After we eat, our blood sugar rises—and that is normal and necessary. Blood glucose, is how carbohydrate energy moves from the food we eat into our body’s cells.
The process starts with digestion. When we eat carbohydrates—such as bread, fruit, rice, milk or vegetables—our digestive system breaks them down into glucose. This glucose enters the bloodstream, where it becomes available to fuel our brain, muscles and organs.
As glucose enters the bloodstream, blood sugar levels rise in a gentle curve, not a straight line. In most people it’s simply a normal response to eating. The shape and height of the curve depend on many factors, including the type of food eaten, portion size, fiber content and whether protein or fat was included in the meal. If we eat too many carbohydrates too often (especially simple carbohydrates) more energy than we burn, our body will store that as fat.
Insulin plays a key role in this process. Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas that helps move glucose from the blood into the cells, where it can be used for energy or stored for later. Insulin isn’t something to fear—it’s essential for life. Every time we eat, insulin is doing important work behind the scenes. Insulin resistance or diabetes causes us not to be able to utilize insulin properly, so it is important to make adjustments to food intake to try to improve the insulin response.
Blood sugar rises happen for everyone, not just people with diabetes. Even a perfectly balanced meal causes blood sugar to go up before it comes back down. Stress, poor sleep, illness, dehydration and physical activity can also influence how high or how quickly blood sugar rises.
The goal of healthy eating is to eat balanced meals, including good fats, healthy carbohydrates, fiber and adequate protein, as all of those keep our energy and digestion processes working their best.
