5 Smart Tips for Keeping Your Blood Sugar Levels Balanced
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Stacy Rose
Whether you're diabetic, trying to lose weight, or simply trying to keep your blood glucose levels low, eating low carb can have many benefits. With the abundance of low carb and ketogenic foods available on the market, it's relatively easy to stick to a low carb diet. However, regardless of the reason that you might be keeping an eye on your blood glucose levels, avoiding carbohydrates 100% of the time can be next to impossible. For the times when you do indulge and consume a few carbs, there are ways to minimize your chances of experiencing a blood sugar spike. Here are 5 smart tips that can increase your chances of keeping your blood glucose levels in optimal range at all times:
*Add cinnamon to your diet * _– _
Consuming the tasty spice cinnamon has been identified as an effective way to keep blood glucose levels within normal range. Numerous studies have been conducted and nearly all of them have concluded that cinnamon does, in fact, effectively lower blood sugar. While taking cinnamon in supplement form is certainly an acceptable and effective way to derive benefit from this supplement, specialists at the Cleveland Clinic recommend sprinkling ½ to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon directly onto food. It can be sprinkled on oatmeal, yogurt, or any other food that you desire. Although you can consume cinnamon any time of day, it is especially important to sprinkle cinnamon on your food at the same time you eat high carb foods. By eating cinnamon at the same time as high carb foods, you will increase your chances of counteracting the effects of the carbohydrates.
Consume lemons and limes –
The juice of lemons has also been proven to successfully slow down the body's digestion. By slowing digestion, blood glucose spikes can be avoided. They have conducted multiple studies on lemons (and limes) and their effect on blood glucose levels. They have proven that both lemons and limes can lower blood glucose levels because of their high vitamin C content and polyphenols. Polyphenols are micronutrients that naturally occur in plants and are powerful antioxidants. It's easy to incorporate lemons and limes into your diet by adding lemon or lime juice to homemade salad dressings, tea, and more. Drinking water with the juice of lemons or limes is by far the simplest ways to reap the blood glucose lowering benefits of these wonder fruits.
*Vinegar – *
Like lemons and limes, vinegar has been shown to slow the rate in which food leaves the stomach. Again, by delaying digestion, blood glucose spikes are less likely to occur. While drinking vinegar alone is likely not desirable for the average person, it's quick and easy to whip up a healthy salad dressing with vinegar and maybe a bit of oil as a base. You can also pour vinegar over meat, vegetables, and even starchy foods. Some people even drink vinegar in water. Regardless of how you decide to incorporate vinegar into your diet, it can certainly help to keep your blood glucose levels within a healthy range.
The power of exercise -
Exercise is an excellent way to prevent blood glucose spikes. When you exercise, your body uses sugar that is stored in your muscles and liver for quick energy. This lowers the sugar in your blood, therefore decreasing your blood glucose levels. The more vigorously you exercise, the longer your blood glucose levels remain lowered. Depending on how long and how strenuously you exercise, your blood sugar levels could remain low for up to eight hours afterwards.
Carb blockers –
Another great way to keep your blood glucose levels within normal range whenever you decide to indulge in high carb food is to add a carb blocker to your diet. Carb blockers are sold over the counter in the supplement aisle of most pharmacies and must be taken either 15 minutes prior to eating, or with the first bite of high carb food, depending on the brand. The active ingredient in many carb blockers is white kidney bean extract. This extract can absorb complex carbs and prevent them from being digested, so they therefore don't increase blood glucose levels. Complex carbs include foods like bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta. However, simple carbs like those in sweets are already in their simplest forms, so carb blockers aren't effective if you consume desserts. Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to carb blockers is that they aren't magic. Sure, carb blockers are effective, but you aren't going to notice a difference if you overindulge on carbohydrates. However, if instead of eating merely broccoli and chicken you add a serving of rice, carb blockers will work perfectly.
Maintaining stable blood sugar levels can seem like a constant battle at times, but it doesn't have to be. As long as you remain vigilant and you're open to new possibilities, you can effectively manage your blood glucose levels and keep your weight, diabetes or insulin resistance carefully controlled.
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