Foods That Lower Blood Sugar That You Can Start Immediately
Healthful Vitality | 08/20/2021 | By NP Team | Foods That Lower Blood Sugar That You Can Start Immediately
Two leading factors that cause diabetes are a sedentary lifestyle and wrong food choices. It means that food can also be your medicine. It is no secret that most health supplements contain edible extract. So, there are foods that not only provide nutrition and can lower blood sugar, too.
How could foods possibly lower blood sugar
All food items have calories; thus, it is logical to ask how foods can lower blood sugar. Blood sugar elevates due to the digestion of carbs. Carbs, when consumed, are ultimately broken down into small molecules, and glucose is one of them. Therefore, glucose is the primary source of energy in the body.
In diabetes, the focus is not on eliminating glucose. Instead, just keeping its levels in a normal range.
Some foods are naturally very low in carbs, though high in other nutrients like proteins and fats. Another way in which foods help is that some of them contain compounds known to lower blood sugar.
Here are some foods that lower blood sugar:
1. Foods rich in soluble dietary fiber
Most cereals are moderately high in glycemic index. However, many of them are high in dietary fiber. Studies show that unprocessed grains, coarse grains (grain except for wheat and rice) are pretty good at lowering postprandial glucose. In addition, foods rich in gum, psyllium, alginate, guar, beta-glucan may help lower blood sugar.[1]
There could be numerous ways of including soluble dietary fiber in the diet. One of the ways could be just adding it to food items or consuming supplements. Another way is choosing cereals naturally rich in them. For example, oats are moderately high in glycemic index, and yet they do not cause spikes in sugar levels due to beta-glucan. Similarly, various mushrooms are also high in dietary fiber and may help lower blood glucose.
2. Foods naturally low in carbs
Some foods are excellent at lowering blood sugar levels as they are naturally low in carbs. Good examples could be poultry products, lean meats, fish, leafy vegetables, berries, nuts, and seeds. All of them not only assist in lowering blood sugar levels, but they might also contain beneficial compounds.
For example, Berries are rich in antioxidants, flavonoids. Some varieties of fish could be an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. For vegans, nuts and seeds could be a good source of proteins, omega-3s, and antioxidants.
3. Certain vegetables
Vegetables are suitable for those living with diabetes. However, some vegetables may even lower blood sugar levels. Two good examples of such vegetables could be okra and bitter gourd. In addition, vegetables like cabbage, broccoli are also suitable for people living with diabetes.
4. Herbs and spices
Last but not least, some commonly used spices are potent foods that lower blood sugar. There is extensive research to support the regular use of these spices and herbs in those diagnosed with diabetes. In fact, some of them may be quite an effective remedy in mild diabetes.
Following herbs and spices are good for lowering blood sugar: aniseed, basil, bay leaves, fenugreek, black pepper, caraway, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, cumin, fennel, ginger, licorice, nutmeg, rosemary, and turmeric.
To conclude, not just choose foods low in carbs or glycemic index, but pay particular attention to foods that lower blood sugar.
Reference
- Effect of soluble dietary fibre on postprandial blood glucose response and its potential as a functional food ingredient. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464618302378