How do you know if your blood sugar is low? And how do you know if your blood sugar is high? After having type 1 diabetes and testing 100s of times and pairing it up with how I feel, I have a good sense of how I feel and where my blood sugar is.
How to test your blood sugar
To learn how your body responds to food you eat, test your blood sugar. Below is some guidance on how to test your blood sugar using a glucose meter.
- Test first thing, right after you roll out of bed. This is known as your fasting glucose level. Ideally, in functional medicine and nutrition we want this below 85 mg/dL.
- On the same day, have a complete meal and plan to test 3x. Test 1 hour after the last bite, 2 hours later and 3 hours. Ideally, at the 1-hour test you want post-meal blood sugars at or below 120 mg/dL, at 2 hour test at or less 100 mg/dL and 3 hours at or less than 85 mg/dL.
- Repeat step 2 after every meal for 3 days to gain insight on the range and shape of your blood sugar curve.
What if you are out of range?
There can be some investigation but some low hanging fruit steps you can take:
- if you are spiking high? Increase fiber and decrease carbohydrate-rich food density. Ex: swap traditional pasta with chickpea pasta, black bean pasta and lentil pasta.
- Crashing too fast? Add in more protein or fat.
- Erratic curve? Are you hydrated, inflamed, hormone imbalance, gut distress, sleep deprived? Keep a food journal and symptom journal and look for signs of any of the above while ensuring hydration and opting for more real food meals. Even focusing on simple meals at first can help.
This protocol is a short-term recommendation to gain insight on how the foods you choose work for your health. Long term, I don’t recommend obsessively checking.
