Importance Of Not Eating Large Meals

If there is one main rule to remember when trying to maintain blood sugar levels within the normal range, it is this: DO NOT EAT LARGE MEALS. Large meals work entirely against the very concept of a diabetic diet. If you eat a large meal, there is no way that you will be able to prevent the blood sugar spike that will occur afterwards. If you make a habit of eating lots of large meals, you should change your ways now or face future problems with blood sugar control.

Blood sugar is normally regulated by the hormone called insulin. In diabetics, something has gone wrong with the whole insulin/ blood sugar system. In some cases the body has stopped responding to insulin. In other cases it has stopped producing insulin completely. Without insulin to ease the process, the products of carbohydrate digestion have nowhere to go. This can cause a buildup of sugar in the blood and high blood sugar.

The reason that diabetic diets promote small meals is so that only smaller amounts of sugars are deposited in the blood after a meal. The amount of sugars placed in the blood stream is directly related to the amount of carbohydrates in the meal. So a large meal with lots of carbohydrates will cause lots of sugar to go to the blood and subsequently increase the blood sugar level. Small meals with fewer carbohydrates will only put a little sugar in the blood, and will only raise the blood sugar levels a little bit. A relatively smaller increase in blood sugar is much easier for the body to handle if it has become less responsive to insulin, or if it has to rely on injected insulin to clear away the blood sugar after a meal.

After having eaten a large meal, the blood sugar level increases to an intolerable level for the body. If it were able to, it would release a lot of insulin to take all of the sugars and send them to the cells to be used or to be stored for future use. However, having lost this option, there is not much left to do.

This hyperglycemic state is not good for you. High blood sugar can cause people to go into diabetic shock, which is very dangerous. Long term high blood sugar is also the root cause of diabetes complications such as blindness, nerve damage, and amputations. Consider your smaller meals an investment in your future health and remind yourself of that when you are tempted to eat a large meal.

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