Have you ever noticed how your energy feels great after a meal, only to crash a little later, leaving you feeling tired, moody or craving more sugar? That’s the “glucose rollercoaster” at work. And it doesn’t just affect people with diabetes, it affects everyone. Here is what is happening when we have regular spikes.
You eat a meal, maybe one especially high in sugar or refined carbs. This will cause your blood sugar levels to rise quickly, which will make you feel temporarily energised and maybe even euphoric. This is the classic sugar high. As a response your body will release insulin, a hormone that helps move sugar out of your bloodstream and into your cells for energy or storage. This is a normal, healthy process. Sometimes, especially after a high-sugar meal, the body may release more insulin than needed, causing blood sugar to drop more sharply than ideal. That’s the dip you see in the rollercoaster graph, the part where the energy boost fades and the crash sets in.
Now you feel it. You feel tired, unmotivated and maybe even irritable. Your brain and body register this drop as an energy emergency. It shouts to you “get more energy, FAST!”. So you crave more sugar or carbs, and the cycle repeats.
Are you on a glucose rollercoaster? Do you:
- “Crash” in the afternoon?
- Feel shaky/irritable if meals are delayed?
- Need caffeine to “push through” dips?
- Crave sweets 1-2 hours after meals?
- Find it hard to stop at one portion of refined carbs (biscuits, pastries, white bread)?
- Find yourself nibbling on sugary snacks in the evening?
- Eat carbs alone (toast/juice/pastry without protein)?
- Skip breakfast or go >5 hours between meals?
- Have large, late dinners?
- Sleep worse after sugary or heavy dinners?
- Wake at night feeling wired or hungry?
- Have brain fog or poor focus 60-120min after eating?
- Workouts feel sluggish after a high-carb, low-protein meal?
If you answered “yes” to more than 2 questions, that means that you are likely on a roller coaster, time to work on meals and behaviours.
NOTE: If you’re metabolically healthy (meaning your body responds well to insulin), these blood sugar swings tend to be milder and better controlled. You might still feel a dip, especially after a high-carb or sugary meal, but it won’t be as dramatic or frequent. However, if you have insulin resistance, prediabetes or poor metabolic flexibility, these ups and downs can become more extreme and harder to recover from.
Research shows that these rapid rises and falls can cause:
- Increase fat storage (especially around the belly)
- Chronic fatigue
- Insulin resistance
- Mood instability and anxiety
- Poor sleep
GLP-1: The hormone everyone’s talking about and how collagen can support it
If you’ve heard the buzz around “GLP-1” lately, you’re not alone. From medical journals to social media, everyone is suddenly talking about this incredible gut hormone. GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1) is naturally released by your gut after eating. It signals your pancreas to release insulin (helping control blood sugar), slows down gastric emptying (so you feel fuller for longer), and helps reduce cravings and appetite.
Natural ways to control your GLP-1
When it comes to controlling your blood sugar, we believe in eating healthy first, and only supplementing when diet simply isn’t enough. Certain nutrients, especially fibre and proteins, trigger your body’s natural GLP-1 production, which is why we often feel fuller after eating a high-protein meal.
Fibre:
What it does: Viscous (soluble) fibre forms a gel in the gut that slows carbohydrate absorption, which blunts the post meal glucose rises. It also is fermented by gut bacteria, into short chain fatty acids (postbiotics), which directly stimulate these little cells in our intestine, the L-cells, to release GLP-1.
In the graph below you can see how fibre can affect the glucose curve. Look at how sugary foods can spike the glucose curve, as well as refined carbs like bread- compared to a meal high in fibre.
Oats, barley, legumes, fruit pectins (apples, pears, citrus), vegetables, seeds and functional fibres when needed like psyllium husk, inulin or glycomannan (Skinny Fibre). Try to aim for around 30g of fibre at least a day. Around 5-10g of fibre a meal. Remember to introduce fibre slowly and drink lots of water.
Protein:
As protein is digested into amino acids/peptides, it activates nutrient-sensing receptors in the gut which then stimulate the GLP-1 release. Specific amino acids are consistently shown to be potent triggers. Pre-meal whey protein can reduce post-meal glucose, partly via incretin effects and slower gastric emptying. Very exciting and new research is showing how cutting the strands of collagen into specific peptides can make its effects more targeted towards glucose-lowering effects. Having a pre-meal whey protein shake, ensuring protein at every meal is a great way to naturally support your GLP-1 system.
Foods to help boost your body’s natural GLP-1 production:
- Protein-rich foods such as free-range, organic meats, poultry, fish, eggs, yogurt, beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds all stimulate GLP-1 release and promote that wonderful feeling of fullness. The research: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2023) showed that whey protein “pre-meal” lowers post-prandial (post meal) glucose spikes and was proposed to raise GLP-1 levels.
- Healthy fats, such as the omega-3 fatty acids found in olive oil, avocados, certain nuts (like walnuts), seeds (chia, flax), and fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines), increase GLP-1 release and slow stomach emptying.
The research: A very interesting study in the journal Nutrients 2022, in people with pre-diabetes, extra virgin olive oil added to a meal, was linked to higher GLP-1 and better insulin response.
- Fibre, especially soluble fibre in whole grains (oats, barley), legumes, vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, carrots), fruits (apples, oranges, pears, avocados), and seeds, is fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids (which then activate receptors in our intestinal cells), which promote GLP-1 secretion.
The research: Gut Microbes (2024).
- Probiotics and fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso and tempeh. These foods definitely support gut health, but at the moment we are still waiting for research to show direct GLP-1 contribution.
- Dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao) contains flavanols that firstly are great as antioxidants but also may influence gut-hormone signalling, but direct GLP-1 effects in humans aren’t conclusive yet.
