Actually, it has more to do with the amount of time we spend with elevated BG's...often referred to as the AUC (Area Under the Curve). The BG graph of a diabetic (T-1 or T-2) will show the same spikes as the BG of a non-diabetic. The difference will be in the plot of how fast these levels return to the "normal" range. If these are on an x-y graph, where the BG numbers are the vertical axis, and the horizontal axis is time, the diabetic plot will cover a lot more area than that of the non-diabetic. As I understand it, this AUC is critical in assessing the amount of exposure the delicate parts of your body (nerves, tissues, retinas, etc.) have to the caustic effects of your BG. The combination of severity and duration of exposure determines the amount of damage your body may sustain.

An additional facet of this is the "Glycemic Index." Although the conventional view has been that one carb is equal to another, it can be demonstrated that some foods with equal carbs are much more "persistant" in elevating and maintaining high BG readings than others. In essence, a food that gives you a BG spike of 200 and clears to 120 pp (2hrs) would be far preferable to one that gives you a spike of 180 and only declines to 170 pp (2hrs). Again, we're looking at the AUC measurement, but this time we're comparing foods, not the response of diabetics vs. non-diabetics.