It’s not just sugary sweets and fizzy drinks that can send our blood sugar levels through the roof.
Carbs such as bread, pasta and potatoes, plus some fruits and vegetables, can have the same effect, increasing the risk of a number of serious health issues, an anti-sugar campaigner warns the Daily Mail.
Health coach Steve Bennett, who has just released a new book, Sugar Tolerance, says: ‘Our body is designed to deal with moderate and infrequent sugar spikes.
‘It releases insulin to grab the excess sugar and calm down the situation.
‘But what we’re seeing is that it’s not a rare occurrence. It’s cereal for breakfast, bread for lunch and pizza for dinner.
‘And what’s happening is that insulin is being called into action so frequently that the cells become less responsive to insulin and do not absorb the excess blood glucose as efficiently.
‘Persistence leads to resistance. This becomes insulin resistance which is when we see type 2 diabetes.’
It’s perfectly normal for blood sugars to spike after eating food. In healthy people, eating a meal, especially one high in carbohydrates, will trigger the pancreas to release insulin to return blood sugar levels to normal.
It’s not only fizzy drinks and sweet treats – everyday carbs can also send your blood sugar levels through the roof
Insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar levels by signalling cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream.
But prolonged blood sugar spikes also signal to the body to start storing sugar as fat, clogging up the arteries and ultimately leading to weight gain, Alzheimer’s and even blindness, Bennett adds.
Because we refer to the glucose making its way around our vascular system as ‘blood sugar’, it’s easy to think these harmful spikes and subsequent crashes are only caused by sweet foods, but Mr Bennett explains that seemingly innocent carbohydrates are usually the culprit.
‘Here’s something that will transform your understanding of nutrition: your entire bloodstream—all five litres of it—is designed to carry just one teaspoon of sugar,’ he writes in his new book.
‘Now here’s where this one teaspoon truth gets proper shocking. You think you’re being clever avoiding sugar in your morning tea, but it’s the unsuspecting foods you eat all day long without a second thought that are actually the real villains.
‘There is an army of seemingly innocent staples filling your cupboards that are dumping industrial quantities of sugar into your bloodstream.’
Bennett claims that there are two main strategies that work to help minimise blood sugar spikes.
Firstly, cutting back on refined carbohydrates which have a high glycemic index.
The order you eat your food in also matters. Start with the most fibrous foods first, like your leafy greens, then fats and proteins, and end on carbs, Bennett suggests
And secondly, if you can’t bear to give them up, pair these carb-heavy foods with fibre.
‘Remember, fibre always comes first,’ Bennett said.
The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of how quickly foods raise blood sugar levels, ranked on a scale of 1-100.
One example of a high GI food is pasta. The carbohydrates in pasta break down relatively quickly in the gut, releasing sugar which can lead to blood sugar spikes in some individuals.
‘Anything that is carbohydrate will turn to sugar,’ Bennett says.
‘Things that turn quickly are your breads, pastas and white rice. There is an enzyme in your mouth called amylase which breaks these carbs down into sugar before they even leave your mouth and continue down your digestive tract.’
Foods with a low GI intake including vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and some fruits taking longer to digest, resulting in a more controlled sugar release and fewer spikes.
Food pairing is also really important when it comes to minimising blood sugar spikes, Bennett says.
Numerous studies have even shown that eating foods rich in protein or fat before carbohydrates can reduce your blood sugar response.
Bennett said: ‘If you’re going to have a meal that has fat, protein and carbs, start with the most fibrous foods first, like your leafy greens, then fats and proteins, and end on carbs.
‘This will half the sugar spike you otherwise would have experienced if you’d eaten your carbs first,’ he claims.
‘This is because fibre slows digestion by plugging up the pylorus—the part of the stomach that connects to the small intestine.
‘This “fibre-plug” acts like a filter and slows down digestion so eventually when you get to the carbs they have to get through the filter so you don’t get that spike and then the crash.
‘Learn what fibre is, and if you must have carbs have them last.’
Generally, people also have better blood sugar control in the mornings, so Bennett advises restricting your eating window and avoiding eating too close to bed to minimise spikes, promote weight loss and boost longevity.
Here, Bennett highlights the common culprits and what to eat instead to prevent potentially dangerous spikes.
Breakfast cereals
Your day could start with a sugar spike if you stick with cereal
‘Cereals are the main culprits for really quick blood sugar spikes,’ Bennett said.
One bowl of cornflakes has even been shown to have the same effect on blood sugar levels as more than eight teaspoons of sugar—inadvertently causing a significant spike before you’ve even started your day.
But yoghurt, nuts, eggs and bacon are rich in protein and healthy fats, helping reduce the body’s blood sugar response to high GI foods.
For example, whilst a slice of toast on its own will result in a sharp rise in blood sugars, adding eggs—high in protein and fat—and even some spinach or balance should keep you fuller for longer, resulting in a flatter sugar release and fewer spikes.
One study even found that eating nuts reduced blood sugar spikes after participants ate a slice of white processed bread.
Rice
With the right prep, cauliflower can be easily transformed into a low carb rice alternative
Brown rice is often regarded as being healthier than its white counterpart because it is naturally higher in fibre, magnesium and other nutrients—but it’s still a carbohydrate and can have an effect on blood sugar levels.
Cauliflower is a smart swap, Bennett says, as it has a very low GI and can be chopped finely and turned into rice or tabbouleh.
Furthermore, if it is roasted or mashed, cauliflower can become an easy swap for potatoes, too.
Not a cauliflower fan? Quinoa, a Peruvian grain, is another great option.
It is significantly more nutrient-dense than rice, and contains all nine essential amino acids—the compounds that make up protein.
Like rice, quinoa is naturally gluten-free, and like for like there isn’t much difference in calories.
However, quinoa has slightly more dietary fiber and protein than brown rice, and it is considered a better source of iron and magnesium, among other vitamins.
Potatoes
Potatoes in all their forms can cause havoc with blood sugar levels
Mash, chips, waffles, dauphinoise… potatoes are a cornerstone of the British diet, but they can wreak havoc on our blood sugar, says Bennett.
It’s their high carbohydrate content which makes them such a savoury sugar bomb, but it’s also connected to how they are prepared and what they are served with.
Eating cooled, boiled potatoes can create resistant starch, which has a lower impact on blood sugar—the opposite of tucking into a steaming jacket potato, even before piling on the toppings.
Dishing up potatoes as part of a meal with protein, fiber, and healthy fats can help slow digestion and create a more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream.
Bennett suggests ditching potatoes for a different vegetable entirely, but if swapping your weekly pile of roasties for a portion of cauliflower doesn’t appeal, he suggests turning to one of the most underappreciated vegetables in British cuisine—celeriac.
The bulbous root of a celery plant, it is naturally rich in vitamins B, C and K, potassium magnesium, manganese and nitrates.
It’s also packed full of fibre—more so than potatoes in a like for like serving—and similar to the humble spud, it’s very versatile.
It can be mashed, boiled and roasted, and even better, it actually has a flavour of its own, Bennett says.
Tropical fruits
They look incredible, but they can spike your blood sugar
Having a piece of fruit as an afternoon snack is a no-brainer when it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, but Bennett urges people to remember that not all fruits are created equal.
Tropical fruits, such as bananas, mangoes and pineapples, can cause blood sugar spikes, so it’s better to opt for a handful of berries.
Some studies have found that raspberries can reduce blood sugar responses when eaten with a high carb breakfast.
Separate research looked at the effects of blackberries in obese men. The participants added 600 g of blackberries every day to a high-fat diet.
After just one week, their blood sugar levels improved, compared with their levels after eating a high-fat diet that didn’t include blackberries.
‘When you’re at a point when you’re trying to lose weight, certain fruits are better than others,’ Bennett explains.
Despite their sugar-spiking tendencies, which depends on how ripe they are, Bennett admits he would prefer his five children to snack on a banana rather than an ultra-processed cereal bar.
Unripe bananas have a lower GI of around 30-40 because they contain more resistant starch, while ripe bananas’ GI hovers around 51, and an overripe fruit’s soars to 60.
