This overlooked nut butter could help control afternoon sugar crashes, nutritionists say

By half three, the office feels a little heavier. Emails have multiplied, your to‑do list has grown extra arms, and your brain is quietly screaming for something sweet. You hit the vending machine, grab a biscuit “just to tide you over”, and feel better for precisely 18 minutes. Then comes the familiar slump: fuzzy focus, low mood, a quiet frustration you mostly blame on spreadsheets.

Nutritionists have a blunter name for it: a blood sugar rollercoaster. The odd spike is fine. The daily pattern of peaks and crashes is what leaves you staring at your screen like it’s written in code. The fix, they insist, is not another coffee or a heroic juice cleanse. It’s something far smaller and humbler, sitting on a shelf you probably walk past: tahini.

Not the Instagram drizzle on fancy brunches, but the plain jar of sesame paste that looks like it belongs in someone else’s kitchen. The same spoonful that transforms a bowl of chickpeas into hummus can also soften your afternoon crash in a way biscuits simply can’t.

The day the biscuit tin lost its job

It didn’t start with a wellness plan. It began on a damp Tuesday in Leeds when Priya, an HR manager, realised she was running staff meetings on fumes. By 3 p.m., she was reaching for the biscuit tin “just to be sociable” and then watching her concentration unravel by four. She’d stay late to compensate, which meant a late dinner, more mindless snacking, and a night of jittery sleep.

One week, a colleague on maternity leave came in with a Tupperware of sliced apples and a small jar of beige paste that looked suspiciously like baby food. “Try this,” she said, dunking a slice. It was nutty, slightly bitter, oddly satisfying. Priya shrugged, carried on. But at 4.30 p.m., something strange happened: she was still focused. No fog, no quiet desperation for another biscuit. She went home on time.

Curious and a bit annoyed that the answer might be this simple, she asked a dietitian friend. The explanation was short: your brain doesn’t need more sugar; it needs something that slows sugar down. Tahini – ground sesame seeds – is dense with healthy fats, a little protein and a whisper of fibre. Together, they act like a dimmer switch on blood sugar rather than a light switch you keep slamming on and off.

Why tahini steadies your energy when sweets don’t

We’ve all been taught the same mid‑afternoon script: feel tired, eat something sugary, feel “better”, repeat. The problem is speed. Refined carbs and sweets hit the bloodstream quickly, pushing glucose – and often insulin – up fast. Your body then over‑corrects. The crash that follows is what feels like tiredness, irritability, and the odd urge to abandon email and move to a cottage in Wales.

Tahini works differently, and quietly. Sesame seeds are mostly made of unsaturated fats, with modest protein and very little sugar. When you add a spoonful to something carby – fruit, toast, even a leftover pitta – that fat and protein slow down how quickly the sugars in your food move from your gut to your blood. The rise in blood glucose is lower and gentler, so there’s no cliff to tumble off an hour later.

Nutritionists talk about “satiety signals”: hormones that tell your brain, “we’re good for a bit”. Foods rich in fats and protein flip more of those switches than a biscuit ever could. Tahini also brings a few supporting players – magnesium, some B vitamins, a bit of iron – that help your body handle energy production more smoothly. You probably won’t feel a jolt. You may just notice that 4 p.m. arrives and you’re…fine.

A tiny tahini ritual you can start this week

The power of tahini isn’t in elaborate recipes. It’s in micro‑rituals that work on the kind of day when you’re already late for a call. Think of it less as “I’m going to overhaul my diet” and more as “I’m going to rescue one moment of my day”.

Pick one slot: most people feel their dip between 2.30 and 4 p.m. Set a quiet reminder on your phone 20 minutes before you normally raid the biscuits. When it pings, you eat something that pairs a simple carb with tahini.

For example:

• Apple or pear slices dipped in 1–2 teaspoons of tahini
  
• Oatcake with a smear of tahini and a drizzle of honey
  
• Half a banana spread with tahini and a pinch of cinnamon
  
• Leftover carrot sticks dunked in tahini thinned with lemon and water
  

That’s it. No weighing, no macros, no moral judgement. You’re not banning sweets forever; you’re testing how your body feels when your snack buys you longer, steadier focus instead of a short, caffeinated high.

Nutritionists warn against turning tahini into another food rule. A spoon straight from the jar after lunch is still better than a handful of random biscuits eaten standing by the photocopier. The aim is not perfection; it’s nudging your blood sugar into a smaller, kinder wave.

How to keep a jar working for you, not against you

Tahini has a reputation for being tricky: too bitter, too thick, a jar that separates into oil on top and concrete underneath. The truth is simpler. A few small tweaks make it an almost automatic part of your day, not another “health food” gathering dust.

First, buy the right style for you. Hulled tahini (made from seeds with the outer layer removed) is milder and creamier; unhulled is darker, slightly more bitter and richer in minerals. If you’re new to it, start with hulled. Stir the jar well when you open it, then store it upside down with the lid screwed on tightly – the oil works its way back through and makes the paste easier to scoop.

Second, pre‑pair it. A tablespoon of tahini in a small jar at the office, a bag of oatcakes in the same drawer, and suddenly your “emergency snack” is an upgraded habit that takes under 30 seconds. At home, keep it next to the honey or jam rather than buried in the back of a cupboard labelled “exotic”. We reach for what we can see.

Finally, remember it’s calorie‑dense, which is why a teaspoon or two is often enough. More isn’t “healthier”; it’s just more. You’re after a buffer, not a second lunch.

“Tahini doesn’t give you a rush; it gives you a runway,” one dietitian told me. “You don’t notice fireworks – you notice you’re still going.”

Here’s a small starter kit that fits into an ordinary week:

• One jar of hulled tahini in the cupboard or desk drawer
  
• A packet of oatcakes, rice cakes or wholemeal pittas nearby
  
• Fruit you actually enjoy eating (apples, satsumas, pears, berries)
  
• A tiny pinch pot of salt or cinnamon if you like a little extra flavour
  

When the afternoon still goes sideways

Of course, tahini can’t fix everything. There will be days when you’ve slept badly, skipped lunch, and your inbox feels like an avalanche. On those days, even the best snack can’t magic away a stress headache or solve a staffing issue. It can, however, stop your body adding a sugar crash to a list of problems it’s already juggling.

You might still fancy a biscuit with your tea, and that’s fine. Many people find that once their blood sugar is steadier, they crave slightly less and choose slightly better by default. The jar of tahini becomes less of a “health hack” and more of a background ally – like keeping water on your desk instead of only noticing you’re thirsty when you have a headache.

If your afternoon slumps are dramatic – dizziness, shaking, heart pounding – that’s a signal to speak to a GP or dietitian rather than self‑medicating with any one food. Blood sugar issues are common but not trivial. Tahini is a tool, not a diagnosis.

For most of us, though, the change is quiet. After a few weeks of a simple tahini ritual, people report fewer raids on the sweet trolley, calmer concentration, and an odd sense of being slightly ahead of their own hunger instead of perpetually chasing it. It’s small, almost boring – which is often why it works.

Key point	Detail	Why it matters
Tahini slows sugar’s impact	Healthy fats and protein blunt blood sugar spikes	Fewer crashes, more stable energy
Tiny daily ritual	1–2 teaspoons with fruit or wholegrains mid‑afternoon	Easy to keep even on busy days
Make it visible and simple	Jar at work, pre‑paired with a snack	Turns “willpower” into a five‑second habit

FAQ:

• Is tahini suitable if I’m avoiding nuts? Tahini is made from sesame seeds, not tree nuts, but sesame is a common allergen. If you’re not allergic to sesame, it can be a good option in nut‑free environments like some schools and offices.
  
• How much tahini should I have in a snack? Around 1–2 teaspoons is usually enough to make a difference to satiety and blood sugar without turning it into a heavy mini‑meal.
  
• Will tahini make me gain weight? It’s energy‑dense, so portion size matters, but using a small amount to replace frequent sugary snacks can actually support weight management for some people.
  
• Can I use peanut butter or almond butter instead? Yes. Any unsweetened nut or seed butter with similar fats and protein can help; tahini is just often overlooked and easier for some with nut restrictions.
  
• Does it matter if I buy a cheaper brand? Not hugely. Flavour and texture vary more than nutrition. Choose one you like enough to actually use; a stirred, smooth jar you reach for beats a premium one you forget.