• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Snacks to reduce the dawn effect glucose spike

Art Of Flowers

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,299
Location
Kent
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Statins
I did see a forum post here recently suggesting that eating some nuts or seeds first thing in the morning can be effective in preventing the big rise in blood glucose levels commonly known as the "dawn effect" when the liver dumps glucose to get you going in the morning.

If so, what type of nuts or seeds work best? Are other types of snacks just as effective e.g. cheese?
 
A square of cheese or a hard boiled egg are my usual. Basically you are trying to alert your over enthusiastic liver that you don’t need its help or a glucose boost because you are up, eating and hunting your own mammoth now.
Nuts wise I just avoid pistachios and cashews as they are higher carb. I like brazils and pecans.
 
Evening @Art Of Flowers

Given time and a consistent LCHF lifestyle, your FBG readings should gradually fall. so the rise will begin from a lower starting point.

Meanwhile, IME, you can stop a rise with a modest snack; a teaspoon or two of sunflower or pumpkin seeds or four to five almonds or hazelnuts should do the trick without affecting your appetite at breakfast.
 
It never crossed my mind to eat to stop this.
My blood was going from around 3 @ 3am and rising to above 10, usually to 12-15.
I'd take fast insulin, but the more insulin I used the more glucose I'd produce.
Also if I did some physical work my liver would go into overdrive again and shoot for the moon.
I also found that even adding short and long term insulin my BG would try to head for 12 needing more insulin to counter.
And the more insulin I used, it would halt or even counter my weight loss.
But if I used NO insulin, my glucose would settle around 12 and I would lose weight.
 
This is one of those things were it is clear we all react differently to different things. Some say taking apple cider vinegar before going to bed works, others use a piece of hard cheese or take a bit of carbs in the form of half a biscuit or half a green apple. For some it works, for others like me nothing seems to work.
Eating in the morning also does not help me, but hopefully you fare better.

@Male1960T2 I am seeing the same a lot of the time. Usually a dip at around 3:30am for me. I used to think it was the dawn phenomenon, but recently I am wondering if it might be the Somogyi effect instead https://diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/high-morning-blood-glucose
But whatever it is, a solution is hard to find it seems.
 
If I don't eat anything in the morning my BG will continue to rise slowly until at least 2pm (from 6am), which is when I got bored and ate something. This rise doesn't bother me in the slightest as it's my liver using up stores, which is a good thing in my book. The rise isn't all that much either - it topped at about 6.5 if I remember right.

I know that three almonds (literally three) will reassure my liver that I have access to food and it doesn't need to be concerned, so can stop adding glucose.
 
I agree that a tiny amount of low-carb food will halt DP for most of us, but I just accept it as part of my physical response, and ignore it. I eat when hungry, either brunch and dinner or dinner only.
 
Would love it if a handful of nuts would stop the DP but my DP begins about 2 am and continues to rise unabated until 8 am when it hits 10-13 mmol/L. My only option is a hefty bolus of fast-acting insulin at 2 am and maybe another one at 6.30 am. Increasing basal has no effect on the DP at all and sleeping 8 hours straight is a thing of the past!
 
Hopeful34 said:
I was the same as you @Jasmin2000 and the only thing that's stopped it happening for me was when I got a HCL pump.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that @Hopeful34 - it's the only conclusion I came to as well. I've been posting questions about how a HCL would react to insulin resistant BG spikes caused by counter regulatory hormones and conclude that it cannot be worse than me rage-bolusing (a term I learned today). I have an endo meeting tomorrow so let's see what they say. Fingers crossed.
 
I have found that a small amount of black beans with the evening meal at 6-7pm, and I'm talking 2 tablespoons, did help with the overnight roller coaster blood glucose levels.
Didn't go so low, didn't rise quite so high.
Dunno why, probably the slow release of carbs.
I am mostly carnivorous.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…