Maintaining your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels within a specific range is important if you have diabetes, to keep your heart, brain, eyes, feet and kidneys healthy. The American Diabetes Association recommends keeping your blood sugar levels between 70 and 130 milligrams per deciliter before meals if you have diabetes. Even if you don't have diabetes, choosing foods that help you keep your blood sugar levels more stable can help you better control your energy levels, weight and blood cholesterol levels. Eggs do not raise your blood glucose levels.
Nutrition Facts
Whether you choose chicken eggs, duck eggs or quail eggs, eggs are rich in protein and fat, but contain almost no carbohydrates. For example, two large eggs provide 143 calories, 12.6 grams of protein, 9.5 grams of fat and 0.7 grams of carbohydrates. Eggs are an excellent source of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, especially if they come from free-ranging fowl, in addition to providing plenty of choline and vitamin A.
Foods and Blood Glucose Levels
For a food to be able to raise your blood glucose levels, it needs to contain enough carbohydrates. In the case of egg, the 0.7 grams of carbohydrates in a serving of two large eggs is not sufficient to affect your blood glucose levels. Foods that contain enough carbohydrates to raise your blood glucose levels mostly belong to the grains, starchy vegetables, fruits and sugar category. By comparison, a slice of bread, a serving of fruit or 1 tablespoon of sugar provides approximately 15 grams of carbohydrates.
Tracking Blood Glucose Levels
Everybody is different and foods can affect your blood glucose levels differently than another person. The best way to determine your individual blood glucose response after eating certain foods is to track your blood glucose levels. If you don't have a blood glucose meter, you can easily get one, along with glucose testing strips, at a drugstore. To evaluate the effect of eggs or any other foods on your blood glucose levels, check your blood glucose levels before eating and at regular intervals after eating. For example, you can check at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes if you really want to have a clear picture of what happens to your blood glucose levels after eating specific foods.
Egg-Based Meals and Blood Glucose Levels
If you do not eat eggs on their own, other foods part of the same meal could be responsible for the rise in your blood glucose levels after eating. For example, if you have your eggs with toast, pancakes, cereal, fruits, yogurt, orange juice or a sweetened coffee, the increase in your blood glucose levels will be due to the carbohydrates in the foods accompanying the eggs, but not due to the eggs themselves. The flour in the crust of quiches or other ingredients added to omelets, frittatas or scrambled eggs can also cause a rise in your blood glucose levels.
