How much does honey spike your blood sugar?
The glycemic index measures how quickly a carbohydrate raises blood sugar levels. Honey has a GI score of 58, and sugar has a GI value of 60. That means honey (like all carbohydrates) raises blood sugar quickly, but not quite as fast as sugar. Still, it's not a big difference.
Both honey and sugar will affect your blood sugar level. Honey is sweeter than granulated sugar, so you might use a smaller amount of honey for sugar in some recipes. But honey actually has slightly more carbohydrates and more calories a teaspoon than does granulated sugar.
Possible hypoglycemic impact. A small study from 2004 investigated honey and sugar's effects on blood glucose levels. The researcher found that a solution containing 75 g of honey raised blood sugar and insulin levels in people with and without type 2 diabetes within 30 minutes.
One study observed the glycemic effect of honey compared to glucose in people with type 2 diabetes, measuring participants' blood sugar levels at one and two hours after ingestion. Researchers found that with honey, blood sugar levels peaked at one hour, followed by a decline.
Honey caused greater elevation of insulin compared to sucrose; after different time of consumption, it reduces blood lipids, homocysteine, and CRP in normal subjects. The conclusion was that honey compared with dextrose and sucrose caused lower elevation of PGL in diabetics.
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Eat a consistent diet
- whole grains.
- fruits.
- vegetables.
- lean proteins.
Check your blood sugar (or CGM) before bed.
Avoid eating lots of food close to bedtime. For diaTribe writer Adam Brown, the key to staying in range overnight is low-carb, early dinners, with no snacking after dinner. Consider eating less food at night and taking more basal insulin to cover your evening meal.
Main Takeaways. Without a diagnosis of prediabetes or diabetes, it should take one to two hours for a blood sugar spike to come down. You can opt for a walk or a workout to accelerate the process.
Drinking water regularly may rehydrate the blood, lower blood sugar levels, and reduce diabetes risk ( 20 , 21 ). Keep in mind that water and other zero-calorie drinks are best. Avoid sugar-sweetened options, as these can raise blood glucose, drive weight gain, and increase diabetes risk ( 22 , 23 ).
Lemon juice significantly lowered the mean blood glucose concentration peak by 30% (p < 0.01) and delayed it more than 35 min (78 vs. 41 min with water, p < 0.0001).
What causes blood sugar to rise without eating?
Look out for these surprising triggers that can send your blood sugar soaring: Sunburn—the pain causes stress, and stress increases blood sugar levels. Artificial sweeteners—more research is needed, but some studies show they can raise blood sugar. Coffee—even without sweetener.
The dawn phenomenon is an early-morning rise in blood sugar, also called blood glucose, in people with diabetes. The dawn phenomenon leads to high levels of blood sugar, a condition called hyperglycemia. It usually happens between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Try to go 10 to 12 hours each night without eating, Sheth advises. For instance, if you eat breakfast at 8:30 a.m. every morning, that means capping your nighttime meals and snacks between 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. each night.
Normal ranges of blood sugar levels are between 70 and 130 mg/dL before eating meals. The American Diabetes Association recommends seniors have blood glucose levels of less than 180 mg/dL two hours after eating. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don't all need the same type of at-home care.
One study showed that consuming 1 gram (g) of cinnamon extract daily for 12 weeks reduced fasting blood sugar levels and improved markers of oxidative stress in people with type 2 diabetes ( 8 ).
So people reduce their carb intake, go on a low carbohydrate diet, and focus on eating healthy fats and (in many cases) too much protein. But what this solution crucially fails to address is insulin resistance, which is the true cause of those high blood glucose numbers.
The dawn phenomenon
In the early hours of the morning, hormones, including cortisol and growth hormone, signal the liver to boost the production of glucose, which provides energy that helps you wake up. This triggers beta cells in the pancreas to release insulin in order to keep blood glucose levels in check.