Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1682 Bolus 4 – Ice Cream

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Jenny Smith
Date: November 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of the Bolus 4 series focuses on how to bolus for Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. Host Scott Benner and diabetes educator Jenny Smith walk listeners through their thought process in tackling this high-carb, high-fat, sugar-laden treat. They reference their "Meal Bolt" roadmap for making informed insulin decisions, aiming to demystify bolusing for tricky foods in a candid, practical conversation.

“Nothing you hear on the Juice Box Podcast should be considered advice, medical or otherwise. Always consult a physician before making any changes to your healthcare plan.” – Scott Benner [00:59]

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Meal Bolt Framework: Structuring Bolus Decisions

• Scott and Jenny use a stepwise approach dubbed "Meal Bolt," even if they don't detail every step in their chat.
  • Measure the Meal: What are the carbs, sugar, fat, and protein?
  • Evaluate Yourself: What's your current blood sugar, any insulin on board, recent activity?
  • Add the Base Units: Calculate insulin using your usual carb ratio.
  • Layer a Correction: Adjust for current glucose.
  • Build the Bolus Shape: Immediate, extended, or combination delivery?
  • Offset the Timing: Pre-bolus consideration.
  • Look at the CGM: Analyze post-prandial glucose data.
  • Tweak for Next Time: Learn and adjust.

“Generally speaking, we're going to follow... the meal bolt formula... but that's the pathway that Jenny and I are going to use to speak about each bolus.” – Scott Benner [15:53]

2. Nutrition Breakdown of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough [03:46]

• Serving Size: 2/3 cup (approx. 3 per pint)
• Per Serving:
  • Carbs: 43g
  • Total Sugar: 34g (with 28g added sugars)
  • Fat: 20g
  • Sodium: 100mg
• If eating the whole pint:
  • ~130g carbs, 100g sugar, 60g fat, significant cholesterol and sodium.

"If you eat that whole thing, you're getting 60 grams of fat, 240 milligrams of cholesterol, 300 milligrams of sodium, 130 some carbs... about a hundred total sugars, including added sugars of 28 grams." – Scott Benner [04:50]

Ingredient Note: First seven ingredients: cream, skim milk, liquid sugar, sugar, water, wheat flour, brown sugar.

• High in multiple forms of sugar and fat.
• Uses natural colorants like turmeric and annatto. [07:16]

“Of the first seven ingredients, liquid sugar, sugar and brown sugar are three of them.” – Scott Benner [06:40]

3. Glycemic Impact & Bolus Considerations

• The ice cream has a "big fat hit" and a rapid sugar hit—fast initial impact but fat can slow absorption and cause delayed glucose rises.
• Time of day matters: often eaten as a snack after dinner or with other meals.

“That glycemic impact is going to happen fast. But when do people eat ice cream? End of the day.” – Scott Benner [08:23]

• Contexts:
  • After a meal: Layering the ice cream's impact atop previous carbs/fats/proteins and existing insulin.
  • Solo snack: Requires independent bolusing, possibly with activity or inactivity affecting absorption.

“If you are eating it in the aftermath of a meal, there's likely a bolus strategy for that. It would be different than, let's say, it's middle of the afternoon... at that point, it really is covering the ice cream and nothing else.” – Jenny Smith [09:16]

4. Practical Bolus Strategies

• Pre-Bolus: Strongly recommended due to high sugar content; delays glucose spike [11:39]
• Extended/Combo Bolus: Consider splitting insulin
  • E.g., 50-70% upfront, remainder over 2–3 hours to handle fat-delayed absorption.
• Temporary Basal: For pump users, a basal increase hours later might curb late rises.
• Adjustment with MDI: Separate doses, possibly with Regular (R) insulin to cover the delayed rise [13:04]
• Afrezza as a Tool: Ultra-rapid inhaled insulin could be an option for quick correction [13:55]

“Maybe an extended bolus works for you, where you do 50, 60, 70% of it up front… then you extend the back end of it maybe over two or three hours.” – Jenny Smith [11:46]

“You may actually be able to utilize... insulin R... to cover the back end hit because it's got such a slow kind of accumulation of getting to its effective amount and it might hit well for a couple of hours after the meal.” – Jenny Smith [13:04]

“Would this be a good place for Afrezza too?... Like if you get the rise, you can kind of just boom, like drop it down.” – Scott Benner [13:55]

5. The Importance of CGM Feedback & Iteration

• Monitor the CGM for at least 3-5 hours post-ice cream to spot fast spikes and delayed rises.
• Fine-tune the approach for next time; every body reacts differently.

“You have to kind of just do the looking at your CGM an hour, two hours, three hours afterwards, figure out how this went and then just tweak it for next time and try to... manage it best.” – Scott Benner [12:54]

6. Encouraging a Flexible, Non-Fearful Approach

• Both hosts emphasize experimentation, learning from experience, and not being fearful.
• Ice cream fits in diabetes management with the right preparation and tracking.

“Everybody, enjoy their ice cream. I'm not... I'm certainly not bagging on you. This looks... I'm just looking at the picture. It looks good.” – Scott Benner [15:20]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ideals vs. Reality:
  • “Do we want to use the serving size which any self-respecting person eating ice cream isn’t going to have 2/3 of a cup of it, are they?” – Scott Benner [03:57]
• Jenny on Color Additives:
  • “It’s interesting because... they don’t have yellow, blue, red dye. They’re actually using a plant-based coloring, which is actually pretty nice.” – Jenny Smith [07:40]
• Bolus Techniques:
  • “I think this needs, for the most part, a good pre bolus because of the sugar content. But it definitely needs something to cover the behind.” – Jenny Smith [11:39]
• Learning from Each Event:
  • “Tweak for next time. T—what did you eat? How much insulin and when? What did your blood sugar curve look like? What would you do next time?” – Scott Benner [15:53]

Timestamps for Key Sections

• Intro & Meal Bolt Overview: [00:00 – 01:24]; [15:53 – end]
• Why Ben & Jerry’s? Conversation: [01:34 – 02:33]
• Label Reading & Ingredient Dissection: [03:12 – 07:16]
• Glycemic Impact & Daily Context: [08:18 – 09:44]
• Personal Strategies & Challenges: [10:46 – 12:54]
• Bolus Techniques Breakdown: [11:39 – 14:52]
• Practical Takeaways & Wrap Up: [15:20 – end]

Tone

Conversational, witty, supportive, and highly practical. Scott uses humor and real-life anecdotes, while Jenny blends science with empathy, emphasizing both precision and experimentation.

For Listeners

This episode demystifies the process of bolusing for ice cream, focusing on Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Scott and Jenny highlight both the complexity of the treat and the adaptability required for diabetes management. Their key message: with planning, observation, and a willingness to learn from each attempt, enjoying ice cream can absolutely fit respectfully and safely into your diabetes journey.