What is a Normal Blood Sugar Level Immediately After Eating?

When you eat, your body breaks down the nutrients in the food for energy, tissue repair, or to support metabolic processes.

The principal way that our bodies make energy is through the breakdown of carbohydrates. When carbs break down, the body produces blood glucose, also known as blood sugar, which is the body’s main source of energy.

Your body has a complex system that constantly rebalances your blood glucose so you have enough glucose in your blood to fuel your cells with energy, but not so much that it causes problems.

Sometimes the body has a build-up of too much blood glucose, or it may have low blood glucose levels, due to various health conditions. Keep reading to learn the difference between low and high levels of blood glucose, what a normal blood sugar level should be after eating, and how you can balance your blood sugar levels.

Low vs. High Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar (also known as hypotension and hypoglycemia) occurs when blood sugar levels drop dangerously below 70 mg/dL. Symptoms may include shakiness, sweating, dizziness, tingling lips, heart palpitations, loss of coordination, and slurred speech. Low blood pressure is common during pregnancy (also called gestational diabetes), especially in the first 24 weeks but typically goes back to normal after giving birth.

High blood sugar (hyperglycemia) occurs when there’s too much sugar (glucose) in your blood, which is common in people with diabetes. Insulin signals your body to absorb the glucose out of the blood and store it for later use. In the case of diabetes, the body either does not produce enough insulin or is not sensitive to insulin, meaning it can not move the glucose out of your blood to store for later. Typically, high blood glucose levels start above 180 to 200 mg/dL. Symptoms may include increased thirst and hunger, fatigue, frequent urination, and blurred vision. To monitor your blood sugar levels, you can use a continuous glucose monitor, which is a good tool to help manage diabetes.

Monitoring and managing blood sugar levels is important for everyone – even if you don’t have hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. This is especially important to monitor before and after you eat.

How Long Does it Take for Blood Sugar to Rise After Eating?

There are two types of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates require no breakdown and the sugars are readily available for the body to use as energy. Complex carbohydrates must first be broken down into simple sugars for the body to be able to use them.

Simple carbohydrates spike your blood sugar more quickly than complex carbohydrates, because they can be absorbed earlier in your digestive tract. Complex carbohydrates need to be broken down by enzymes in the small intestine before they’re absorbed.

The measurement we use to determine how quickly sugars make it into the bloodstream is called the glycemic index. A lower glycemic index indicates complex, slow-release, carbohydrates. A high glycemic index indicates fast-acting simple sugars. For example, fruits and vegetables usually have a glycemic index of 55 or less, but something like white bread has a glycemic index of over 70.

For someone with diabetes, low glycemic index foods such as green leafy vegetables, fruit, raw carrots, kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils are a better choice because they spike your blood sugar more slowly.

A high-glycemic-index food such as starchy potatoes or white bread significantly spikes your blood sugar in under an hour but the spike is short-lived, with a quick crash right afterward. A low-glycemic-index food produces a smaller, wider spike, indicating a sustained release of sugar into the bloodstream.

What’s “Normal” Blood Sugar?

Lots of factors play into how your blood glucose fluctuates and what your “normal” blood sugar is, like age, activity level, diabetes type, or medications you take. There is no strict range for what your blood glucose should be, which is why monitoring the way your blood glucose changes after activity, meals, or sleep is important and can help you understand how your body reacts to these changes.

While everyone is different, there are ranges of what is considered healthy. Blood sugar measurements under 70 mg/dL are dangerously low (hypoglycemic) and 180 mg/dL are dangerously high (hyperglycemia).

Often, the most reliable time to measure blood sugar is when you’re fasted, because this gives a good baseline value. When fasted, a normal blood sugar is around 100 mg/dL, but a diabetic person’s measurement is typically closer to 126 mg/dL.

The amount that number fluctuates around mealtimes depends largely on what you eat, but for a healthy person, your blood glucose shouldn’t go higher than about 140 mg/dL after a meal. For someone with diabetes, the upper limit is 180 mg/dL.

Supplements for Blood Sugar Support

Supplements can support optimal glucose metabolism in many ways. Often, the best strategy is to support the health of the pancreas, where the body produces insulin.

1. CuraLife CuraLin Advanced Glucose Support CuraLife CuraLin Advanced Glucose Support features ayurvedic herbs Momordica charantia and Gymnema sylvestre, which help lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin function. While Syzygium cumini and Trigonella foenum-graecum bring improvements in glucose metabolism and insulin resistance. Diabetes often comes with elements of systemic inflammation, and ingredients Curcuma longa and Cinnamomum verum have anti-inflammatory effects that improve overall blood sugar control.

2. Pure Encapsulations Glucose Support Formula Pure Encapsulations Glucose Support Formula contains key ingredients like chromium, which enhances insulin sensitivity, Gymnema sylvestre, which reduces sugar absorption and improves insulin function, and alpha lipoic acid, a powerful antioxidant that improves glucose uptake and reduces oxidative stress. Together, these ingredients are a powerful formula to support optimal glucose metabolism and blood sugar control.

Conclusion

Our takeaway is that your blood sugar should stay between 70 and 180 mg/dL at any time, including fasting or after a meal. Fortunately, high blood sugar is manageable. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the whole carbs or empty carbs you eat affect your blood glucose levels. Planning healthy meals ahead of time can help you stay balanced. Choose slow-digesting complex carbohydrates and low glycemic index foods like fruit, green leafy vegetables, oats, brown rice, or lentils to manage your blood sugar levels, especially if you have or are at risk for prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. Opting to add dietary supplements to your diet can also help balance your blood sugar levels, especially after eating.

If you’re concerned about your risk of Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, ask your healthcare provider or dietician for a blood sugar test and follow-up treatment plan. Diabetes care will include lifestyle changes, including potential diabetes medications, a change in diet, supplements, and increased physical activity. Typically, lowering your body mass index (BMI) through healthy weight loss will not only lower your risk of diabetes, but also for obesity, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses.

Frequently Asked Questions

What blood sugar level is normal?

Healthy blood sugar levels should stay between 70 mg/dL and 180 mg/dL. If your values fall outside of this range, talk to a doctor. Also be sure to read more tips to lower blood sugar, and learn about foods to avoid that cause high blood sugar.

Will blood sugar rise after eating?

Yes! Your blood sugar will rise after you eat but the speed at which it rises depends on what type of carbohydrate you eat, simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates increase your blood sugar more rapidly.

What’s a good fasting blood glucose?

For people without diabetes, the number is usually around 100 mg/dL but diabetics have higher values, closer to 126 mg/dL.