For most people with Type 1 diabetes every carb must be covered with insulin. There is no limit to the amount of carbs or the amount of insulin allowed in one day. A working pancreas does not limit insulin, therefore most people with Type 1 diabetes do not need to either.
A person without Type 1 diabetes has a working pancreas. The pancreas secretes a tiny little bit of insulin all day into the person’s body to keep their blood sugar steady. When the person without Type 1 decides they are going to eat a piece of cake, the working pancreas starts to put out more insulin to get prepared to cover the cake that is about to be eaten. The pancreas puts this insulin out before the cake hits the belly, to maintain steady blood glucose levels. Now, if this same person without Type 1 diabetes wants another piece of cake, the pancreas just puts out more insulin for the next piece of cake. The healthy working pancreas will never stop giving insulin, there is no limit to the amount of insulin it puts out. As long as the person is eating and living, the pancreas is supplying insulin. There is no insulin ration so to speak.
Now, a person with Type 1 diabetes does not have a working pancreas, so their pancreas does not produce any insulin, nada. They must take shots or wear an insulin pump to get their insulin. They need insulin to be running through their body 24 hours a day just like a person without Type 1 diabetes, and they need insulin to cover carbs. So, just like everyone else, a person with Type 1 diabetes can eat and eat and eat some more carbs, as long as they cover, cover, and cover some more with insulin. There is no ration with insulin even if it comes from an outside source such as a shot or an insulin pump.
A person with Type 2 diabetes is VERY different than both of the above examples. Their bodies do possibly still make some insulin. That’s why it is in their best interest to eat as little carbs as they can to allow their insulin to try it’s hardest to work properly. It is when a person with Type 2 diabetes eats too many carbs, that the pancreas may not have enough insulin to cover that food. If they stay within their amount of carbs per day they have a much better chance of keeping their blood glucose levels even.
This is not so for the person with Type 1 diabetes. If my son eats as little as 4 carbs without insulin, his blood sugar will start to rise and it will not come down on it’s own, insulin must be given. So, as long as my son continues to eat a healthy diet, and continues to grow ever so beautifully, then it does not matter to me if he eats 50 carbs a day, 100 carbs a day, or even 150 carbs a day as long as he covers each and every carb with the appropriate amount of insulin.
Think of his insulin pump and me as a team working as his external pancreas. I take all the notes, and program the pump to the appropriate settings for every minute of every day to keep my son healthy, and the pump gives insulin a little bit at a time all day and in larger doses to cover carbs. We are a team, the pump and me. We are the external pancreas that allows my son to be the happy healthy 5 year old that he is today.