Beyond trim: Blood sugar dips got you down? Here are a few health hacks to control them

STERLING – Blood sugar spikes can influence your health even if you do not have diabetes or pre-diabetes.

For example, if you are trying to lose weight and you eat foods that spike blood sugar and then cause a corresponding deep dip, you may find yourself experiencing intense hunger and cravings. Spiking and dropping blood sugars can make you feel tired and irritable and contribute to brain fog. High blood sugar levels can also contribute to cardiovascular disease risk and insulin resistance, which is a common precursor to diabetes.

Jessie Inchauspe is a French biochemist and author of “Glucose Revolution: The Life-changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar.” She refers to herself as the “Glucose Goddess.” While not diagnosed with diabetes herself, she began wearing a continuous glucose monitor as part of a pilot study. She decided to chart her blood sugars and noted how the spikes and dips affected her health and mood. Using her knowledge of biochemistry, she experimented on herself and on acquaintances to learn what exacerbated and what helped these blood sugar spikes.

Inchauspe summarized her finding into a set of “hacks” or habits that anyone can follow. Indeed, she has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media who swear by her methods. Here are just a few of the hacks:

• Eat a savory breakfast: Skip the sugary coffee drink, pastries, and sweetened cereals. Sweet foods on an empty stomach tend to spike blood sugar. Breakfast (and ideally every meal) should contain a mix of protein, healthy fat, and fiber-rich unprocessed carbohydrates. These foods are slowly digested, keeping blood sugar even.
• Move after meals: Physical activity after meals helps to use blood sugar as it is being produced and trains muscles to be more insulin receptive. It doesn’t take much, just a short 15-20 minute walk can make a difference.
• Eat sweets after a meal: If you are going to indulge in sweets, have them after you have eaten a savory meal. Consuming them after a mixed meal as described above means that the other foods will help to slow down digestion.

I experimented with some of the hacks, and I think they make a difference. For example, I eliminated the honey I was regularly putting in my morning cup of tea and noticed that I don’t experience the energy slump I was typically having about 10 a.m. every day.

Focusing on small habits is a good way to make lasting changes in your health. Give these hacks a try for yourself and see how they make you feel.

• Sherry DeWalt is the healthy lifestyles coordinator for the CGH Health Foundation in Sterling.