High blood sugar can often be managed with an adequate diet. Let’s see which foods to eat and which ones to avoid. As much loved by our palate as strongly condemned for the line’s well-being, sugars are essential for the body. Contrary to what one might think, the human body (especially the brain) needs sugars to survive and obtain energy, so it is not correct to eliminate them from your diet.
However, this does not mean that quantities can be ignored. On the contrary, it is advisable not to exceed their intake to avoid the development of disorders and pathologies. Excessive blood sugar levels are referred to as high blood sugar or hyperglycemia. This can lead to significant complications, such as diabetes. The bad news is that high blood sugar has no recognizable symptoms early. For this reason, it is essential to constantly monitor the levels, which should be between 70 and 100 milligrams/deciliter on an empty stomach.
Only when the values are too high and for a long time can more frequent symptoms of high blood sugar occur, such as dry mouth (and the need to drink often), tiredness, blurred vision, urinary infections, and headaches. However, the good news is that, in most cases, a correct diet can help lower blood sugar levels before worrying consequences occur. So let’s find out which foods favor reducing blood sugar levels and which ones should be avoided entirely in case of high blood sugar.
Diet For High Blood Sugar: What To Eat
Maintaining constant blood sugar levels is essential for the proper functioning of brain functions. The brain cannot store energy (glucose) like the rest of the body, so it relies on the action of two hormones that regulate blood sugar levels, both during meals and on an empty stomach: insulin. And glucagon.
The former ensures that blood sugar remains low following high-sugar meals, while the latter works to restore correct glucose levels following fasting. To avoid imbalances in this process, following a low glycemic content diet is essential. Therefore, it is advisable to favor whole foods rich in fiber and avoid industrial and refined foods that often contain added sugars.
High Blood Sugar: Recommended Foods
An ideal diet to counter high blood sugar is rich in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens, lettuce, cabbage, rocket, asparagus, and broccoli. We must not forget to take fresh seasonal fruit (which contains natural sugars), favoring apples, pears, oranges and strawberries, medlars, apricots, peaches, and raspberries. Another essential food to keep blood sugar at bay is whole grains, containing fiber.
It is, therefore, necessary to prefer rice, bread, and wholemeal pasta instead of refined products. In addition, variety is always welcome, so including oats, millet, and quinoa in the diet is also recommended. Even the vegetables are allies against high blood sugar, especially beans, chickpeas, beans, and lentils, which help reduce the absorption of sugars. Finally, adding flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, and chia seeds to dishes is a plus that provides excellent sources of protein and mineral salts such as magnesium and iron.
Foods To Avoid With High Blood Sugar
It is not enough to prefer certain foods to counteract high blood sugar, but you also need to know which foods to avoid. First of all, stop to sweets, snacks, and foods rich in fat such as sausages, sausages, cream, fatty cheeses, and various types of junk food. Among carbohydrates, it would be advisable to avoid refined ones such as white bread, pizza, and rice and be careful with potatoes’ quantities. While in the context of proteins, fatty meats should be banned.
It is often underestimated that even drinks can negatively affect the body’s well-being. In this context, it is good to remember that alcohol, fruit juices, and industrial beverages contain a lot of sugars. For this reason, it is advisable to ban them from your diet in case of high blood sugar. Finally, it is also worth paying attention to the types of fruit you choose to eat: bananas, grapes, and dried fruit are, in fact, more loaded with glucose.
Remedies And Measures Against High Blood Sugar
Preferring whole and lean foods to fatty and industrially processed ones is often sufficient to lower blood sugar levels. However, for the sake of health, it would be advisable to resort to this diet not only during periods when blood sugar levels rise. Changing your eating habits in the long term is the best way to live longer and better. In any case, there are some essential precautions, some of which have always been known but often underestimated, on which it is good to pay the proper attention to prevent or combat disorders such as high blood sugar.
Hydration, for example, is essential. We all know how important it is to drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day, but few of us are consistent in this good habit. A sedentary lifestyle is also a bad habit to abandon. An effective remedy against high blood sugar is, in fact, constant physical activity, in which at least three days a week of exercise or walking are provided. Another remedy for high blood sugar levels is using medicinal plants with hypoglycemic properties to make tasty herbal teas.
Eucalyptus and myrtle, elderberry, and Gymnema are among those to be preferred, which perform an excellent insulin-stimulating action. Ginseng also reduces the absorption of carbohydrates and promotes the release of insulin. Finally, scientific studies have shown that stress and sleep quality affect blood sugar levels, particularly cortisol, which is closely linked to glucose and insulin sensitivity. Adopting relaxation techniques to manage stress and improve nighttime sleep is one of the best solutions to ensure the well-being of the whole organism.
Also Read: GOOD FATS: FOODS THAT ARE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH TO EAT DURING THE DAY
