Just 5 simple things you can do to REDUCE Blood sugars and control your Diabetes. These take no effort on your part other than making the choice to follow them.
1. Cinnamon - A Spoonful of Cinnamon
That's right! Just a half- teaspoon of cinnamon a day helps the body's insulin sensitivity and lowers blood glucose levels. An additional bonus is it also has a positive effect on lowering triglycerides, or fat in your blood, and the bad cholesterol levels or LDL while raising the HDL or good cholesterol.
Cinnamon has a compound called Methylhydroxy chalone polymer. It helps cells absorb glucose faster and converts it to energy so your blood sugar levels stay down.
Try adding it to a bowl oatmeal in the morning or sprinkle it on some baked apples, a baked sweet potato or just a little in that morning skim latte.
2. Vinegar - 2 Teaspoons a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!
2 teaspoons of vinegar before a meal will dramatically reduce the spike in blood concentrations of insulin and glucose that come after a meal. These spikes can be excessive and can cause complications, including heart disease in people with type 2 diabetes. The acetic acid in vinegar disrupts the enzymes that break down carbs. These small teaspoons can help subdue glucose.
Choose a vinaigrette dressing for you salad at lunch or dinner instead of the creamy based dressings. A red or White Vinegar is best. Just dash a couple of teaspoons on your salad with a little olive or coconut oil.
3. Don't move My Cheese or Nuts! - Grab some Proteins to Slow Blood Sugar Absorption!
There are also good ideas to eat in conjunction with fruits. We still want to have fruits in our diet because they have fiber and are a great source of nutrients but eating the cheese or nuts with them will counteract the sugar in the fruits so the blood sugar absorption slows. Try some apple slices with a couple tablespoons of natural peanut butter. Yep, the kind where the oil rises to the big top. Don't worry, the sweetness of the apple give the peanut butter just the kick you're looking for. Or try adding a little honey to the peanut butter.
4. Time for Bulk up with Fiber - A Diet High in Fiber is Essential for Diabetics.
Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, helps control your blood sugar by slowing the absorption of glucose into the blood stream. It also helps to maintain a healthy weight and lowers the LDL or Bad cholesterol.
Are you getting enough? Most people don't and the older we get the more we need. Especially diabetics. To help keep your diabetes in check you should strive for 50 grams of fiber a day. So where can you get this "wonder drug"? Broccoli, Black Beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, spinach and many more wonderful fruits and vegetables.
Just 5 -6 servings of any of these is all you need in a day and it will go a long way in heping normalize your blood sugars.
5. Fats - Only the Good One? Go For Mono- Unsaturated
Fat slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream so it's important we choose the right fats. Mono- unsaturated fats may help lower your risk blood sugars. The best choices to use are Olive oil, Coconut oil, Nuts, Peanut butter, Flax seed oil, Omega- 3 rich fatty acids ( like those found in must fishes and in walnuts) and Avocados.
We should keep our fat consumption to 25 - 30% of our calorie intake striving for 50 - 60grams per day of you are staying around an 1800 calorie daily diet plan. Make sure you spread it out throughout your meals.
Go fishing fir Omega- 3 fatty acids.Salmon, rainbow trout, mackerel, herring, catfish, shrimp, lobster, and flounder to name a few. Always grill or broil and avoid frying.
BE SURE TO THROW A HANDFUL OF CHOPPED NUTS ON YOUR SALAD LIKE ALMONDS OR WALNUTS.
