Meal Recommendations to Lower Your Blood Sugar

by Grace Rivers, RDN, CDCES

This morning you had a higher blood sugar than you are used to seeing. You may wonder why it is elevated when you haven’t had anything to eat. It’s important to know how to prevent this and get back on track.

What Could Be Causing the High Morning Blood Sugar?

Actions from the day before could cause high blood sugar in the morning.

We all have a natural occurrence during the night called the dawn phenomenon. Your blood sugar rises early in the morning hours because of hormone secretion. For those without diabetes, insulin reacts to this rise and keeps it in a normal range. For people with diabetes (PWD), this is not the case.  The dawn phenomenon occurs in over half of the population with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Blood sugar can rise from 3 a.m. – 8 a.m. from the release of glucose from your liver. If your body doesn’t use insulin effectively or you don’t have enough insulin, that morning check will be high. 

Another issue is the Somogyi effect or rebound hyperglycemia. Your blood sugar goes too low (hypoglycemia) during the night. Then, it responds with an elevated blood sugar in the morning.

To check for the difference, you would monitor your sugar level on several consecutive nights between 2 and 3 a.m. If it is normal or high, it is the dawn phenomenon. If it’s low, then it is the Somogyi effect.

Managing These Situations

Food

Consider what you ate the evening before.  Suppose you ate a high-fat meal such as fried food or a significant portion of a fatty cut of meat or had pizza. Fat causes digestion and absorption of food to slow down. When you check your sugar an hour or two after eating, it may be in a healthy range. Once the fat and all the nutrients you ate in that meal digest and enter your bloodstream, your blood sugar level will increase.

A bedtime snack that is low in carbs and high in protein can help with the dawn phenomenon, and a bedtime snack with carbs can help with the Somogyi effect.

Exercise

Activity causes your body to use insulin more effectively. Aerobic activity such as cycling or walking after your evening meal can help. Always check with your health care provider in advance of beginning a new exercise program.

Medications

For medication adjustments, check with your doctor. Timing of the medications may help, or further adjustments may be necessary.

How to Investigate

Many factors, besides food, can impact your blood sugar level. Record your food and beverage intake, exercise, and blood sugars, and see what you learn. Sharing information with your healthcare team can also be helpful.  

Meal Plan for a Day

To help get your blood sugar back to a healthier range during the day, aim for high fiber foods and include protein and healthy fats.

The following meal plan is to help with diabetes management. If you have your own, follow it closely. Knowing the portions that you are eating is critical. If the plan calls for 1/2 or 2/3 cup of food, then measure it. Eyeballing it can invariably leave doubt.

Breakfast:

  • One egg (boiled, poached, scrambled, or fried) with one tablespoon olive or canola oil
  • one slice of whole-wheat toast
  • one small orange
  • 8 ounces of low or nonfat milk
  • Water and black coffee or tea (non-calorie sweeteners and milk from the meal are ok to use)

Lunch:

  • Peanut butter sandwich on two slices whole-wheat bread made with two tablespoons peanut butter.
  • ½ cup raw carrots
  • Small pear or half of a medium pear
  • Water or non-calorie beverage

Snack:

  • One ounce cheese of your choice with 6-8 crackers of your choice
  • OR ½ cup plain yogurt with ½ cup berries
  • Water or non-calorie beverage

Dinner:

  • 3-ounces of grilled or baked chicken
  • ½ cup beans or lentils
  • ½ cup each squash and asparagus (or low-carb veggie of your choice)
  • Water or non-caloric beverage

Low carb bedtime snack:

¼ cup almonds

Bedtime snack with carbs:

Eight-ounce glass dairy milk What you do today can impact your blood sugar tomorrow. Starting with a sugar level in the normal range can make a smoother start to your day.

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