Get Off The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

Maintaining a healthy blood glucose is vital for overall well-being because it directly impacts energy levels, mood, body weight, inflammatory levels, and so much more related to long-term health. Unhealthy blood glucose levels, either too high or too low, are strongly correlated with poor health.

Optimal Blood Glucose Levels

Your body prefers to maintain a normal blood glucose (or blood sugar) level, which is a fairly narrow range. Here are new research optimal blood glucose goals.

Fasting glucose	72-85 mg/dL (<90 mg/dL max)
Pre-meal glucose	72-90 mg/dL
Post-meal glucose peak	<110 mg/dL, with <30 mg/dL increase from pre-meal levels
Average 24 hour glucose	79-100 mg/dL

Digesting Carbohydrates

Through the process of digestion, all carbohydrates break down into sugars, enter the bloodstream, and become blood glucose. This serves as fuel for your muscles and brain. The trouble is when too many highly processed carbohydrates are eaten or the portions of carbs are too large, or both. This causes a large spike in blood glucose, triggering the release of insulin.

The Impact of Unhealthy Blood Glucose Levels and High Insulin Levels

When you eat sugar or carbs, blood glucose levels rise, and insulin is triggered to remove the glucose and shuttle it to the cells. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas. The insulin acts like a key, opening up cells so they can take in the sugar and use it as an energy source.

Basically, insulin tells your body what to do with the calories—burn them or store them as fat.

Prolonged elevation of insulin due to excessive carbohydrate intake can lead to various health issues:

Increased body fat storage.
Inflammation and high blood pressure.
Risk of cell proliferation
Interference with brain function, contributing to brain conditions that impact memory. Insulin stimulates brain neurons to produce amyloid proteins and interferes with an enzyme that degrades and clears them.

This news is certainly bleak, and isn’t a state you want your body to be in chronically.

The Blood Glucose Rollercoaster Effect

What you eat first thing in the morning is very important! It sets the tone for the rest of the day.

When you start your day eating a standard American breakfast of cold cereal or oats, skim milk, orange juice and/or coffee, you rapidly absorb about 19 teaspoons of sugar, which starts the rollercoaster effect.

What exactly is occurring after eating this type of meal?

First, the rollercoaster increases as blood glucose surges above normal levels. This increases the amount of insulin released into your bloodstream, which promotes fat storage in your body.

The blood glucose increase also often leaves people in an energy slump and brain fog, and can create mood swings. Your body is stressed from high blood glucose levels. It does not like being out of balance and is working hard to drop the blood glucose back to normal, which is when a lot of inflammatory damage occurs.

Next, the rollercoaster drops down because many people release too much insulin, causing blood glucose levels to plunge below normal levels. This shift causes cortisol levels to increase. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and over time, cortisol weakens the immune system, weakens memory, and induces inflammation in your body.

A drop in blood glucose also causes cravings for high-sugar, high-fat foods, which perpetuates the rollercoaster cycle. As you can tell, your body is also stressed with below normal blood glucose levels.

Optimizing Blood Glucose Levels in the Morning

Research has shown that a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening.

Here’s an example of a breakfast that keeps your blood sugar within the normal range: eggs with spinach or any other non-starchy vegetables, cheese, and herbal or green tea. Once digested, you will slowly absorb a low amount of carbohydrates, which causes a much more normal rise in your blood glucose.

When you avoid a spike, and therefore a blood sugar rollercoaster, this means there is less fat storage taking place because less insulin needs to be released. Also, less cortisol is running through your body, and therefore, you will have fewer cravings. You’ll feel less moody, have steady energy, and be able to think clearly—bye-bye brain fog.

Tips for Supporting Healthy Blood Glucose Levels and Reducing Insulin Spikes

1. Reduce or eliminate fast-acting carbohydrates. These foods quickly elevate blood glucose levels. Examples include: grains (white flour, white rice, pasta, bread, bagels, all oatmeal, potatoes, chips, etc.), candy, all types of sugar, sodas, fruit juice, and low-fat dairy. Fruit does increase blood sugar rapidly in some people. Berries typically don't increase blood sugar as much, but it's very dependent on the person's physiology.

2. Choose high fiber, slow-acting carbohydrates. These types of carbs are digested and absorbed more slowly due to their fiber and/or fat content. Examples include: vegetables, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes are also likely to keep your blood sugar low. In addition, eating fiber, protein, and fats with carbohydrates slows down the conversion to blood glucose.

3. Prioritize non-starchy vegetables. All leafy greens, celery, cucumber, cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, and all other unmentioned vegetables are excellent choices.

4. Increase healthy fats. Fats do not increase blood sugar, so regularly include healthy fats such as ghee, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, MCT oil, fatty fish or cod liver oil, grass-fed butter, and avocado oil. Also include avocados, guacamole, and olives. I love making fat bombs as a low glycemic snack.

5. Include adequate protein. Animal protein has very little effect on blood sugar. Consume protein-rich foods like fish, chicken, meat, eggs, and full-fat dairy to support muscle health and stabilize blood glucose levels.

6. Limit or eliminate sugar and added sugar. Reduce or eliminate sugary foods and beverages, including artificial sweeteners. Some of the most concentrated sources of sugar are soda, cookies, chocolate bars, donuts, pastries, ice cream, ketchup, teriyaki sauce, salad dressing, and barbecue sauce.

7. Choose whole fruits over juices. Freshly squeezed fruit juice will immediately spike blood sugar. If you want to taste fruit, eat whole fruit at a reasonable portion size. Also, don't eat fruit alone or on an empty stomach, or you'll get a big spike. Ideally, eat it at the end of a meal as dessert.

Bottom Line: By making conscious choices about your diet and lifestyle, you can support healthy blood glucose levels and optimize your overall health and well-being. You will feel much, much better. You may even lose some weight while you’re at it!

Glucose-Adapt for Optimizing Blood Sugar:

Glucose-Adapt works by helping your cells respond to glucose and insulin in a more balanced, efficient way. One of its key ingredients, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), supports how insulin receptors function—helping your cells take up glucose more effectively. While you might notice benefits from the very first meal you take with Glucose-Adapt, the real change happens over time as your cellular metabolism becomes more balanced. Think of it as retraining your body’s glucose-handling system to work more smoothly.

If you wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), you might notice steadier readings when you take Glucose-Adapt with meals that contain carbohydrates. For example, compare your response to a food like a baked potato with and without Glucose-Adapt. For those not using a CGM, you can still tune into how you feel—energy levels, focus, and appetite between meals often tell the story. A general starting point is about 3 capsules of Glucose-Adapt per serving of carbohydrate, adjusting as needed based on your individual response and sensitivities.