We know that the response to food is personal. For example, one person’s sugar level rises very sharply after eating a banana, while the other remains stable.

Today we look at the average reaction to sushi. Is sushi healthy? And what is the average blood sugar response?

Eating sushi and the rise in blood sugar

Unfortunately, the average blood sugar response isn’t as good as you might think. Sushi is often prepared with white rice. This is boiled in water to which a lot of sugar has been added. In other words: low in fiber and rich in fast carbohydrates. A good trigger to raise your blood sugar level.

The graph below shows the average difference in blood glucose in the 30 minutes before intake to 2 hours after eating sushi. As you can see, blood glucose rises on average by 1 mmol/l after eating sushi*. You can also see that this increase continues for quite a long time.

Could that be because of the all-you-can-eat rounds in the restaurant? Ordering and eating new sushi every round doesn’t give your body time to lower your blood sugar. This remains high.

* Note: these results mainly relate to participants without type 2 diabetes. Chances are that if you have type 2 diabetes, your blood sugar level will rise much more.

We can cluster the reactions to sushi from our data. The associated reaction of a group of people is also referred to as a ‘cluster reaction’.

The graph below shows the three largest cluster averages. People who:

• Yes (orange)
• A little (black) and
• Hardly any (grey) peaks on sushi

In the people who do peak (orange) we see that this is a difference of almost 3 mmol/L. This is a very large increase that you would rather avoid.

Tips to influence the rise in your blood sugar while eating sushi

Of course, you can influence the rise in your blood sugar by adjusting the meal.

Above all, limit your portion size. The more pieces of sushi you eat, the more fast carbohydrates you consume and the higher your blood sugar will rise.

Therefore, instead of just sushi, also take some sashimi (raw fish), soybeans, stir-fried vegetables, grilled chicken, tofu and salad. Then you have eaten enough and your sugar level will probably remain more stable than if you only eat sushi (read: rice).

Do you want to know how you react to sushi? Start now with Clear.bio.