The Meal Response Curve
See how a meal moves blood sugar — no CGM required. Build a plate, see the typical response, then watch protein, fibre, and a short walk flatten it.
These are population-average, educational curves — a rough picture of how a typical person might respond, not a reading for you. Not for diabetes management, insulin dosing, or any medical decision. If you're managing blood sugar, talk to your clinician.
GI × carbs ÷ 100
one number for how much a serving typically moves blood sugar
~45 minutes
after eating, settling back over 2–3 hours
Protein · fibre · a walk
each softens the typical peak within published ranges
Every carb-containing food has a published glycemic index — how fast its carbohydrate typically becomes blood sugar, with glucose scored 100. Multiply by the carbs actually on your plate and you get glycemic load, the honest single number for a meal. The curve scales a typical post-meal response by your plate's GL — and because real responses vary a lot from person to person, we always draw a range, not a confident line.
This is the CGM-era insight without the hardware: what you eat with your carbs, and what you do next, both change the curve. Pairing protein or fibre and taking a 15-minute walk after eating each flatten the typical response within ranges from intervention studies. Toggle them on and watch the before/after — the unmodified curve stays as a ghost so the difference is honest and visible.
This tool is educational, not medical advice, and never for diabetes management or dosing decisions. GI/GL from Atkinson et al. 2021; carbohydrates from USDA FoodData Central; modifier effects from published intervention literature, shown as ranges. Nothing you enter is stored — inputs live only in this page's URL.