Video | Salivary Amylase (AMY 1 gene) | The Cracker Test | Test Analysis | Blood Sugar Response | How You Feel

How many carbs can you eat daily to maintain or lose weight? An unsalted cracker might just tell you the answer. That is according to Dr. Sharon Moalem, who proposed in his book, The DNA Restart, that the speed at which a saltine cracker breaks down in your mouth determines how well your body breaks down carbohydrates and, therefore, how many you can eat in a day without suffering consequences like weight gain. 

You might be thinking, that sounds silly. I agree. It does sound silly. But I listened to his book and his argument and was intrigued enough to eat a few crackers. 

If you are also intrigued, read on, learn the mechanism behind the experiment, and try it at home.

Determine Your Carb Tolerance At-A-Glance

Test Your Carb Tolerance with a Saltine Cracker? [Video]

Dr. Moalem proposes that the best way to eat is to eat for your specific genetic profile. That profile was passed down to you from your ancestors. If your ancestors ate a lot of starch, such as wheat or rice, you inherited multiple copies of the AMY1 gene. This gene is responsible for producing salivary amylase, the enzyme in saliva that breaks down starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, cereal, and crackers.

Having extra copies of the AMY1 gene gives you a carb intake advantage because you can quickly digest starch.

If you’ve been learning about carbohydrate metabolism, that might sound counterintuitive. You’d think that faster carb digestion would mean that sugar gets into your bloodstream too fast, leaving you more prone to high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance, and obesity. 

However, when this was studied, researchers found that the opposite happened. Those with more amylase had lower blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels. Why? Because those individuals also had a quicker insulin response. So, the sugar that came into the blood was efficiently cleared and shuttled to the cells. 

The Cracker Self-Test

Dr. Moalem developed a simple test that he calls The DNA Reset Cracker Self-Test. The result you get determines the amount of carbohydrates you can eat to stay in line with the number of AMY1 genes you’ve inherited, placing you in one of three categories:

Carbohydrate Consumption Categories:

• Full Consumption = Lots of AMY 1 Genes
• Moderate Consumption = Fair Amount of AMY1 Genes
• Restricted Consumption = Few AMY 1 Genes

The Cracker Test Materials

The test asks you to consume half of a cracker, so break it apart before you begin. It doesn’t have to be a perfect break. If you can’t eat a cracker for whatever reason, substitute a dime-size piece of raw peeled potato.

What You’ll Need for The Test:

• Half of a Saltine Cracker with an Unsalted Top*
• A Timer
• A Notepad to record your results

*Substitute a dime-size piece of raw peeled potato

The Cracker Test Protocol

The objective is to chew the cracker for 30 seconds and note when the taste changes. You’ll likely note it changes from bland to subtly sweet. 

If the 30 seconds go by and you never detect a change in taste, that’s fine and has significance, so just go with it. 

And, keep in mind that the cracker will dissolve in your mouth, but you want to keep chewing for the entire time. So fight the urge to swallow and just keep chewing as if it were chewing gum. 

One last note: You will perform the test three times and then average your results, so anything that feels uncertain right now will become clear.

Perform The Cracker Test

You are ready to start. Make sure you have your half cracker or potato, a timer, and a notepad in front of you.

Place the cracker in your mouth, start your timer, and start chewing. 

As you chew, pay close attention to the taste. As soon as you detect a change in taste, note the time. If you reach 30 seconds and you do not detect a change in taste, note your time as greater than 30 seconds. 

Repeat the test a total of three times. Feel free to cleanse your palate with water in between tests.

Cracker Test Analysis

Once you have performed the test three times, average your results, and you have identified your personal carbohydrate consumption category. 

If the taste change happened in less than 14 seconds, you fall into the full carbohydrate consumption category. If it happened between 15 to 30 seconds, you are in the moderate category. If the taste did not change or took longer than 30 seconds to change, you are in the restricted category. 

Your Carbohydrate Consumption Category:

• 0 to 14 seconds until taste change: Full
• 15 to 30 seconds until taste change: Moderate
• More than 30 seconds until taste change: Restricted

Now that you know your category, here is the amount of carbs you can consume daily, according to Dr. Moalem. 

Carb Consumption per Category:

• Full = 50% of your daily calories can come from carbs
• Moderate = up to 35% of your daily calories can come from carbs
• Restricted = no more than 25% of your daily calories should come from carbs

Blood Sugar and Carb Tolerance

The cracker test is a simple test, and simple tests are fun. However, Dr. Moalem does attach the caveat that this is just a guide, and you need to be mindful of the amount and quality of food you eat, regardless of your category. 

Many of our modern foods have been refined and stripped of the nutrients needed for health and weight control.

To truly get a handle on your individual carbohydrate tolerance, there is no better tool than a CGM. 

A CGM, or continuous glucose monitor, is a small monitor that easily attaches to your arm and continually records your blood sugar. 

Levels is a company that makes it possible for people without diabetes to get this preventative tool, which can use to get a clear visual map of how your body handles carbohydrates throughout the day. 

What you want to see, even after eating carbs, is a gentle rise and return to normal over a couple of hours. If, instead, you see a sharp rise and slow return, your body is not tolerating the carbohydrates in your diet efficiently. 

If you find that the cost of wearing a CGM is prohibitive, Levels provides an app-only experience that allows you to use their standalone software features without having to invest in a CGM. The app-only feature provides meal scores and insights based on average glucose responses from the Levels community.

How Do You Feel?

When it comes to macros, it is easy to get caught up in numbers. However, because carbohydrate tolerance depends on many factors that are unique to you, including your age, activity level, past diet and health history, and genetics, it is important to pay attention to cues you get from your body when you eat carbs.

Your brain and body love routine. So much so that you likely find yourself eating the same foods on most days and eating them at about the same time each day. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, having a healthy routine keeps you healthy and saves you time and effort. But when was the last time you consciously linked those foods and the timing of your meals to how you feel? 

If you experience daily periods where you feel mentally and physically tired or have heightened cravings, you’ll want to look at the amount or quality of carbohydrates that you’re eating. You may be overlooking a direct connection simply because it’s what you’ve always done.

Make today the day that you bring conscious awareness to how you feel. For instance, how do you feel an hour after eating a big lunch? How do you feel three hours after lunch, with little food left in your belly? You can gain valuable clues about your carbohydrate tolerance by simply monitoring how you feel. 

Your Carb Tolerance Can Change

Also, keep in mind that your body is a dynamic machine. As a low-carb dieter, you may notice that your carb tolerance goes up or down as you continue to follow your diet. 

For instance, when you first switch from a high-carb to a low-carb way of eating, it is a big change for your body, requiring a lot of energy. As you progress, your body becomes more efficient at burning fat for energy, relying less on carbohydrates. This is what you want, but you may find that your carb tolerance is lower.

And remember that efficiency is not a bad thing. In fact, as you continue to feed your body an unrefined, low-carb diet and include things like intermittent fasting and exercise, your cells become more insulin-sensitive, leading to a more efficient handling of carbohydrates.

Takeaway

The takeaway is this: The saltine cracker test is a fun way to gain some insights into your carbohydrate tolerance. But build on those insights by paying attention to how you feel after eating carbs and consider watching your blood sugar response to meals and specific carbohydrates. 

About The Author

Becky Gillaspy, DC, is the author of The Intermittent Fasting Guide and Cookbook and Zero Sugar / One Month. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with research honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1991.