Festive overeating and blood sugar: How sweets and fried snacks impact your body

Festival season in India brings a week of heavy meals, fried snacks and sweets that can cause major blood sugar spikes, particularly for people with diabetes. According to Dr Suman Banerjee, a Delhi NCR-based consultant intensivist, physician and diabetologist who spoke to HT Lifestyle, many popular festive treats share common ingredients like sugar or potato, and are usually fried.

Blood Sugar Spikes

Syrup-soaked items like jalebi and gulab jamun contain forty to eighty percent sugar by weight, while snacks like samosas, kachoris and aloo tikki combine refined carbohydrates with oil. This mixture causes a sudden glucose spike followed by a rush of insulin, leaving people tired and craving more food after a couple of hours. Individuals who fast before feasting experience even wilder glucose swings.

Healthier Festive Habits

To manage these effects without skipping celebrations, Dr Suman suggests eating nuts, paneer or a bowl of curd before sitting down for a feast to blunt the binge. People should choose options like corn, roasted chana, dhokla, tikkas or an egg roll over fried varieties, and start meals with vegetables and protein while saving carbohydrates for last. For dessert, dry sandesh works better than syrupy rasgulla or laddoos made with dates and nuts, alongside choices like fruit, a square of dark chocolate, unsweetened lemon water, chaas or coconut water.

Medical Guidance

Dr Suman also advises walking ten to fifteen minutes after meals, noting that pandal hopping offers a good way to do this. For anyone whose blood sugar runs high, who has prediabetes, or who takes diabetes medication, the recommendation is to check glucose levels more often during the festival week and consult a doctor before fasting.

Context

Festive seasons frequently disrupt routine dietary habits due to abundant social gatherings and traditional foods rich in sugar and oil. Managing portion sizes and meal sequencing helps mitigate sudden metabolic strain without requiring complete avoidance of cultural celebrations.