Stable blood sugar (i.e., the amount of glucose you have in your blood at any given time) was once a concern only for diabetics, but the health marker has quietly become central to everyday wellness. Science shows that blood sugar affects many different aspects of the body, including energy, mood, energy, mental state, and much more.

Glucose comes from each and every thing you eat—and in response, the body creates insulin to move it into our cells for fuel. Eating an imbalanced meal may result in a glucose spike, which is when the blood sugar quickly rises above the normal range—then typically drops back down again just as fast. “In the long term, the more spikes you have, the more likely it is that you’ll develop type 2 diabetes,” biochemist Jessie Inchauspé has told Vogue in the pas

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