Check-In: Which is more likely to raise your blood sugar at breakfast – a plain bagel or a glazed doughnut?
Summary
Most people who are taking steps to prevent or manage diabetes are well aware that they need to minimize sugary sweets. But some of the “healthier” options people substitute are not doing their insulin resistance any good.
A major consideration for patients is to cut down on sugar in their breakfasts. Pancakes, muffins, cereals, and doughnuts are all common parts of an American breakfast. Switching to a bagel with spread or a bowl of oatmeal can seem like a healthier choice. However, you could be ignoring a key factor: glycemic load.
While both sugar content and glycemic load are important factors in assessing the impact of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels, there is evidence to suggest that glycemic load may have a more significant influence. Glycemic load takes into account both the quantity and quality of carbohydrates in a particular food. It measures the potential effect of a specific portion of food on blood glucose levels. Glycemic load combines the glycemic index (a ranking system that measures how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food raises blood sugar) with the total amount of carbohydrates in a serving.
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine compared the effects of high-glycemic load and low-glycemic load diets on insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular risk factors in overweight individuals. The researchers found that participants on the low-glycemic load diet had significantly improved insulin sensitivity and lower levels of triglycerides compared to those on the high-glycemic load diet, even when the total sugar content of the diets was similar. This indicates that glycemic load, rather than sugar content alone, played a key role in influencing metabolic markers.
With all this in mind, we can return to the initial question. Let’s examine the glycemic load for each food:
As a person without insulin resistance, I wanted to compare the effect on my blood sugar levels from the same bowl of oatmeal in the afternoon instead of the morning.
The takeaway here is clearly not to start eating more doughnuts. Instead, you need to further investigate your meals if you want to understand your blood sugar results.
Further, an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study investigated the association between dietary glycemic load and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The researchers analyzed data from several large cohort studies and found that higher dietary glycemic load was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, independent of total sugar intake. This suggests that the quality of carbohydrates, as measured by glycemic load, may have a stronger impact on diabetes risk than the quantity of sugar consumed.