Our bodies are amazing machines. Every second of the day going through many processes to ensure we are functioning properly with minimal disruption. One of those processes is the tight regulation of blood glucose (blood sugar).  Without this regulation, we would become unwell, so it’s important to understand how it works and what you can do to make sure it continues to work properly. Here’s a simple way of explaining blood sugar regulation to your child:

Just like a car needs fuel to make it go, usually petrol or diesel,  our bodies also need fuel to move, but not petrol or diesel, the fuel that we need is called glucose, a type of sugar,  and we get this from the different food and drinks that we consume. The body turns the food and drink into glucose and then uses that glucose to power our bodies.

Some food and drinks like sweets, chocolate, chips, white bread and pasta already contain lots of glucose – sometimes too much –  and when we eat a lot all at once it floods our blood stream and can give us a temporary ‘high’, we might feel suddenly full of energy and all happy inside.

In response to the rising blood sugar levels, the body then releases a hormone called insulin. It’s insulins job to take the glucose out of the blood and into the muscles and tissues so that it can be used for energy. This can happen quickly in a healthy body, so if we consume lots of sugar at once, we feel energised, then insulin takes the sugar away, we can be left feeling sleepy, sluggish and lacking in energy as a result. To wake us up again quickly, the body switches on our hunger signals and we might reach for something else sugary. Soon after we feel energised again, but once insulin has done its job, our energy levels drop and we feel tired.

This process can go on all day long. We call this the roller coaster effect, because if we were to draw it on a chart, our energy levels would go up and down like a rollercoaster (see image below). Over time, this can have a huge impact on our overall heath, making it difficult for us to concentrate during the day and we might struggle to sleep in the evenings.

How do we know if we are riding this rollercoaster?

Let’s take a closer look at the typical dietary habits often seen in many children:

Breakfast:  coco pops with milk, and orange juice

Snack:  Chocolate

Lunch:  White bread snandwich with wafer thin honey roasted ham, flavoured yoghurt, chocolate bar, sugary drink  

Snack:  Popcorn, sweets

Dinner:  Chicken nuggets, chips, beans.  Icecream

This example menu contains a lot of added sugar, but not enough fibre and nutrients. While some of the sugar is obvious, some of it is well hidden. Regularly eating a diet like this would easily set you on a roller coaster of energy highs and lows all day long. There are some simple steps that you could make to reduce the sugar content of this diet and improve how the body reacts to the remaining sugar eaten.

What steps can I take?

1. Reduce the overall sugar content

Switch to foods which are naturally lower in sugar, for example;

• • Snack on fruit rather than chocolate or biscuits.
  • Reduce your intake of fizzy drinks, choose plain water or fizzy water and you can add fresh fruit for flavour.
  • Cut down on ready meals and takeaways which are usually higher in sugar, salt and fat.
  • Switch from white to brown: swap sugar or honey coated cereal for wholegrain cereals or porridge; swap white bread for brown / seeded/ half and half bread where possible.

Reducing your sugar intake will reduce the blood sugar spikes, improve concentration and mood.  If you would like support and advice on how to reduce your sugar intake to improve mood, behaviour, and sleep patterns, book an appointment with one of our nutritionists:

2.  Increase the fibre content

Fibre slows down the rate of glucose absorption, so instead of our blood sugar levels rising too high too fast after eating, the sugar is drip fed into the blood stream. This slow release effect stops us from feeling a surge of energy followed by an energy slump. Instead, we feel a steady level of energy all day long. This is much better for us and it results in better concentration, better learning and better mood regulation.  How do I add more fibre? Switch from white bread to brown or seeded bread for example, or add in more vegetables, fruit nuts and seeds, beans pulses and lentils, these are all high in fibre.

3. Add in some nutrients

Vitamins and minerals are used by the body to carry out lots of different functions and to keep us healthy and well, so we need plenty of them in our diet each day. By adding fruit or vegetables for snacks, adding vegetables to our main meals and cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients will help to boost our intake of nutrients. and reduce sugar intake.

Let’s see what these changes would look like on the example menu:

Breakfast:  swap coco pops with milk and orange juice for:

• Porridge with fresh raspberries, glass of milk, water, or herbal tea

Snack (if needed):  swap chocolate biscuit for:

• Fruit

Lunch:  swap white bread sandwich, wafer thin honey roast ham, crisps, falvoured yoghurt, chocolate bar, fizzy drink for:

• Wholegrain bread sandwich with tuna and cucumber, carrot sticks, plaijn natural yoghurt, plain chocolate, water

Snack (if needed):  popcorn or sweets for:

• Vegetable sticks (pepper, carrot, cucumber) with hummus dip

Dinner:  swap chicken nuggets, beans, chips, squash, icecream for:

• Homemade herb crust chicken, homemade sweet potato chips, roast vegetables.  Fruit

By making these simple swaps you make a huge difference to the overall nutrient, sugar and fibre content of the diet. Try doing this for you or your family. Start small, make gradual changes and notice the effects. Since we are all different, keeping a food and mood diary is a good way to see how the foods you or your child is eating affects symptoms, mood and behaviour.

Conclusion

The body needs glucose (sugar) to survive, but it can convert any food we eat into glucose, so we can survive without eating any added sugar at all. Eating foods high in sugar will just drive up blood glucose levels, set us off on the blood sugar rollercoaster and eventually make us feel unwell. Sugar doesn’t provide any nutrients, just a lot of empty calories, so instead, choose bright colourful fruits and vegetables, as many different ones as you can find, nuts and seeds, pulses, beans and lentils, and wholegrain carbohydrates such as rice, bread and pasta. These foods are high in fibre and healthy fats and help to prevent big blood glucose spikes, which will stabilise our energy levels and mood.

If you would like to uncover more information about the impact food has on mood, behaviour, and sleep issues, take a look at our blog article:

• Why children’s diets matter for their mood and behaviour

Consult with one of our nutritionists to receive expert guidance on identifying foods that could be affecting your mood, behaviour, and sleep issues:

References:

Gannon, M.C., Nuttall, F.Q. Control of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes without weight loss by modification of diet composition. Nutr Metab (Lond) 3, 16 (2006).

Breymeyer KL, Lampe JW, McGregor BA, Neuhouser ML. Subjective mood and energy levels of healthy weight and overweight/obese healthy adults on high-and low-glycemic load experimental diets. Appetite. 2016 Dec 1;107:253-259. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.08.008. Epub 2016 Aug 6. PMID: 27507131; PMCID: PMC5154680.

Lustig. R (2021) ‘Metabolical’. Yellow Kite, Hodder and Stoughton ISBN: 978 1 529 35007 4

Campbell-McBride. N (2010). ‘Gut and Psychology Syndrome’. Medinform Publishing ISBN 13: 9778-0-9548520-2-3