#1823 Bolus 4 - Salmon Dinner

Summary

Juicebox Podcast: Type 1 Diabetes

Episode #1823 Bolus 4 – Salmon Dinner (April 13, 2026)

Host: Scott Benner
Guest: Jenny Smith
Theme: Practical Bolus Strategies for a Healthy, Balanced Salmon Dinner

---

Episode Overview

This episode of the Bolus 4 mini-series brings the focus to a “healthy” meal: grilled salmon, asparagus with olive oil, and roasted fingerling potatoes. Host Scott Benner and diabetes educator Jenny Smith break down not just how to count carbs for this meal, but how to think about bolusing for protein, fat, and mixed meals as experienced by real people living with type 1 diabetes. The discussion stays approachable and conversational, thoughtfully balancing deep-dive calculations with lived advice, practical strategies, and a few laughs. AI-based calculators and the potential for future technology also come into play.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Building a “Healthy” Meal (02:52–09:02)

• Community Request: After listener requests for healthier food coverage, the hosts decide on a salmon-centered dinner.
• Meal Components:
  • 6 oz. wild-caught grilled salmon
  • Grilled asparagus (with olive oil, ~6-8 spears)
  • Roasted fingerling potatoes (4 oz., with olive oil)

Nutritional Breakdown (09:19)

• Scott (paraphrased): Here are the stats for a typical serving—
  • Salmon: 265 kcals, 45g protein, 9.5g fat, 0g carbs
  • Asparagus (with EVOO): 55–70 kcals, 4.5g fat, 3g protein, 5g carbs
  • Potatoes (with EVOO): 125–140 kcals, 4.8g fat, 2.5g protein, 22g carbs
• Total meal: 27g carbs, 19g fat, 50.5g protein

Memorable moment:

“Is there bolusing to be done for salmon, do you think?”
Jenny [04:58]: “...Yes, to answer your question, we're going to need insulin in order to cover the rise up later. So salmon or any kind of protein like that isn't going to be an immediate effect.”

---

2. Protein, Fat, and Delayed Glucose Impact (04:58–07:16)

• Jenny explains how a larger-than-standard protein portion (over 3 oz., “palm of your hand” size) causes delayed glucose rise, requiring insulin coverage—just not immediately.
• Fat and protein don’t spike blood sugar quickly, but their impact over several hours can’t be ignored.

---

3. Practical Meal Bolusing—Carbs, Fat & Protein (13:37–16:49)

• Calculating for Carbs (13:42):
  • With an insulin-to-carb ratio of 1:10, 27g of carbs = 2.7 units insulin.
  • Scott: “...a pre bolus between 15 and 30 minutes before eating to ensure the insulin is active when the potatoes begin to digest.”
• Calculating for Fat & Protein using the Warsaw Method (14:38):
  • 373 fat + protein kcals / 100 = 3.73 FPUs (fat/protein units)
  • FPUs × 10g carb/unit = 37.3g carb equivalents
  • At 1:10 ratio, 3.7 units insulin for fat/protein, ideally extended over 4–5 hours (realistic, not the theoretical 5–8).

Notable quote:

“This is where sometimes the Warsaw can be too extensive... most people find through experimentation they have to shave down the extended bolus time. Not the amount, but the time.”
Jenny [15:33]

---

4. Real-World Strategies & Tweaks (16:49–19:30)

• Order of Eating:
  Jenny: “Maybe you’re the type of person who has learned that you can get away without a pre-bolus if you start the meal with the vegetables and protein and finish off with the carbs. If you start out with that structure of intake, you maybe don’t even need a pre-bolus for this.” [16:49]

• CGM Data & Personalization:
  Jenny: “You have to use your intuitive brain of how things work for you and what you’ve seen before from historical perspective...” [17:21]

• Scott admits to a less technical approach: “For me, right, I’m always just like high fat meal… I make a secondary bolus like 80 or 60 to 90 minutes later.” [18:58]

• On Education and Changing Paradigms:

  • In the past, protein was taught as a “free food”—Jenny notes changing guidance reflects better technology and understanding.
  • Scott: "In the end...I can give you as much detail as you want. You're either going to understand it in that detail or you're not." [18:26]

---

5. Role and Power of Technology & AI (20:03–27:02)

• AI Calculation Tools:

  • Scott used an AI (Gemini) with the Warsaw Method from his site to break down the meal. AI is only as good as its training/material, but it shortens the learning curve for complex mixed meals.
  • Scott: “If you can already accomplish this...it’s pretty amazing. Without AI, I don’t have that webpage, right? I could not have synthesized all that information and put it together like that. I don’t have that mind.” [21:18]

• Future Potential:

  • Dream of recipe apps integrating bolus calculation: “Drop in the recipe, your vitals...and there’s your answer.” (Scott, [24:19])
  • Jenny: “There's so much that could be done the right way, using technology to make the advantage for people with Type 1 to take a little bit of that stress away.” [23:16]
  • Discussion about potential for smarter pump and app tech, but also the reality of legal disclaimers and the real-world way people already self-manage and self-adjust.

---

6. Empowerment, Personalization & Final Tips (27:02–28:09)

• Jenny underscores the need for actual useful features: “We have these wonderful hardware devices with software that's becoming more ...intelligent...But the DIY, open source community has gone beyond FDA pumps.”
• Scott’s wish: Simpler, more integrated apps or pump features to take user info, meal data, and give more actionable suggestions.

Notable exchange:

“Who with diabetes...wouldn’t love that?”
Jenny [27:02]
“You’re sent off with take 10 units... and the person goes home and they fiddle with things and they adjust things and they take more and... Like, that’s entire. There’s no disclaimer for that.”
Jenny [27:22]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Protein Bolusing:

  “Salmon or any kind of protein...isn't going to be an immediate effect...But you WILL need something to cover the larger portion of protein over time.”
  —Jenny Smith [04:58]

• On Quantity of Potatoes:

  “I like that that portion shows that things like a potato do not have to be a steakhouse baked potato that's the size of like a basketball player's hand.”
  —Jenny [08:31]

• On User-Driven Adjustments:

  “You have to use your intuitive brain...what you've seen before from historical perspective...”
  —Jenny [17:21]

• On AI's Utility:

  “I saw a person online the other day scolding someone for using AI to help them ...those arguments are 12 months old now around AI. ...It’s going to move so quickly...”
  —Scott [20:03]

• On Technology Dreams:

  “Drop in the recipe, your vitals ...and there’s your answer. ...some dorks at some pump company are going to be feeding that into a pump somewhere. And if they're not, you guys aren't paying attention.”
  —Scott [24:19]

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:52 – Start of healthy meal discussion, meal build
• 04:58 – Bolusing for protein in salmon
• 07:16 – Relating portions to “palm size” and real-life eating habits
• 13:37–14:38 – Carb and FPU-based bolus calculation breakdown
• 16:49–17:21 – Strategies: order of eating, personalization, CGM integration
• 20:03–21:18 – AI’s current and potential role in diabetes management
• 23:16–25:12 – The dream app and bolusing automation
• 27:02–28:09 – Real-world DIYing, disclaimers, and what people truly need

---

Summary: Bolus Strategy for “Salmon Dinner”

1. Count carbs for potatoes and asparagus (27g total)
2. Base bolus: 2.7 units (1:10 insulin:carb ratio), pre-bolus 15–30 minutes before meal
3. Fat & Protein coverage:
   • Calculate FPUs (fat/protein units) and convert to “carb equivalent”:
     • 19g fat + 50.5g protein = 373 kcal = 3.73 FPUs = 37.3g carb
     • Extra insulin: 3.7 units, extended over 4–5 hours
4. Use pump dual/extended bolus, or MDI split doses as needed
5. Tweak for next time using CGM insight and account for order of eating (veggies/protein first may alter need for pre-bolus)

Human tip: No calculator can replace paying attention to your CGM and knowing your own patterns. Technology is getting smarter, but your intuition and data history are always crucial.

---

Tone & Final Takeaways

Scott and Jenny make the guidance feel inviting, realistic, and practical—with jokes and honest admissions about their own approaches. While technology and AI can supercharge calculations, judgment, experimentation, and tuning your own bolus remains essential. Both hope to see future diabetes tools simplify and streamline these processes for the real world.

---

Useful Links Mentioned

• Juicebox Podcast Warsaw Method / FPU Calculator: juiceboxpodcast.com/warcal
• Contour Next Gen Meter: contournext.com/juicebox
• Omnipod 5: omnipod.com/juicebox

---

For new and veteran listeners alike, this episode offers a grounded, actionable approach to bolusing for mixed, “healthy” meals—plus a glimpse at the very near future of diabetes technology.

Transcript

[A]

Here we are, back together again, friends, for another episode of the Juice Box Podcast. In every episode of Bolus 4, Jenny Smith and I are going to take a few minutes to talk through how to bolus for a single item of food. Jenny and I are going to follow a little bit of a roadmap called Meal Bolt. Measure the meal, evaluate yourself, add the base units, layer a correction, build the bolus shape, offset the timing, look at the CGM tweak for next time. Having said that, these episodes are going to be very conversational and not incredibly technical. We want you to hear how we think about it, but we also would like you to know that this is kind of the pathway we're considering while we're talking about it. So while you might not hear us say every letter of Meal Bolt in every episode, we we will be thinking about it while we're talking. If you want to learn more, go to juiceboxpodcast.com Meal Bolt but for now, we'll find out how to bolus for today's subject. While you're listening, please remember that 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 or or becoming bold with insulin. A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod 5 now with my link omnipod.com juicebox you may be eligible for a free starter kit. A free Omnipod 5 starter kit at my link. Go check it out. Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox Today's episode is also sponsored by the Contour Next Gen Blood Glucose meter. This is the meter that my daughter has on her person right now. It is incredibly accurate and waiting for you@contour next.com juicebox Jenny I mentioned, I think the time or two before that we recorded that somebody asked me are we going to do anything healthy in these Bolus four episodes? So, and I remarked then, and I'll tell you again, we went out to the community, I asked what you want to hear about bolusing for? We're just doing the list. You know, I didn't sit around and think, oh cinnabuns, I haven't had a Cinnabon in 20 years. So. But I want to do a meal, like one healthy meal right now. Okay, so I'm going to let you build the meal and then like so if you were putting together a dinner for people tonight, would you do something Salmon would you do chicken? Like what would you do? What would you put with it?

[B]

Sure. Oh my gosh. A healthy meal. Salmon, definitely. We, we do a lot of seafood. So salmon, grilled salmon. And I really like let's say a grilled asparagus.

[A]

Okay. For grilled salmon. Okay.

[B]

And like either a baked or a grilled like something yummy.

[A]

We're gonna go piece by piece as we build the meal out of it. Okay. So when tracking grilled salmon, the nutritional value varies slightly depending on whether it is wild, caught, leaner and high protein or farmed. Isn't that interesting? Do you buy one specifically?

[B]

I do not buy farmed ever. Any kind of farmed fish I do not buy again, totally personal preference. But the farmed often if you look at the packaging, it will have color added especially for salmon. And most often the farmed fish, not just salmon, but the farmed fish, the nutrient quality is just not there comparative to the wild caught.

[A]

See, look at us. By doing it like this, I learn things. Six ounces is a serving or you think it should be more or less a typical.

[B]

I mean if we're talking about a serving of what people eat their portion or a serving in designating like what a serving should be. Serving is about 3 ounces. But nobody eats just 3 ounces. Usually a portion is about 6. So that was a good estimate.

[A]

Awesome. Okay, so here's what we are going to learn right now by grilling the filet. Calories, 265 kcals, 45 grams of protein, 9 1/2 grams of fat, no carbs, cholesterol 104 milligrams sodium 156. That is a pretty balanced thing. Okay, so we're going to keep that there. There's no carbs yet, but is there bolusing to be done for salmon, do you think?

[B]

If it's. And that's why I brought up portion versus serving. Right. A typical serving of any kind of protein is about 3 ounces as a. As designated by whoever designated that as the serving size eons ago, whatever. So anything more than that and I usually explain it by like the size of the palm of a hands. About 3 ounces. Ish. Once it's cooked. So anything larger than that. Yes, to answer your question, we're going to need in need insulin in order to cover the rise up later. So salmon or any kind of protein like that isn't going to be an immediate effect. It's not. It's going to not going to be like eating grapes for example. But you Will need something to cover the larger portion of protein over time.

[A]

Did you say grilled broccoli? Did you say broccoli?

[B]

Oh, well, I like broccoli, too. I said asparagus.

[A]

Hold on.

[B]

Asparagus for something different?

[A]

Aspergrass. I know how to spell it because of that. And what do you cook it with? Just olive oil or how do you grill it?

[B]

Yeah, I usually put a little bit of olive oil. Like, if it's in the oven outside. In the, you know, summertime, it's just on the grill. But in the wintertime or whatever in the oven just baking it. I usually use a little bit of olive oil in the pan.

[A]

Okay, here we go. Grilled asparagus breakdown. I put evo on there because I'm super, super hip. Calories. Let's see. Serving.

[B]

Good job with acronym.

[A]

Thank you. Grill asparagus with extra virgin olive oil is a nutrition powerhouse. The addition of healthy fats from the oil is actually beneficial here. So six to eight spears or one cup 55 to 70 calories, four and a half grams of fat, three grams of protein, five grams of carbs. Okay, so now we have five carbs. Let me get a piece of paper.

[B]

You have to do all your math, adding it.

[A]

All right, so far I got 0 and 5 for the. For the carbs.

[B]

Just for the carbs. Did you want to do all the macros for each of them to add them all together by the end?

[A]

Can you do that?

[B]

You should be able to. I mean, if you're doing, you know, salmon, while you have zero carbs, you do have a fair amount of protein.

[A]

Okay, so.

[B]

And there in that portion should also be a certain amount of fat.

[A]

All right, so let's do that. And then actually, I know what to do. Don't worry. Okay. What else are we going to put with the food? Jenny's done eating already. She's like, that's enough. I'm good. What do you think an average person would put. You think they put a piece of bread with it? Do you think they would do another vegetable?

[B]

I think some people would do another vegetable. Maybe like a side salad. But if they do want a true carbohydrate with it, they might add. Let's try, like, the little fingerling potatoes.

[A]

Oh, good job. Just for fun, you caught Jenny on her. On our anniversary, out to eat. She's like, I'll take a potato too.

[B]

I sent you a picture, actually, from our anniversary, didn't I?

[A]

That's what made me think of it, because when I looked at it, I was like, this is exciting for Jenny, this plate.

[B]

It was very, very yummy.

[A]

Yeah, I thought for sure. 4 ounces of potatoes, 3 to 5 small potatoes grilled with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. 4.8 grams of fat, 125 to 140 calories, 2.5 protein, 22 carbs, sodium 10. Okay, so now what I'm gonna tell it to do is go ahead.

[B]

And I like that that portion shows that things like a potato do not have to be a steakhouse baked potato that's the size of like a basketball player's hand. Like, there's no reason you have to eat that much potato to enjoy a potato.

[A]

I love that you're now horrified. You're like, why 22 carbs of potatoes?

[B]

Why couldn't it be 22 grams is a lovely little portion of these little potatoes? And it's not gigantic.

[A]

Okay. And I am. All I'm telling it to do is I said combine these three items and create a bolus based on and I'm dropping in the link to juiceboxpodcast.com forward/warcal w a r C A L, the Warsaw calculator.

[B]

So it's going to use the FPUS and everything.

[A]

I want to just show people like, you don't need to understand all that to have this broken out for you by. I'm using Google Gemini today. The new version. This is probably so I don't think I pay for it, do I? I might pay $20 a month.

[B]

I don't know. In Chrome, Gemini becomes like it's an option right up in the corner. I don't know if the Pro is a paid version or not. My Gemini just shows up as Gemini. It doesn't say Gemini Pro.

[A]

I think I must pay $20 a month for it then. Okay. Contour next.com juicebox that's the link you'll use to find out more about the Contour Next Gen blood glucose meter. When you get there, there's a little bit at the top you can click right on. Blood glucose monitoring. I'll do it with you. Go to meters. Click on any of the meters. I'll click on the next gen and you're going to get more information. It's easy to use and highly accurate. Smart Light provides a simple understanding of your blood glucose levels. And of course, with Second chance sampling technology, you can save money with fewer wasted test strips. As if all that wasn't enough, the Contour Next gen also has a compatible app for an easy way to share and See your blood glucose results contornext.com juicebox and if you scroll down at that link, you're going to see things like a Buy now button. You could register your meter after you purchase it or what is this? Download a coupon? Oh, receive a free Contour Next gen blood glucose meter? Do tell. Contour next.com head over there now get the same accurate and reliable meter that we use. This episode is brought to you by Omnipod. Would you ever buy a car without test driving it first? That's a big risk to take on a pretty large investment. You wouldn't do that, right? So why would you do it? When it comes to choosing an insulin pump, most pumps come with a four year lock in period through the DME channel and you don't even get to try it first. But not Omnipod 5. Omnipod 5 is available exclusively through the pharmacy, which means it doesn't come with a typical four year DME lock in period. Plus you can get started with a free 30 day trial to be sure it's the right choice for you or your family. My daughter has been wearing an Omnipod every day for 17 years. Are you ready to give Omnipod5 a try? Request your free starter kit today at my link omip omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Eligibility may vary. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox find my link in the show Notes of this podcast player [e-mail] to create a bolus for this meal using the workout of the Warsaw Method Calculator from the Juice Box podcast, we must account for both the immediate impact of the carbohydrates and the delayed impact of the fat and protein. So now we by giving it that link, let me explain to people what that link has there. You and I have talked about this stuff in a number of different episodes, correct? I've synthesized all of those conversations into what's on that website describing how to bolus for fat and protein. Plus there's an actual calculator there that you guys could use, you know, at your own risk. Please. There's a disclaimer there that helps you break this bolus out, but this is AI doing it for you. And AI even wants you to know that they're not a doctor. And this information is based on the podcast, which by the way will tell you that I'm not a doctor either. So we're all disclaimered out the butt. Let's keep going. Yes, the nutritional breakdown based on 6 ounces of wild caught salmon fillet, 6 to 8 asparagus spears, and 4 ounces of fingerling potatoes. We're looking at 27 total carbs, 22 from the potatoes, 5 from the asparagus, 19 grams of fat, 10 from the salmon, 9 from the vegetables and the olive oil. And the total protein, 50.5 grams. 45 of it is from the salmon, 2.5 from the potatoes, 3 from the asparagus. You're gonna start feeling bad about going to college in a second. Now, it says step one to bolus for the carbs. So calculate your standard carb dose using your insulin to carb ratio. So we're gonna do one to ten. Just. So we're gonna. We're gonna pit Jenny against.

[B]

To make it easy.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. And to pit it against the AI because I'm gonna put you on this to your own.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

So 27 carbs, 1 to 10 ratio.

[B]

2.7 units just for the carbs.

[A]

Yep. And it agrees.

[B]

Great.

[A]

It says that I would. Scott would recommend a pre bolus between 15 and 30 minutes before eating to ensure the insulin is active when the potatoes begin to digest. Says Step 2. You can use the waral calculator to figure out your later dose. The Warsaw Method converts fat and protein into fat and protein units. FPUs to calculate on extra extended bolus. To calculate an extended extended bolus. Calories from fat, 19 times 9 equals 171 kcals. Calories from protein, 50.5 times 4 is 202 kcals. Total fat and protein calories, 373 kcals. FPU's. 373 divided by 100 equals 3.73 FPU's.

[B]

Nice.

[A]

Okay, the calculation carb equivalent. Each one FPU is treated like 10 grams of carbs. So 3.73 FPUs times 10 grams equals 37.3 grams of equivalent carbohydrates. Now that is not a thing anybody would imagine.

[B]

No. And that's from fats and proteins.

[A]

Yes. Extra insulin. Divide the equivalent carbs by your insulin to carb ratio. Example. If your insulin carb ratio is 1 to 10, you'll need an extra. How much for 37.3?

[B]

Sorry. Ask it again. My brain was thinking through the whole.

[A]

Sorry. 37.3 equivalent carbs at a 1 to 10 ratio needs how much insulin?

[B]

3.73. Which. Let's say 3.7.

[A]

It rounded the 3.7. Now, here's where it helps you. It helps you with the duration per the Warsaw method. Calculator. Since you have 3.7 FPU's, the extra insulin should be delivered as an extended bolus over how would you do it? How many hours?

[B]

So this, this is where sometimes the Warsaw can be too extensive. In that extended piece, that extended bolus of insulin, most people end up finding with some experimentation that they have to shave down the extended bolus. Amount or time? I should say not the amount, but the time.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

My expectation would be extending this over probably four to five hours. My expectation Warsaw probably said six hours,

[A]

it said five to eight. But it's super interesting to listen to your to you think about it. So we're just going to say I'm going with you. So we'll say an extended bolus over four to five hours.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Tell me if you agree. Summary bolus strategy upfront pre bolus 2.7 units for the 27 carbs. An extended bolus of 3.7 for the fat and protein delivered over. It actually says five hours. So delivered over five hours it says. This is a pro tip from the Juice Box podcast. If you use a pump like Omnipod, you can set a dual combo type bolus. If you're using MDI injections, some listeners use a split dose or a small nudge injection two to three hours after the meal when the protein starts to rise. Right.

[B]

And you know what's also interesting is it's giving you a generalized idea for that pre bolus, right. Maybe you're the type of person who has learned that you can get away without a pre bolus if you start the meal with the vegetables and then move to the protein and then finish off with the carbohydrates. And because of the large portion of protein and fat in this meal, if you started out with that structure of intake, you maybe don't even need a pre bolus for this.

[A]

Right?

[B]

Again, using your cgm, using your glucose values, using a trend, these are all pieces to build in that obviously even an AI like this can't give you all of that complex information. You have to use your intuitive brain of how you, how things work for you and what you've seen before from historical perspective to actually move into and approach the bolusing for this meal. But in terms of the dosing for does a great job of telling you what to do and what to expect. And I think building in, we've thankfully in the past five years with more aid systems, we've also started to talk a lot more about protein and fat. Thankfully. Because you know, in the past when I Was educated. My goodness, like, protein was just. It was a free food, right. We didn't count it. There was a certain amount that I needed from a growth perspective, right. That was built into my intake. But proteins were free. Just like cucumbers and celery. They were free food.

[A]

As much as you want. Jenny's over there eating a chicken like a caveman. Well, I'm smiling while we're doing this because, you know, I've had the conversations and I've had some with you and some with other people about bolusing for fat and protein. But the truth is, is that in the end, like, I can give you as much detail as you want. You're either going to understand it in that detail or you're not. I mean, for me, right, I'm always just like high fat meal. I make a secondary bolus like an 80 or 60 to 90 minutes later.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And I know that people hear this stuff and they want, they want this, they want, like, do this here, do that. But Jenny pops right in to tell you that's not exactly what's going to happen. And I think that's great. The reason it makes me smile is because even if you got to that link, I'm not gonna lie to you, that link is overwhelming. Like understanding how the Warsaw method works and FPUs and KCALs and I mean, I'm out already. Like, you know me long enough, like, I start hearing that stuff, I get fuzzy, I'm like, ah, I'm done.

[B]

Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so you're like, I don't know. This meal looks like three and a half units. We're gonna give and then it's gonna hit later. So we're just gonna do a little bit of a nudge extra here. I mean, that's great. But I do also really like that this calculator piece, once you feed it the right information, yes, it has to be a little detailed information, but once it's there, it actually does the calculations. It even asks for your insulin to carb ratio. It can be very directing where you may have had no idea rather than just a wild guess before.

[A]

Yeah. And 100%. And I still think people need to understand, though, that a large part of how it came up with this so cleanly and easily is because I was able to give it the link back to all of the information. I'm not asking you to go out on the Internet and like, just. I didn't say, like, take these three things. My insulin to carb ratio is 1 to 10. Use the Warsaw Method. And figure it out. I don't know if we would have gotten this clear language if that would have happened. And maybe, maybe it would have, I don't know. But I just, I saw a person online the other day scolding someone for using AI to help them with something like this. And I thought, my gosh, oh, they were making all these arguments. And I said, I said to myself, Those arguments are 12 months old now around AI. And I realized it's crazy to think that, you know, 12 months ago, you know, the person said, how'd they put it there? Like that thing's just telling you what you want to hear. And I was like, oh, that was a year ago. It's not doing that anymore. Like, they, they whip that right out of it already. And so this thing's going to move so quickly, like going forward. And if you can already accomplish this with is, I mean, it's pretty amazing. Without AI, I don't have that webpage, right. I could not have, I, I had those conversations and I could not have sat down and synthesized all that information and put it together like that. Like, I don't have that mind.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, so.

[B]

And because we walk around with computers in our pockets, right? I mean, we don't have phones, we've got computers, small, little, tiny computers that we walk around in our back pocket all day long. And so with diabetes especially, you can use it to your advantage in today's world of technology because the information is pretty clean and pretty accurate. Again, two years ago, not so much. Your best bet was to look up the nutrition facts, probably from the USDA or, you know, another website, right? But now the nice thing is that all that data is put into AI already. Then you can ask it directed questions about, hey, what do you think about this? It can give you some feedback.

[A]

It is really, I think, valuable and going to become more valuable to people. I sent something to Jenny recently that I've been kind of working on over here because a lot of how AI works is, is the direction you give it, right?

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So I was, I, I don't think I should say, oh, I don't know. I, I was working out a prompt that wasn't just a prompt. It wasn't a sentence or two. It was, it actually like pages of prompting, right. But that you could put in and then literally just give it a link to a recipe and it would, it would, it would turn out a bolt on the other side. And I'm pretty close to getting it worked out. And I don't know I don't know about Johnny. And like, I can't code, I can't do anything else. But I just kept taking information and saying, no, you need to be more and do it over and over again. Make a mistake and I'll go, oh, here, you made a mistake here. Like, we need to rewrite this. You can turn it into code and put it on a website where you just like drop a link in, push a button and boom, that's your bolus for this. Now you still gotta think, right. Maybe that's not right. I mean, I'm not saying I would blindly do it, but it gets you a hell of a lot closer than where a lot of people end up.

[B]

And it would be lovely if, you know, an app like that would actually also take in maybe an app that somebody uses. Like I use to keep recipes all in one place rather than having 6,000 pictures of recipes that I've looked at online. So I actually copied the link into the Paprika app, which saves your recipe. It saves it in a recipe format, just not just the website view, which is awesome. And it would be great if an app that could also take that recipe and then dictate to you when you do eat this meal. This is what your bolus strategy is going to look like. Yes. You're still going to have to feed it things like, this is my insulin to carb ratio. This is maybe my starting blood sugar. Maybe eventually you could feed it like the trend in your blood sugar and what. You know what I mean? Like, there is. There's so much that could be done the right way, using technology to make the advantage for people with Type 1 to take a little bit of that stress away.

[A]

Yeah, the thing I'm making, which is just me, you know, I don't know if fiddling around, vibe coding, I guess the way you can basically just talk to it into changing code and stuff like that. But what I wanted to do is like go to a link, find the recipe, break down all of the ingredients, and then apply all these other ideas from, you know, from the podcast and from people's conversations and from what's know, you, you know, well established and known in the world and come back and tell me how to bolus for this. So basically drop in the recipe, your vitals, you know, your insulin to carb ratio, stuff like that, starting blood sugar and boom. And there's your answer. And I think that by the time I figure that out, some dorks at some pump company are going to be feeding that into a pump somewhere. And if they're not, you guys aren't paying attention to what's possible. So at the very least, it could be an app and somebody should do it.

[B]

Well, I think you touch on actually a really good point. You know, we, we have these wonderful hardware devices with soft software that's becoming more, I guess, intelligent depending on how we interact with it. Right. It is not up to current potential. Like the DIY community, the open source community has that potential, has gone beyond what our typical FDA pumps. Right? Yeah, but somebody needs to step up in one of these companies and they need to say, we've got this part of it, but this greater percentage of life with diabetes. What if we integrate in just the ability of somebody to say all of these pieces and then the pump can actually do more for you and its algorithm can do more for you. Right. Even exercise. Right. Being able to take it. Well, I'm going to take a light yoga class versus I'm going to go run for 10 miles. Right. The ability of the app to actually interact or algorithm to actually interact.

[A]

Well, everybody, everybody's going to control their pumps from their phone to begin with. So, I mean, honestly, just think of it. Another screen that says, this is what I'm eating. You know, make a, Make a bolusing strategy for me. And then, you know, I, I realize the legality. People listening are like, oh, we would, we wouldn't put ourselves in the line like that. Make. Make somebody. You agree to a disclaimer. You know, like, I mean, your stuff works as well as it works. It still isn't perfect. Like, so, same idea. You know, I agree that this is the bolstering strategy I want to use and let the app talk to the. And just feed it over. Right.

[B]

And who with diabetes wouldn't love that? With type 1, not only would love that, but as you just said, like a disclaimer, really. We're given a hormone that people use 100% off the prescribed label of what to do with it.

[A]

All day long.

[B]

They do. All day long. You're sent off with take 10 units or put this in your pump at the basal rate, and then the person goes home and they fiddle with things and they adjust things and they take more and they're like, nope, that's not enough. Let's take some more. Like, that's entire. There's no disclaimer for that.

[A]

No, no, no, no.

[B]

Come on.

[A]

And they don't tell you. You really get the least direction in the beginning, too.

[B]

Oh, 100%.

[A]

Sometimes they don't even tell you like if you get dizzy, maybe that was too much like.

[B]

Yeah, I know.

[A]

So it's awesome. All right.

[B]

I don't think there's a disclaimer needed.

[A]

Well, the companies are going to disagree with you, but maybe somebody will make an app that does that. I mean, listen, I just laid it out there for you. Steal the idea, I don't care. I'm not looking to make an app. You know, I was going to do it for myself.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But anyway, I appreciate this conversation. Thank you.

[B]

No, thank you very much. It was great.

[A]

A huge thanks to my longest sponsor, Omnipod. Check out the Omnipod 5 now with my link omnipod.com juicebox you may be eligible for a free starter kit. A free Omnipod 5 starter kit at my link. Go check it out. Omnipod.com Juicebox terms and conditions apply. Full terms and conditions can be found@ omnipod.com juicebox having an easy to use and accurate blood glucose meter is just one click away. Contournext.com juicebox that's right. Today's episode is sponsored by the Contour Next Gen blood glucose meter. Okay, well, here we are at the end of the episode. You're still with me. Thank you. I really do appreciate that. What else could you do for me? Why don't you tell a friend about the show or leave a five star review? Maybe you could make sure you're following or subscribed in your podcast app. Go to YouTube and follow me. Or Instagram TikTok. Oh gosh, here's one. Make sure you're following the podcast in the private Facebook group as well as the public Facebook page. You don't want to miss. Please you not know about the private group. You have to join the private group. As of this recording, it has 74,000 members. They're active talking about diabetes. Whatever you need to know, there's a conversation happening in there right now and. And I'm there all the time. Tag me. I'll say hi. My Diabetes Pro Tip series is about cutting through the clutter of diabetes management to give you the straightforward, practical insights that truly make a difference. This series is all about mastering the fundamentals, whether it's the basics of insulin dosing, adjustments or everyday management strategies that will empower you to take control. I'm joined by Jenny Smith, who is a diabetes educator with over 35 years of personal experience. And we break down complex concepts into simple, actionable tips. The Diabetes Pro Tip series runs between episode 1000 and 1025 in your podcast player, or you can listen to [e-mail] by going up into the menu. Have a podcast? Want it to sound fantastic? Wrongwayrecording.com.