High blood sugar in the body can cause a lot of health problems to a person. Most notably, it can lead to the lifelong autoimmune disease, diabetes especially in people who have a family history of the disease. If you already are a diabetic, you must monitor the blood sugar levels along with your diet to prevent blood sugar from running up to a dangerously high level or falling extremely low. Here are the top 8 ways in which you can naturally balance your blood sugar levels.
1. Understand Why it is Important to Eat the Right Food in your Diet
Depending on what you eat, you can trigger a gradual rise in your blood sugar levels or make them rise too quickly. It is important to know the ingredients that make up your diet. For instance, if your diet has a lot of complex carbohydrates, your blood sugar levels are likely to rise gradually but if you have refined carbohydrates or sugar, your blood sugar levels will rise drastically.
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2. Pick Healthy Carbohydrates
All the food that you eat is converted into sugar and consumed by the cells of the body to produce energy. You must avoid foods that shoot up the level of sugar too soon such as sugars, starches that are found in cornstarch, white bread and a lot of such foods. Foods that get converted into sugar gradually include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and a small amount of low-dairy products.
3. Eat Lots of Fibre
Fibre cleanses and detoxifies the system and soluble fibre helps the body to control blood sugar levels. Most vegetables are rich in fibre, especially the leafy green ones. Some popular sources of fibre include fruits, legumes, nuts and whole-wheat products. Soluble fibre is amazing for those looking forward to maintaining good health. It is found in foods such as nuts, beans, seeds and oat bran.
4. Eat Fish as often as you can
Fish is a high source of protein that does not affect the blood sugar levels. Fish also have lesser fat content and cholesterol compared with poultry and meat. There are certain varieties of fish that have high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which help to lower fats and promote the overall health of one’s heart. Avoid those fish that have high levels of mercury.
5. Spread your Meals
It is important to spread the meals throughout the day and not gorge on just three full meals per day. The former helps to keep carbohydrate levels consistent throughout the day. Besides, it also prevents one from binging on unhealthy snacks to satiate hunger pangs. Remember not to eat small meals to binge on a heavy dinner at night.
6. Stock on Beans
The American Diabetes Association says that beans get digested slowly, thus triggering only a small rise in the blood sugar levels. Several studies in the past have shown that having 1-2 cups of beans every day helps to bring blood sugar levels under control. Beans are an amazing source of folate, which is linked with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases.
7. Get Lots of Sleep
Limited or poor sleep can affect the body in a lot of ways. In fact, they can have adverse effects on the blood sugar levels. Those who get fewer than 6 hours of sleep at night are at least 4-5 times more likely to have abnormal blood sugar readings than those who sleep longer. Lack of sleep has also been linked to several health conditions such as stroke, heart diseases and even cancer.
8. Keep your Weight Balanced
If you are on the heavy side, you must try to do something to lose some weight. In diabetics, extra weight leads to insulin resistance, which prevents the blood sugar lowering hormone from working effectively. Also, you do not have to have enormous weight loss goals that are almost impossible to achieve.
Apart from following these steps, you must try to learn more about your medical condition so you can work towards controlling your disease better. Awareness makes one a more responsible person and diabetes is one of those diseases that need critical attention.
Read more articles on Diabetes Treatment.