How to Eat For Balanced Blood Sugar and All Day Energy

I hear a lot of conversations happening on this topic in my world of nutrition and I’m really excited about it! Blood sugar balance is something I used to talk with ALL of my patients about (yes, not just my patients with diabetes) because as you’ll learn, it plays a role in basically every area of health.

As with anything, sifting through the information available to us online can be very overwhelming. So, today I’m taking the time to break down this topic to help you understand the role it plays in our bodies and our overall health outcome.

Basics of Understanding Blood Sugar

Blood sugar is the common term used to describe the levels of glucose in our blood. Your level of blood glucose can be measured directly by using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), or a blood glucose meter and pricking your finger for a blood spot. Also, if you’ve ever had a comprehensive blood panel ordered by your doctor that will always include a spot blood sugar level.

Glucose is our body’s preferred form of energy, and is primarily made from consuming carbohydrates. Fat and protein can also be broken down into glucose, but the process is less efficient and more time consuming for our bodies.

Once glucose/sugar enters our bloodstream, our pancreas senses the increase and begins to release a hormone called insulin. Insulin’s job is to help lower blood glucose levels by transporting glucose to cells to be used as energy, stimulating the liver and muscles to store excess glucose, and signaling to the liver to stop the production of glucose.

This continuous feedback loop plays on repeat in our bodies all day, every day. We eat, glucose rises, the pancreas secretes insulin, glucose falls and the process repeats after each meal.

This is a very basic explanation of how blood sugar works, but if you’re interested in diving deeper on this topic, check out these podcasts:

• Jessie Inchauspé, a French biochemist dives into the relationship between glucose, excess sugar consumption and potential health outcomes
• Dr. Casey Means, a Stanford trained physician discussing all things metabolic health

It’s important to acknowledge that Type 1 Diabetes is a type of autoimmune disease and is a completely different condition than Type 2 Diabetes. Type 1 causes the body’s immune cells to attack the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin, and people with this condition are unable to make their own insulin. 

How it Impacts Our Health

Our bodies are always seeking homeostasis, and maintaining stability in your blood glucose levels through the day is another example. If the process of blood glucose rising and falling becomes irregular, there can be many consequences. This occurs on both sides of the spectrum: consistently having too much glucose or too little glucose both cause problems.

Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia can look like:

• Dizziness, or lightheadedness
• Irritability, or feeling anxious
• Extreme feelings of hunger
• Sweating or shaking

Have you ever gone too long between meals and felt nauseous or lightheaded? That’s a clear sign you’re experiencing side effects of having low blood sugar.

High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia can look like:

• Mood swings
• Feeling tired, or sluggish
• Fatigue

Think about how you feel after eating a dense, carbohydrate heavy meal like fast-food. You probably feel like you want to lie down and take a nap! You may become tired, and feel sluggish. This is a sign your body has been inundated with too much glucose and there isn’t enough insulin to carry it away. If you continually consume more glucose than your body can use as energy, it will begin to convert glucose into fat. You can also develop insulin resistance as a result and this will eventually lead to type 2 diabetes if not addressed. 

Experiencing blood sugar swings now and again is not likely to have a substantial impact on your health. The real problems set in when our bodies endure blood sugar dysregulation day after day. Consider how the Standard American Diet (SAD), which relies heavily on ultra-processed foods and added sugars, has an impact on the dysregulation of blood sugar.

If your body is constantly overwhelmed with high levels of blood glucose, you will start to see serious health problems develop. The most common being:

• Pre-diabeties, and eventually Type II Diabetes
• Obesity
• Insulin resistance
• Metabolic syndrome
• Cardiovascular disease
• Alzheimer's (long-term big blood sugar swings)

Supporting Balanced Blood Sugar

In our busy society it’s not uncommon to eat breakfast in the car and lunch at your desk, which can make it difficult to tune into the signs your body is giving you about the status of your blood sugar. Fortunately, we have so much agency in improving and stabilizing our blood sugar by making small, meaningful choices every day.

Some of the ways you can support balanced blood sugar naturally are:

• Going for a short walk after eating a meal (this study shows that even 2 minutes is beneficial). You could just do laps in your living room if you can’t get outside!
• Exercising regularly to use your glucose stores
• Limit or eliminate alcohol due to its effects on blood sugar, which include an initial spike and a delayed crash. I eliminated alcohol a year ago and don’t miss it at all!
• Supplements recommended by your integrative dietitian 
• Eating meals optimized for blood sugar balance (my personal favorite!)
• Getting adequate sleep. Just one night of poor sleep can make you more insulin resistant the next day! 
• Reducing chronic stress. Stress has the ability to spike your blood sugar so being aware of your stress levels is key. 

We have multiple opportunities every day to choose well rounded meals that will support a stable blood sugar curve throughout the day. I follow a simple formula for these meals:

Protein + Healthy Fats + Complex Carbohydrates

A lot of people wonder if they should eat low carb, or eliminate as many carbs as possible from their diet. I don’t think this is the right approach to balancing blood sugar for a few reasons! As we now know, carbs are the best form of energy for our bodies. We can consume carbohydrates in a mindful way by choosing complex carbs over simple carbs and pairing them with protein and fat at every meal.

The addition of protein and healthy fats helps to prevent big blood sugar spikes. It supports a sustained release of glucose instead of intense glucose spikes caused by eating just carbs. Choosing complex carbs also slows down this process due to the high fiber content (quinoa, lentils, oats, sweet potatoes, and berries).

When I create my recipes I’m ALWAYS making sure that they have a beautiful balance of macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates and fiber) to help balance blood sugar and keep myself fuller longer in between meals. 

In my Meal Plan Membership, I share these anti-inflammatory recipes along with a grocery list every single week. As a dietitian, I know how important blood sugar balance is, which is why you’ll find recipes that emphasize real, whole foods, ample protein and the right combination of macronutrients for stable blood sugar. Take the pressure off yourself to get creative in the kitchen, and let me be your guide to blood sugar stability!

Don’t miss it, enrollment for the Spring membership opens on March 20! Join the waitlist here.