Blood Sugar



It's important for everybody to understand blood sugar levels in order to control hunger, maintain a healthy weight and prevent insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Your blood sugar level represents the amount of glucose present in the blood, and is a main cause of feeling hungry. Glucose is the primary source of energy in the body. It is transported from the intestines or liver through the bloodstream, where the hormone insulin allows it to be absorbed by cells. Normal blood sugar levels range from 72 mg/dL to 110 mg/dL. However, this level fluctuates during the day, rising after meals up to approximately 140 mg/dL.


After you eat a meal containing carbohydrates, the rise in blood sugar is followed quickly by a parallel rise in insulin, to help usher the glucose into your muscles and other cells. As cells sponge up glucose, blood sugar levels fall, followed closely by insulin levels. When you eat a snack or meal brimming with fast-acting carbohydrates, the resulting flood of insulin drives glucose levels too low, causing your gut and brain to send out hunger signals. 

A meal chock-full of slowly digested whole-grain carbohydrates smooths out this glucose/insulin roller coaster. Because it takes longer for the digestive system to break these carbohydrates into sugar molecules, blood sugar and insulin levels rise more slowly and peak at lower levels. A more drawn-out process also means it may take longer to get hungry again. 

The Glycemic Index measures how certain carbohydrates effect our blood sugar. 

Willett, M.D. Walter C. (2001). Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. New York, NY: Fireside

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