Plain or almond croissant, chocolate bread, raisin bread… These breakfast pleasures can have a brutal impact on your blood sugar level. How can you enjoy it without seeing your blood sugar skyrocket? Dietitian Alexandra Murcier reveals a simple tip to us.
How to enjoy a pastry without exploding your blood sugar?
The spike in blood sugar generated by the consumption of sugary products leads to fatigue and cravings. But rather than banning them (and causing frustration, this time!), our dietitian-nutritionist Alexandra Murcier offers you a more intelligent approach: combine them with other foods to slow down the absorption of sugar.
Indeed, when a very sugary food is consumed on an empty stomach, the glucose it contains passes very quickly into the blood. This phenomenon triggers a massive production of insulin to stabilize blood sugar, but then causes a rapid drop in sugar levels, causing the effects mentioned previously:
- Sudden fatigue after breakfast;
- Rapid hunger, prompting you to snack more;
- And increased storage of sugars in the form of fats.
A mechanism which promotes weight gain and which can, in the long term, disrupt metabolism.
Do not eat a pastry (or any other sweet product) alone
For breakfast or snack, the dietician suggests eating other foods in addition to pastries.I recommend combining the pastries with proteins, with a savory breakfast such as a ham croissant or other possibility, eating savory food before and consuming the pastries in addition.
The dietitian also recommends avoiding the addition of sugar as much as possible, at the same time and even advises against combining fruit with this meal. “Although of course, the sugar in fruit is not comparable to that contained in jam, for example, but it is not ideal.”
On the other hand, a dairy product with a low glycemic index, such as skyr or fromage blanc, can be considered. You can even garnish it with walnuts or almonds, according to Alexandra Murcier. “This will really lower the glycemic index of the meal.“.
Not all pastries are equal
Finally, remember that not all pastries will have the same impact on blood sugar levels. The pain au chocolat and the almond croissant contain the most sugar, between 20 and 30 grams, while the plain croissant has only 7 grams.
To enjoy them more regularly, you can also prepare them yourself, in order to control the quantity of sugar they will contain.