Your blood glucose naturally fluctuates through the day, but you need to avoid sharp spikes and drops that are related to food.
Your line will naturally rise and fall throughout the day, but if you are seeing any food related rapid increases and decreases, then you are experiencing the ‘blood glucose rollercoaster’. The rise is the glucose from carbohydrates being released from your food into your blood.
The fall is your bodies response in bringing glucose levels back to normal - it maintains your blood glucose to the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar (glucose) in your blood at any time. However, crashes don’t automatically stop once they reach a set level, and can continue to drop further, causing hunger. In reacting to hunger by eating, you set the process off again - and your line starts to look like a rollercoaster. By keeping carbohydrate consumption low you stop this process from occurring. Aside from weight gain, rapid changes in blood glucose can be associated with:
-
Poor concentration
-
Fluctuating energy levels
-
Irritability
-
Inflammation
-
Insulin resistance