Our blood sugar levels are something we need to monitor closely, so here are my tips to understand them and to optimise them with food and lifestyle.
Full disclaimer, I am not a doctor. If you have blood sugar levels issues, you should always consult with a medical professional.
What are your Blood Sugar Levels?
Did you know that among the healthiest and oldest people who live, they have ONE thing in common?
It’s low blood sugar levels. How is that the single common factor between these people?
Well if you know what high blood sugar levels can cause, then you understand easily why it’s better to keep them on the downside.
So what happens when you have too much sugar in your blood stream? The insulin, produced by the pancreas, is like the sugar traffic warden. It lets the sugar go into the cells for energy and (fat) storage.
Your body has been designed to keep the glucose / sugar levels constant. When you eat, your levels go up. In between meals, the levels go down.
If you have consistently high glucose levels, your body needs more insulin to deal with it.
However over time, if you keep the levels up, you can become resistant to insulin who then can’t do its job properly. That is what people with type 2 diabetes go through.
This situation can lead to obesity, Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart attacks, kidney disease, eye disease, etc. Nothing to look forward to, really.
But now I understand why people who live longer and healthier have low blood sugar levels, that’s probably how they avoided all these diseases.
So how do you keep your blood sugar levels down?
Blood Sugar Level-Friendly Foods
There are some foods that raise the sugar released in your blood, and some others that don’t. If you are trying to manage your levels or seek to lose a bit of weight, this is a good place to start.
To talk about the amount of sugar that is released into the bloodstream, we talk about the glycemic index, or GI. The lower the GI, the less sugar is released; the higher the GI, the more it can spike you blood sugars.
As a rule of thumb, green vegetables, lean meats and dairy have a very low glycemic index. Fruits can have a higher GI because they’re sweet so have a higher sugar content.
For your information, below is a table for your information of fruit and vegetables, and pulses as well as the common foods you might eat.
I am not saying you should ban some foods for ever, but you should always stay from highly processed foods and sodas. Fried foods, white rice, pasta, even bananas (sorry) are not your friends either, or only in small quantities.
Fiber helps you stabilise your blood sugar levels like whole-grains, vegetables, legumes, and fruits low in sugar (berries).
Eat protein for breakfast, it will help release energy all throughout your day avoid the mid-afternoon crash or late-night eating.
And don’t eat too late in the evening, with an emphasis on healthy foods. At the end of the day your blood sugar levels are not managed as well as before.
Blood Sugar Level-Friendly Lifestyle
Food is not the only thing that keeps your glucose levels up or down.
When you are really angry, or stressed, you’re more likely to have a spike in your sugar levels. What’s more, the body will store it as fat. Find a calming practice that will help you manage your stress levels like yoga, meditation, tai-chi.
Too little sleep also causes your sugar levels to rise. Your body was not able to repair after a short night of sleep, so it’s going crazy looking for some fuel – usually sugary snacks and coffee. It has been scientifically demonstrated how sleep affects your long-term health. So try and get on the sleep train as early as you can, and stick to a schedule.
Not exercising enough – or too much ! – can increase your glucose levels. Practice slow forms of exercises like walking or doing gentle housework to lower your blood sugars.
Some medications can cause your levels to go up, so check with your doctor if what you’re ingesting on potentially a daily basis is good in that respect.
And finally, smoking keeps your levels high. One more reason to quit.
One last word
If you know you need to keep your blood sugar levels low, try to adopt one item from the above list of tips and practices. See how you react to them, track the feelings and experiences in your body. Right them down and observe what you see.
There are food and non-food related ways to tackle the issue we all face with our extra busy lifestyles, find the right one for you. And ask your doctor for advice 😉
Let me know in the comments if you have tried any of these techniques, what works and doesn’t work for you.
Table from Pr Don Mac Laren in Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load: relevance for athletes in training
Also on the blog:
How to Get More Time in Your Day
The Secrets to Build Healthy Habits
7 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight
