Here we focus on how to balance blood-sugar levels, even when eating carbs or sugar. If you often feel fatigue or have food cravings not long after eating, then read on to find out a possible cause.
Glucose spikes can have short- and long-term health consequences ranging from fatigue, hunger, and cravings, to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
It's not really about what you eat, but more about the timing and sequence.
In 2018, a Stanford University team showed that common foods, like cereal breakfast (a long-time fav. of mine) provoke huge glucose spikes - even above 200 mg/dL - in healthy individuals without diabetes.
Even though marketing touts it as part of a healthy diet, regular breakfast cereal is mostly just sugar and refined carbs, and even cereals labelled as “healthy” and “low calories” can spike our glucose. So cereal for breakfast is, unequivocally, not a good way to start the day!
The graphs below from The Glucose Goddess in her breakfast guide illustrates the issue vey succinctly:
These principles apply to any meal.
When sitting down to dinner, start eating your greens first: veggies and/or salad. Then eat your protein, and try and leave carbs like potatoes and fries for last.
Finally, try go for a 10 minute walk after any meal. This will help 'burn down' glucose in the bloodstream to avoid high glucose spikes which can cause elevated insulin spikes and metabolic stress on the body
Pro tip: Vinegar’s acetic acid is a powerful substance in the quest for balanced blood sugar. Incorporating just a tablespoon of vinegar into your diet—perhaps mixed into a glass of water or used as a salad dressing or before meals can make a significant difference. (Maybe vinegar instead of tomato sauce with your french fries?)
Scientific studies suggest that vinegar can reduce the glycemic impact of a meal by up to 20%, dampening the post-meal blood sugar spike.
So, a little forethought and planning before eating may be a great help in managing blood-sugar spikes, exhaustion and cravings soon after eating. Give it a try!