Sugary Breakfasts Can Spike Lunch Blood Sugar By 50%, Warns Nutritionist

Breakfast is often called the “most important meal of the day,” but most people do not really know why. For many, it is just the first thing they eat after waking up – sometimes a quick biscuit, sometimes a bowl of sugary cereal, sometimes nothing at all. But nutritionists have been stressing for years that what you choose in the morning does much more than fill your stomach. It sets the tone for your energy, mood, cravings and blood sugar for the rest of the day.

There is an entire science behind how your first meal influences your second one. And yet very few people know about it. Most of us assume lunch affects lunch and breakfast affects breakfast. But your metabolism works like a memory bank — it remembers what you ate earlier and responds accordingly.

On Monday, nutritionist Pooja Makhija shared a video on Instagram explaining this simple but powerful concept. She called it the second meal effect. And if you have never heard of it, you are not alone. As she said in the video, “Not heard about it? Stop scrolling.”

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A post shared by Pooja Makhija (@poojamakhija)

Here is what she explained:

1. Sugary Breakfast = Big Midday Crash

Pooja Makhija explained that when you start your day with a sugary breakfast, your blood sugar spikes fast and then crashes. By the time you eat lunch, your body is already “insulin heavy,” as she put it – riding a blood sugar roller coaster.

She added that studies show your lunch blood sugar can be 40–50% higher after a sugary breakfast compared to a protein-rich one. 

2. Same Lunch, Very Different Response

This part surprises most people. Even if your lunch is the same — say dal, roti, sabzi — your blood sugar levels will behave differently depending on what you had for breakfast.

“Same lunch, a different blood sugar level,” Pooja Makhija explained. That is the second meal effect. Your first meal doesn't just start your day — “it shapes the day and programs how your body is going to run.”

3. Do Not Skip Breakfast

Pooja had a clear message: skipping breakfast is not the solution. She said skipping only leads to “sharper sugar rises and crashes and higher cravings throughout the day.”

4. The Better Breakfast Formula

Her caption summed it up well:

• Protein + fibre
• Eggs
• Yoghurt
• Lentil chilla
• Dal ka paratha

These keep blood sugar steady, support focus and reduce cravings.

5. The Science Behind It

Pooja backed her points with research:

• Low-GI breakfasts reduce post-lunch glucose spikes
• High-protein breakfasts improve insulin control
• Balanced breakfasts slow digestion and stabilise hormones

In short, your breakfast “primes” your metabolism for the next meal.