The Snack Secret that Keeps Blood Sugar from Crashing (Tips Inside)
Photograph by Dovile Ramoskaite
When blood glucose spikes, it’s usually followed by a crash—but simple strategies can avoid these imbalances and leave us feeling healthier.
Ever indulge in a sugary snack, only to feel your energy levels crash shortly afterwards? Do you crave carbohydrates, and yet find yourself feeling hungry and unsatisfied later on?
Often when people talk about blood sugar—a.k.a. blood glucose—they immediately think about diabetes and pre-diabetes. While managing blood glucose is particularly critical for those of us with diabetes, the fact is that all of us can benefit from efforts to stabilize blood glucose and avoid the spikes and crashes that so often leave us feeling lousy.
Here’s what you need to know:
Fast carbohydrates—e.g. pasta, sugary foods, pretzels, ice cream etc.—can create a sudden spike in blood glucose.
In response, your body produces a large dose of insulin from your pancreas—which is intended to help your body absorb sugars and use them for energy
If this happens too fast, it can cause you to become hypoglycemic—meaning low blood sugar—which creates that drop in energy, hunger, or wooziness you experience.
Spikes in insulin are also going to prompt your body to store sugars as fat or triglycerides, and over time may cause you to develop insulin resistance and pre-diabetes.
However, there are proven strategies that can help lessen these spikes—the simplest (and most delicious!) of which is called PCF (Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat) balance.
Rather than eating carbohydrates on their own, or ‘naked,’ try pairing them with proteins and/or healthy fats. Not only will this create a slower, more manageable release of energy - avoiding those insulin spikes - but it will also leave you more satiated and less likely to over indulge.
Not sure what a PCF snack might look like? Here are some of our favorites:
Tortilla chips, guacamole and almonds
Boiled egg, carrots and brazil nuts
Cucumbers, strawberries and goat cheese
Yes, crackers paired with cheese is going to create less of an insulin spike than crackers eaten alone.
Of course, there’s much more to managing blood glucose than PCF balance alone. Read our blog overview of carbohydrates and blood glucose here, and learn our approach to diabetes and pre-diabetes too.
Have questions? Working on blood glucose issues? We would love to help. You can schedule an appointment with one of our providers today.
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Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance
Blood Glucose Management, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Hypertension, High Cholesterol, Thyroid Disease, Hormonal Health
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