Leveraging Dietary Fat and Protein For Blood Sugar Regulation

Slashing carbohydrates is a solid strategy for reigning in your blood sugar. But it’s not the whole story when it comes to optimizing your health and wellness plan. Fat and protein also play a role in this metabolic chess game.

Every dietary choice — from the daily macronutrient ratios you follow to your snack and meal timing — should be a strategic move to set you up for success and maintain control of the board.

So let’s dive into the science behind leveraging dietary fat and protein to checkmate those blood sugar spikes, starting with:

The Top 4 Benefits of Stable Blood Sugar Levels

Regulating your blood sugar levels isn’t just for diabetics or those at risk for it. Keeping them in the sweet spot supports:[*]

1. Sustained Energy and Focus

Stable blood sugar levels = consistent energy and endurance. You’ll avoid the dreaded crash that follows blood sugar spikes and dips, allowing you to maintain concentration, power through workouts, and conquer your daily to-do list with relentless vigor.

2. Higher Moods and Mental Clarity

Blood sugar fluctuations wreak havoc on your vibe, causing irritability, mood swings, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. Keeping your blood sugar levels in check keeps the hangry monster away and encourages positive moods, enhanced cognitive function, and better mental health.

3. Weight Management

Stable blood sugar levels help regulate hunger hormones, promoting satiety, reducing cravings, and preventing overeating. You’ll find it easier to reach your weight loss goals, avoid weight gain, and maintain your hard-earned physique.

4. Lower the Risk of Chronic Diseases

Chronically high blood sugar levels are a major risk factor for:[*][*][*]

• Type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar levels tank insulin sensitivity, create insulin resistance, and make your body less effective at moving glucose (sugar) out of your blood and into your cells for energy.

• Kidney disease. High blood sugar levels damage the kidneys and your body’s delicate filtering system, contributing to a decline in kidney function and a potential need for dialysis.

• Heart disease. Chronically high blood sugar damages blood vessels and elevates your risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, and stroke.

• Neuropathy, or nerve damage that causes numbness, tingling, and pain, especially in your extremities. 

• Neurodegenerative diseases. Many researchers consider Alzheimer’s disease “type 3 diabetes,” blaming high sugar levels and insulin resistance in the brain for cognitive decline. 

Well-controlled blood sugar levels help you feel incredible now and protect your health in the long run, boosting your overall quality of life. So let’s talk about:

How Dietary Fat, Protein, & Carbs Impact Blood Sugar Levels

Lots of variables factor into digestion, such as the type of food you eat, the quantity, and your individual traits (age, gut health, physical activity levels, etc.). However, scientists generally agree that:

Carbs are the primary culprit behind blood sugar spikes (and the subsequent crash) because they’re rapidly digested in about one or two hours.[*]

Protein, which digests much slower, has a minimal impact on blood sugar levels (if at all). One study showed that eating 12.5–50 grams of protein had zero effect on glycemic response, whereas noshing more than 75 grams resulted in a noticeable rise.[*] But this rise is nowhere near as significant as what carbs do.

Fat digests the slowest of all (with the exception of rapidly metabolized MCTs). Now here’s the best news: fat doesn’t impact blood sugar levels, yet it does trigger insulin.[*] That means it actively works to lower and regulate blood glucose.

We can leverage all this intel to optimize our daily macronutrient intake for blood sugar control.

The Best Macronutrient Ratios For Blood Sugar Control

Researchers say eating fewer carbs while increasing dietary protein and fat improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar levels.[*][*] 

Even a lower-carb diet of around 60 grams of carbs per day helped participants in one study significantly decrease their A1C and fasting blood glucose levels, which represented a nearly 60% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the next three years.[*]

However, ketogenic diets reign supreme. They’ve been shown to significantly improve blood sugar control and support greater weight loss.[*] That all comes down to macronutrient ratios.

According to standard keto diet macros, you should get:[*]

• 70–80% of your daily calories from fat. This includes sources like avocados, cacao butter (nature’s #1 source of fat-burning stearic acid!), nuts, seeds, fatty fish, grass-fed butter, coconut oil, MCT oil, etc.

• 20–25% from protein. Focus on high-quality animal and plant-based protein sources.

• 5–10% from carbs (around 20–50 grams per day). These should primarily come from low-carb, higher-fiber vegetables like leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and small amounts of berries.

While this is a daily outline, it helps to visualize your meals and snacks using this ratio too. Imagine dividing your plate with these ideal macro ratios, and you’ll always eat more fat and protein than carbs.

3 Snack & Meal Timing Tips for Blood Sugar Control

Follow these tips to get off the blood sugar rollercoaster for good:

1. Never Eat Carbs Solo

Always pair carbs with protein or fat. Researchers say that eating protein and/or fat before carbs reduces post-meal blood sugar levels, slows digestion, and helps suppress your appetite.[*]

Since protein and fat digest slower, they act like bouncers to gradually release glucose into your bloodstream.[*] You’ll have a smoother, steadier rise and sustained energy levels rather than a spike, crash, and sugar cravings. Plus, dietary fat also boosts insulin, ensuring more sugar gets used rather than stored as fat.

Consider this study:

Healthy participants were given 50 grams of carbs in the form of a potato with or without 50 grams of butter. When they ate the potato with butter, their blood sugar response was actually negative, whereas it was strongly positive with the potato alone.

The researchers concluded that dietary fat is essential for lowering blood glucose and activating insulin when carbs are on the menu.[*]

2. Spread Out Your Protein & Fat Throughout the Day

Contrary to myth, you need more dietary fat, not less, when you start a ketogenic diet. Feasting on healthy fats during meals and snacks helps you speed into ketosis, bypass the keto flu, optimize weight loss, and ensure steady mental and physical energy levels. 

Spacing out your daily protein intake also helps you maintain stable blood sugar levels, so you’re well-fueled to resist the siren call of carb cravings. Studies also prove that protein stimulates the release of hormones connected to your appetite, reducing ghrelin (the “hunger” hormone) while increasing peptide YY (a “satiety” hormone).[*]

Translation? Fat- and protein-rich eats keep you full, energized, and motivated to continue your keto journey. 

3. Leverage Keto Bricks’ Macros for Greatness

Keto Bricks are shelf-stable, gluten-free performance bars with the perfect keto macros (81.5% fat; 12.5% protein; 6% carbs). Made with the cleanest ingredients, our Bricks have been scientifically proven to elevate ketone levels and ignite fat-burning.[*]

Keto Bricks love to travel, but you can harness their power to take the guesswork out of macro-tracking at home or work too. After all, more high-quality fat and protein = optimal blood sugar control.

So break off chunks to supplement your keto snacks and meals. Streamline meal prep by noshing one instead of cooking and cleaning up breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Satisfy your cravings sans guilt with our drool-worthy Keto Brick recipes. 

The possibilities are as endless as your drive for peak performance and overall well-being!

♟️  Master Your Macros, Checkmate Blood Sugar 

Regulating your blood sugar levels isn’t just about deprivation; it’s about empowerment. By strategically utilizing fat and protein, you can transform them from dietary components into powerful tools to influence how your body processes glucose. You’ll score sustained energy, enhanced focus, and greater well-being.

So experiment with different fat and protein ratios, discover what works best for your unique needs, and utilize tech like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to fine-tune your approach. You have everything you need to take charge of your blood sugar and pave the way for a thriving, vibrant life!

👑 Conquer the chessboard of life with Keto Bricks! Our top-rated flavors make it easier to stick to your keto macros and dominate your health and fitness goals. Power your game with the right fuel now!