Whether you’re at risk for type 2 diabetes or just trying to keep your energy levels steady, there are many reasons why it’s beneficial to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Breakfast is the first opportunity of the day to do this.
Food combinations are an important part of keeping blood sugar levels steady. For example, a bagel may cause your blood sugar to spike after you eat it, but pairing it with eggs or an avocado (both good sources of unsaturated fat) slows down the absorption of sugar from carbohydrates and the spike will be less dramatic.
Just as some pairings can be beneficial for blood sugar, other pairings can be harmful, causing your blood sugar to spike even more. There’s a particularly popular combination of breakfast foods and drinks that can do just that, according to endocrinologists.
Related: This is the #1 Best Habit for Blood Sugar Balance, According to an Endocrinologist
Why is it important to have stable blood sugar?
You may have thought that keeping your blood sugar stable is only important for people with diabetes. However, Dr. Fady Hannah-Shmouni, MD, an endocrinologist and medical director at Eli Health, points out that it’s essential to everyone’s health.
“Even without diabetes, steady blood sugar helps keep energy stable, supports clear thinking, reduces cravings, and protects long-term metabolic health,” says Dr. Hannah-Shmouni, adding that frequent spikes can contribute to inflammation, weight gain, and insulin resistance over time.
🩺SIGN UP for tips to keep you healthy and fit with top moves, clean eating, health trends and more, delivered straight to your inbox twice a week💊
Unstable blood sugar levels affect both short-term and long-term health. In the short term, Dr. Hannah-Shmouni says it can lead to fatigue, brain fog, irritability, headaches, tremors and intense food cravings. “These rapid changes can also disrupt focus and mood as your body releases stress hormones to rebalance,” he adds.
What happens when your blood sugar is all over the place long term? Dr. Hannah-Shmouni explains that repeated highs and lows can make it harder to regulate energy and appetite, and that over time increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, weight gain, heart disease and fatty liver disease, among other metabolic conditions.
Related: This is the No. 1 worst blood sugar habit, according to an endocrinologist
Dr. Rachel Pessah-Pollack, MD, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health, adds to this, saying, “Complications can occur from long-term unstable blood sugar, including an increased risk of heart attacks, kidney and nerve damage, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.”
Popular breakfast combo that raises blood sugar
Peter Cade/Getty Images
Knowing how much riding the blood sugar rollercoaster can affect your health, you’re probably inspired to do everything you can to keep it balanced, starting with what you eat for breakfast. After all, how we spend our mornings sets the tone for the rest of the day.
One breakfast combination that all three endocrinologists I spoke with say can raise blood sugar in a big way is a pastry paired with fruit juice. Many people pour a glass of OJ or grapefruit juice with breakfast to boost their vitamin C, but this combination can have a negative impact on blood sugar.
Related: The silent symptom of high blood sugar you should never ignore, according to endocrinologists
“Pastry problems and fruit juice are both fast-acting forms of carbohydrates with no good nutrients, and as a result will raise your glucose levels significantly, especially if you have type 2 diabetes,” says Dr. Pessah-Pollack.
Dr. Florence Comite, MD, an endocrinologist, founder of the Committee Center for Precision Medicine and Healthy Longevity and author of the forthcoming book, Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better, Longer, explains that baked goods and fruit juice are both high in carbohydrates, which can cause a rapid spike in glucose and an equally rapid drop, followed by an insulin spike that leads to jitters and faster energy cravings. “That ride of dramatic spikes and drops in glucose is unhealthy and will lead to insulin resistance,” she says.
While a pastry and fruit juice aren’t exactly a great combination glycemic-wise, that doesn’t mean you can never enjoy either. If you’re going to have either a pastry or a fruit juice for breakfast, all three experts recommend pairing it with a food high in protein, fiber or unsaturated fat. Some examples include nuts, eggs or avocados. This will mitigate the spike in blood sugar, especially if you eat the nutrient-dense foods first.
Dr. Pessah-Pollack recommends having whole fruit instead of fruit juice, sharing, “Whole fruit has fiber, which is beneficial and slows digestion. Fruit juice lacks this fiber to slow sugar absorption.”
Unless you’re really craving that pastry, Dr. Pessah-Pollack recommends eating oatmeal instead, which is a great source of fiber, compared to pastry, which offers no nutritional benefit. To naturally sweeten your oatmeal without spiking your blood sugar, add cinnamon and add fruit.
In general, whenever you’re craving something sweet (whether it’s for breakfast, a snack, or dessert) but don’t want to spike your blood sugar, Dr. Hannah-Shmouni says to choose sweets that come with protein, fiber, or healthy fats, or pair them with those nutrients. “These [nutrients] digestion slows down and helps keep glucose stable. Good options include fruit with nut butter, Greek yogurt with berries, a square of dark chocolate after a balanced meal, chia pudding, or a small portion of your favorite dessert eaten after protein rather than on an empty stomach,” he explains.
By keeping your blood sugar balanced, you’ll not only have better focus and mood now, but you’ll also support your future health—and nothing is sweeter than that.
Next:
Related: This 3-ingredient snack is perfect for managing blood sugar, say diabetes doctors
Sources:
-
Dr. Fady Hannah-Shmouni, MD, Endocrinologist and Medical Director at Eli Health
-
Dr. Rachel Pessah-Pollack, MD, an endocrinologist at NYU Langone Health
-
Dr. Florence Comite, MD, endocrinologist, founder of the Comite Center for Precision Medicine and Healthy Longevity and author of the forthcoming book, Invincible: Defy your genetic destiny to live better, longer
-
Ma, X., Nan, F., Liang, H., et al. (20220). Excessive sugar intake: an accomplice to inflammation. Frontiers in Immunology. Aug 31;13:988481. two: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.988481
-
Ludwig, DS, & Ebbeling, CB (2019). The carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity: beyond calories in, calories out. JAMA Internal Medicine. 178(8):1098-1103
-
Avner, S., & Robbins, T. (2025). A review of the scope of glucose spikes in people without diabetes: comparing insights from gray literature and medical research. Clinical medicine perspectives: endocrinology and diabetes. 18:11795514251381409. two: 10.1177/11795514251381409
This story was originally published by Parade on December 24, 2025, where it first appeared in Health & Wellness. Add Parade as a favorite source by clicking here.