How to work with your body instead of fighting it. The truth about carbs, sugar spikes, and why understanding this one system makes weight loss easier.
Thank you for this post. Very interesting! Looking forward to more!!
People have advised me on several occasions to add 500 ml of water to breakfast. Is this just for filling and fluids or does it affect the blood sugar somehow (or does it have an effect on how the foods are processed?)
Thanks Else! more coming soon. To your question - water with breakfast mainly helps with hydration and satiety. We have stretch receptors in our stomach that respond to volume, so when your stomach fills up with water (and then food), it signals fullness to your brain more quickly.
There've actually been several studies showing that drinking 500ml of water about 30 minutes before breakfast helps people consume fewer calories during the meal. And since breakfast is your first meal after the overnight fast, staying hydrated is especially important, it helps everything work better and supports your metabolism long-term.
Now, on blood sugar specifically, there is some research showing that drinking water with a very carb-rich or sugary meal can lead to a slightly higher blood sugar spike right after eating, compared to the same meal without water. The hypothesis is that water speeds up gastric emptying, so it basically carries the food more quickly from your stomach to your small intestine and accelerates glucose absorption. But this was mainly observed with things like doughnuts or very high-sugar foods.
Having said that, I wouldn't change your behavior based on this. All it shows is that water affects the physical processing of the meal and speeds up delivery of glucose to the intestine. But the overwhelming evidence supports drinking water for appetite control and fullness, and it's so supportive of overall health and metabolic function. The small percentage increase in spike from drinking with a sugary meal just isn't significant enough to outweigh all the benefits…
Thank you for this post. Very interesting! Looking forward to more!!
People have advised me on several occasions to add 500 ml of water to breakfast. Is this just for filling and fluids or does it affect the blood sugar somehow (or does it have an effect on how the foods are processed?)
Thanks Else! more coming soon. To your question - water with breakfast mainly helps with hydration and satiety. We have stretch receptors in our stomach that respond to volume, so when your stomach fills up with water (and then food), it signals fullness to your brain more quickly.
There've actually been several studies showing that drinking 500ml of water about 30 minutes before breakfast helps people consume fewer calories during the meal. And since breakfast is your first meal after the overnight fast, staying hydrated is especially important, it helps everything work better and supports your metabolism long-term.
Now, on blood sugar specifically, there is some research showing that drinking water with a very carb-rich or sugary meal can lead to a slightly higher blood sugar spike right after eating, compared to the same meal without water. The hypothesis is that water speeds up gastric emptying, so it basically carries the food more quickly from your stomach to your small intestine and accelerates glucose absorption. But this was mainly observed with things like doughnuts or very high-sugar foods.
Having said that, I wouldn't change your behavior based on this. All it shows is that water affects the physical processing of the meal and speeds up delivery of glucose to the intestine. But the overwhelming evidence supports drinking water for appetite control and fullness, and it's so supportive of overall health and metabolic function. The small percentage increase in spike from drinking with a sugary meal just isn't significant enough to outweigh all the benefits…