Balancing your blood sugar and keeping your insulin level down be crucial to lose weight and being in overall better health.
Why?
When you eat starchy/sweet foods or alcohol they are broken down in the body into a sugar called glucose. This is carried around in the bloodstream and taken to cells that use it for energy. At any one time, the ideal amount of glucose to have in the blood is about 2 teaspoons.
The level of glucose in the blood is carefully controlled by a hormone called insulin. After we eat, the amount of glucose in the blood rises. Insulin is released to bring blood glucose levels back down to 'normal' levels. However, if blood sugar rises too rapidly, the body can end up releasing too much insulin. This causes the blood sugar to swing too low again, making us feel tired, grumpy, and hungry again. This is sometimes referred to as the blood sugar rollercoaster.
It is the hormone insulin that makes you fat and keeps you fat. The more insulin you produce, the fatter you become. What increases insulin levels? Prolonged intake of high GI foods. These are starchy, sweet foods that release their glucose into the bloodstream quickly, causing excess production of insulin. This excess load triggers bodily systems to convert surplus glucose into fat.
The problem is that if this happens too frequently, the body starts to ignore the insulin message, a condition called insulin resistance. This can lead to permanently high blood sugar levels and more and more insulin being released. This further increase in weight gain can eventually lead to type 2 diabetes and a greater risk of heart disease.
Which are the symptoms of glucose imbalance?
Irritability, Anxiety, Insomnia, Depression, Dizziness, Mood Swings, Poor Concentration, food craving, irritability after six hours without food, excessive thirst, sugar cravings, cold hands, need for excessive sleep or drowsiness during the day, lack of energy, rely on coffee or caffeine, in general, to get going in the morning and many others.
The good news is that it is possible to balance blood sugar naturally.
How?
Here are some ways:
Have a snack in between meals - This will allow staying nice and stable throughout the day. When you eat is as important as what and when you eat. To balance blood sugar levels eat three balanced main meals a day and two snacks, possibly protein-rich snacks.
Eat foods low on the glycaemic index - Carbohydrates with a GI over 70 are usually considered to be High GI and are best avoided. Those with a rating under 50-55 are considered Low GI and should make up about a ¼ of your plate. Those in between can be eaten occasionally in place of low GI foods.
Avoid squashes and fruit drinks - as they contain high levels of sugar.
Eat protein with each meal - Protein slows glucose release from carbohydrates so try to include some at each meal. The best protein choices are lean meat like chicken or turkey, fish, eggs, live low-fat natural yogurt, raw nuts, seeds, quinoa, beans and lentils, tofu & tempeh, goats’ cheese, and cottage cheese. Red meat can be consumed in moderation.
Avoid stimulants - Coffee, tea, energy drinks, and alcohol disrupt blood sugar levels and are best avoided or at least reduced.
Do not skip breakfast - Make sure it includes protein and healthy fat. These satiating macronutrients are sure to keep your blood sugars stable.
Manage your stress level – when you are stressed, cortisol (the stress hormone) is released to dump sugar into the blood for your fight and fly response, which causes insulin response and another blood sugar dip a few hours later. Make sure you add any relaxing time to your schedule daily.
Exercise – Exercise increases your cells' response to insulin getting into them and drop off their glucose to make more energy.
And many other ways….
In conclusion, for weight loss and better health to follow, we need to have our blood sugar balanced, above are listed some natural ways to have it done.
That’s all for now.
Chiara x
PS. If you suspect you have a sugar blood imbalance and/or hormonal imbalance be in touch with me to see how I can help you