigor, with attention to controlling for various variables. In particular, food test experiments are conducted in the context of an extended overnight fast, skipping "breakfast", testing a single ingredient in place of a typical "lunch", and observing blood sugar response.
Blood Glucose Experiments
Influenced in particular by Dr. Bernstein's book, Diabetes Solution, QD became interested in the effects of specific food ingredients and "low carb" foods.
| Topic | Date | Description | Blog link(s) | Reddit link(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Device and protocol development | 2020-01-20 | Testing reproducibility of FreeStyle Freedom Lite glucose measurements. | Experiment #1: Measurement Reporducibility | |
| Observe high frequency blood sugar data | 2021-01-27 | Testing frequent measurements during a 48 hour period, to see what this looks like. | Experiment #2: 48 Hours of Blood Sugar Tracking | |
| Observe effect of exercise | 2021-02-02 | Follow up based on seeing "sharp drops" after cardio exercise in 48 data data. | Experiment #3: Exercise Effect | Glucose Tracking to Determine the Effect of Exercise |
Other Self Research
Other self research includes collective research into the effect of hot showers on blood glucose, as well as intervention to potentially improve sleep quality.