Keep blood sugar level balanced It’s one of the most important things you can do for your overall health – not only does it positively affect your energy and mood, it can also help prevent serious chronic illnesses and conditions.
According to Kate Kanner, RDa roller coaster of constants blood sugar spikes And the crashes can make it hard for your body to efficiently move glucose out of the bloodstream and into the cells that need it for energy. This is known as insulin resistance. Over time, if glucose levels in your bloodstream stay high for too long, that can damage your blood vessels, nerves, and even your organs.
“When you don’t maintain your blood sugar levels, you’re at higher risk of type 2 diabeteshormonal imbalances, brain fog, insulin resistance, and energy slumps,” says Elizabeth Arensberg, MS, RD. “Food plays an important role in balanced blood sugar. The best way to prevent crashes is to eat balanced meals: fill half your plate with vegetables and divide the other half equally between protein and starchy vegetables or whole grains with healthy fats.”
If keeping your blood sugar in your target range is a priority for you, here are some eating habits experts say you’ll definitely want to avoid. So for more healthy tips, here are the The Best Breakfast Habits to Lower Blood Sugar.
This probably goes without saying, but eating regularly candyprocessed sugar-laden cereals or other foods that consist essentially of pure sugar with few nutrients are a big no-no, according to dana ellis hunnessenior registered dietitian at UCLA Medical Center and author of Recipe for survival.
For example, it’s so much better to have toast with egg and avocado instead of just jam, or a bowl of oatmeal with banana and peanut butter instead of just a banana. The latter options will raise your blood sugar very quickly, while the former has key macronutrients like fiberprotein and fat, to ensure a slower and more gradual release of glucose.
“When we eat large amounts of carbohydrates or sugars, large amounts of glucose are dumped into the bloodstream,” says Arensberg. “Blood sugar levels skyrocket and are much higher than your body can handle. Then your pancreas has to pump out a lot of insulin to help control the glucose spike. This will cause high blood sugar levels to crash, causing a drop in energy.”
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White bread, tortillas and pasta, as well as pastries or other foods made with white flour, are not ideal for regulating blood sugar, according to David Brendan, DRfounder of start paddling.
“Most refined grains lack protein and fiber,” says Katie Tomaschko, MS, RDN, a contributor to Sporty Smiles. “So eating too many refined grains, especially without anything else, will cause blood sugar spikes and crashes.”
As a general rule of thumb, Tomaschko says it’s best to always opt for whole grains whenever possible, for example, brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice, whole wheat bread instead of white bread, and oatmeal instead of a refined grain breakfast cereal.
“If you go too long without eating a meal or snack, our blood sugar levels will drop too low,” says Kanner. “This is also known as hypoglycemia, and it results in feelings of lethargy and tiredness because your body literally doesn’t have the Energy to perform all its normal functions. Your brain’s preferred energy source is also glucose, so mental cognition can also be affected when blood sugar levels drop.”
This is especially true if you skipping breakfastaccording to Arensberg.
“When you wake up, you need to fuel your body and provide it with the macronutrients it needs to generate energy.” he explains. “If you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to feel dizzy and irritable. Eat a high-protein breakfast and healthy fats within the first hour of waking up is a great way to start the day with steady energy.”
If you know you have a busy day, keep some high-protein and high-fiber snacks on hand, like an apple and some almonds or whole-grain crackers and hummus, to keep your blood sugar from dropping too low as a result of not eating. have already been diagnosed with diabetes, Kanner strongly recommends having a balanced snack at night; otherwise, blood sugar levels can drop too low overnight.
“The body has a mechanism where it can start breaking down stored sugar in the liver when it recognizes it,” she says. “So blood sugar levels may be high in the morning because the body has panicked and gone back to its backup method of getting sugar into the bloodstream. Eating a balanced snack in the evening can help blood sugar levels stay more stable overnight.”
Did you know that dehydration negatively affects blood sugar? According to Tomaschko, your body produces a hormone called vasopressin when it’s not drink enough water. Vasopressin causes the kidneys to retain fluid and prevents the body from getting rid of excess sugar in the urine.
Drinking water consistently throughout the day will help keep your blood sugar level stable. Remember: the ideal intake will depend on your size, diet, level of physical activity, health status and other factors. Having said that, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that men drink 125 ounces (3.7 liters) a day and women drink 91 ounces (2.7 liters) a day.
Dieticians say drink sugary drinks like soda, sports drinks, and some fruit juices, is one of the worst habits you can have when it comes to your blood sugar. Again, this is because these drinks they are essentially “empty calories” that do not provide other nutrients such as fiber, fat, and protein to slow the absorption of sugar.
Even worse-liquids are digested and absorbed much faster than solid foods, so they can spike your blood sugar even faster and more dramatically than a piece of cake or a muffin, which at least has some starch in it. That may explain why a 2018 study in The BMJ found that Sugary drinks pose a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than most other foods that contain fructose.
According to the Harvard School of Public Healththe average can of sugary soda or fruit punch contains 150 calories, almost all of which come from added sugar. And a 2010 study published in Diabetes Care found that participants who drank one to two servings of sweetened beverages per day had a 26 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than one serving per month.
