--for an hour, though.

People's bodies process glucose at different rates, depending on a lot of factors, including insulin release, and the patterns are often very interesting,

When I get mine done, I have them take a 12-hour fasting glucose/insulin draw, which usually reveals an okay glucose level (80's/90's) but somewhat elevated fasting insulin, indicative of insulin resistance, the first sign, often, of glucose dysregulation. (Translated--my body has to produce more insulin than "normal" to keep my glucose at normal levels--my cells have become somewhat resistant to insulin's effects, and it takes more to force glucose into the cells.) I then take the drink, and get draws at .5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 5 hours--insulin and glucose each time. (I admit this is boring, and you can't move around a lot during this, or you'll skew the results--I just put a lot of stuff on my iPod before going in, and bring some reading material, too.)

Usually, what happens is I have a quick glucose spike--though I haven't had one into the frank diabetic range yet--followed by a major insulin release around 1-2 hours that drives my glucose well down into borderline hypoglycemic territory (60's/low 70's) by 2.5-3 hours and then recedes, allowing my glucose to normalize by hour 5 to near it's original levels. The insulin comes down before the glucose eases back up.

So--what seems to be happenin gis that my insulin-resistant body overcompensates for a small glucose challenge, almost as if expecting that the insulin will be less effective. This is often a precursor to impaired glucose tolerance--if I am not careful one day the insulin system will not respond as well, and I'll wind up with too-high glucose levels. It's why I do watch the diet (though it's more difficult this time of year--I try to eat very Zone-like) take R-lipoic, which helps stabilize insulin levels, and exercise--especially muscle building exercise, as muscle is generally a more efficient user of insulin than other body tissue.