Stable blood sugar (i.e., the amount of glucose you have in your blood at any given time) was once a concern only for diabetics, but the health marker has quietly become central to everyday wellness. Science shows that blood sugar affects many different aspects of the body, including energy, mood, energy, mental state, and much more.
Glucose comes from each and every thing you eat—and in response, the body creates insulin to move it into our cells for fuel. Eating an imbalanced meal may result in a glucose spike, which is when the blood sugar quickly rises above the normal range—then typically drops back down again just as fast. “In the long term, the more spikes you have, the more likely it is that you’ll develop type 2 diabetes,” biochemist Jessie Inchauspé has told Vogue in the past. When glucose spikes too often, insulin works overtime and the body becomes less responsive, a process known as insulin resistance. Research has revealed that just under half of Americans have insulin resistance, which can lead to other health issues like cardiovascular disease.
“When we want to know if a food will spike our glucose, we’re not only looking at sugar content but also starch content, which turns into glucose as it’s digested as well,” Inchauspé reveals. “Fat and protein content are also important to factor in since they reduce the spike.”
What that means is the classic culprits—i.e., sugary foods—that are causing glucose spikes in your body. You may be surprised to know, a lot of them are actually the foods we have previously labeled as “healthy.” Below, we discuss four of the common blood sugar spiking foods—plus, swaps to help control the surge.
Oat milk
A dairy alternative loved for its creaminess, oat milk is made of a starchy grain—and because of this, it breaks down into sugar faster than other nut- or dairy-based alternatives. Of course, this leads to sharp glucose spikes.
The swap: Look for a milk—dairy or otherwise—that has protein and fat to stabilize your blood sugar. That includes unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, or, if your stomach can handle it, full-fat dairy, to slow the glucose release and keep blood sugar level.
“Naked” carbs
Carbohydrates provide the body with a quick energy hit because they convert into sugar quickly. The downside? A sharper spike up—then crash down—when eaten alone.
The swap: Try “clothing” your carbs—aka pairing them with a protein, fiber, or healthy fat to slow absorption and glucose surge (fiber, protein, and fat delay gastric emptying, which means glucose enters the bloodstream more gradually). This could look like a slice of toast with avocado and arugula sprinkled on top, pasta with vegetables and a source of protein, or fruit with nuts.
Juice
A fresh fruit juice may look virtuous, but during the juicing process, the fiber found in fruit is removed—and without fiber, juice delivers a rapid sugar hit. That’s because fructose, the natural sugar in fruit, is processed differently from glucose. When delivered in a concentrated form without fiber, it can overwhelm the liver and contribute to insulin resistance over time.
The swap: Choose vegetable-heavy blends (spinach, kale, cucumber) or, better still, eat whole fruit instead so you get fiber alongside the micronutrients.
Meal sequence
Research shows that simply changing the order of what you eat can blunt the glucose spike of a meal. Inchauspé wrote of this concept in The Glucose Goddess Method, citing a 2023 Japanese study that found eating vegetables first significantly reduced post-meal glucose and insulin in young women. This principle isn’t new. Most traditional thalis follow the same logic, beginning with raw vegetables or pickles before carbs.
The change: Begin with vegetables, move to proteins and fats, and finish with carbohydrates. It doesn’t change what you eat, only when—and how you process it.
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