In my last blog, I wrote about basal insulin. Basal insulin provides 50% of insulin needs for a human. This week’s topic is bolus insulin. Bolus insulin provides the remaining 50% of insulin requirements. Anytime a person eats or drinks food, extra insulin needs to be produced to stabilize their blood sugar. Someone without diabetes naturally produces the extra insulin. People with diabetes are unable or limited in the amount of insulin they need to get the job done. There are two types of bolus insulin:

1. Short Acting (Regular, Novolin RU100 and Humulin RU100)

This insulin needs to be taken 30 minutes before eating a meal. The insulin peaks after 2 to 4 hours and works for about 6 to 8 hours. Most new doctors do not prescribe this insulin. However, some people still use this insulin because short acting insulin is inexpensive.

2. Rapid Acting (Glulisine, Apidra, Lispro, Humalog and Novolog)

This insulin needs to be injected 5 to 15 minutes before eating a meal. This insulin peaks 30 to 90 minutes after injection and works about 3 to 4 hours. This insulin is popular because it functions closest to a real pancreas.


I hope this provided you an overview of bolus insulin. In my next blog, I will tie up some loose ends regarding insulin information. Email me at askard@stablebloodsugar.com if you have any questions. Allison