- A sugar crash occurs when blood sugar ranges dip under regular after you eat a number of carbs or sugar.
- You possibly can keep away from it by breaking apart your standard parts into smaller, extra frequent meals.
- It additionally helps in case you eat much less sugar and eat extra protein, wholesome fat, and complicated carbohydrates.
- Visit Insider’s Health Reference library for more advice.
Ever felt shaky, weak, and nauseous after consuming lots of carbs or sugar?
If sure, you have doubtless skilled what’s referred to as reactive hypoglycemia, or extra generally often called a sugar crash.
Reactive hypoglycemia is when sugar ranges within the blood, aka glucose ranges, dip under regular two to 4 hours after consuming.
Individuals with
diabetes
are liable to these kind of blood sugar crashes — particularly if they don’t seem to be getting the suitable remedy dose. Nevertheless, anybody can expertise the uncomfortable unwanted side effects of reactive hypoglycemia.
It is unclear what causes sugar crashes after a carb-heavy meal, however there are confirmed methods to assist keep away from it.
Total, it is best to vary your consuming habits as a way to promote slower digestion. When the abdomen empties at a slower, steadier fee, your physique converts the meals into glucose extra step by step, stopping a extra dramatic blood sugar spike, says Samantha Cochrane, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Listed here are six dietitian-approved methods to keep away from a sugar crash.
1. Eat small, frequent meals
To keep away from blood sugar crashes, contemplate breaking apart your typical giant meals into smaller meals or snacks that you simply eat each few hours.
Smaller meals ship a smaller dose of carbs, which will help stabilize blood sugar and scale back the chance of sugar spikes and subsequent crashes, says Courtney Cary, MS, RD, senior registered dietitian within the Division of Medication at Baylor College of Medicine.
2. Enhance your protein consumption
Eat protein together with your meals because it helps sluggish digestion, which can forestall blood sugar spikes and subsequent crashes, says Cochrane.
The next are examples of wholesome protein sources:
- Lean meats
- Fish
- Eggs
- Nuts
- Beans
- Legumes
3. Eat complicated carbohydrates as an alternative of straightforward carbohydrates
In case your carb consumption primarily consists of meals like white rice, white bread, and pasta, you are consuming carbs that do not have fiber or protein to help with blood sugar management, says Cary. These are often called simple carbohydrates.
As a substitute, go for complex carbohydrates that are significantly better for stabilizing blood sugar since they comprise protein and fiber that take longer to digest.
In addition they sometimes have a low glycemic index, that means they trigger a extra gradual rise and fall in blood sugar ranges, Cary says.
Cary says some examples of complicated carbohydrate meals are:
- Brown rice
- Quinoa
- Complete grain bread
- Wheat or bean-based pastas
- Beans
4. Incorporate wholesome fat into your weight-reduction plan
Just like protein, wholesome monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are useful for blood sugar since they take longer to digest than easy carbs, Cochrane says.
You could find these wholesome fat in meals comparable to:
- Avocados
- Nuts
- Oils like olive, canola, safflower, and sunflower
5. Lower or remove excessive sugar meals and drinks
Excessive-sugar meals and drinks are sometimes made up of straightforward sugars that your physique breaks down quickly inflicting a speedy improve and subsequent drop in blood sugar, says Cary.
Excessive-sugar meals and drinks to keep away from embrace absolutely anything loaded with energy, carbs, and little else (like fiber and protein):
- Sweet
- Soda
- Juice
- Pastries
- Muffins
- Candy cocktails and mocktails
6. Take note of “added sugar” on meals labels
Added sugar refers to sugars added to meals that aren’t naturally occurring, says Cary.
“For instance, lactose is the naturally-occurring sugar in dairy merchandise. A serving of strawberry yogurt might have 15 grams of sugar [from lactose], but additionally comprise 18 grams of added sugar for flavoring,” says Cary.
A 2017 study discovered that solely 44% of American adults persist with the dietary pointers of maintaining their added sugar consumption under 10% of their each day energy — so for a 2,000 calorie weight-reduction plan, that equates to not more than 20 grams of added sugar a day.
Insider’s takeaway
By following the following tips, comparable to consuming smaller, extra frequent meals, choosing complicated carbohydrates, and lowering total easy sugar consumption, you possibly can efficiently keep away from sugar crashes.
For those who observe the following tips and nonetheless expertise sugar crashes, contemplate getting checked out by your physician to see if there could also be any underlying cause comparable to pre-diabetes or a metabolic dysfunction.
“Generally these crashes are predictive of future blood sugar issues, like diabetes. Many occasions, adjustments in how one eats and what’s eaten could make a major distinction in stopping these blood sugar crashes,” says Cochrane.
