6 Natural Ways to Balance Your Blood Sugar
CYNDI O'MEARA
Do you have blood sugar issues you would like to correct naturally? Fortunately, not all blood sugar imbalances require medication so follow our top 6 steps for balanced blood sugars throughout the day and to greatly improve the way you feel.
1. Avoid Processed And Refined Foods
If you are having problems managing your blood sugar levels we recommend avoiding packaged and processed foods full of refined sugar, salt, oil, preservatives and other dubious ingredients. When we consume these types of foods it causes blood sugar spikes and crashes resulting in moodiness, irritability and severe cravings which make you want to eat more of these foods and therein begins the vicious cycle.
2. Always Eat Breakfast For Balanced Blood Sugars
When we skip breakfast, the body increases its production of stress hormones and begins breaking down muscle (not fat) to use for energy. We recommend consuming breakfast within 30-40 minutes upon waking and include generous and quality amounts of protein and fat. For example; eggs fried in coconut oil or butter with sautéed greens, tomato and avocado on the side or a chia seed pudding made with coconut milk and berries. This brings us to our next point.
3. Balance Your Meals To Balance Your Blood Sugars
Fat, protein and carbohydrates are three macronutrients that work together nicely. Fat slows down the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream and prevents sugar highs and crashes, protein helps to pull sugar into the cells so the body can use it for energy, and lastly, we recommend complex carbohydrates such as root vegetables instead of grains. We can run into problems when a meal is not balanced. For example; when a person consumes too much protein and not enough fat, their fat soluble vitamins will become depleted. Eat protein and fat how they come in nature for example; eat the whole egg, meat with fat intact, milk without being skimmed and so on.
4. Quality Sleep Is Essential To Balance Blood Sugars
Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on the body and on our blood sugar levels. By improving your sleeping habits, it will go a long way in supporting healthy blood sugar levels.
5. Favour Fruits And Root Vegetables Over Grains
Instead of eating lots of grains, switch to seasonal fresh fruits and root vegetables like sweet potato, beetroot, carrots, parsnip and pumpkin which will help to balance out your energy levels, leave you feeling satisfied for longer and will not cause inflammation.
6. Use A Glucose Meter To Balance Blood Sugar Levels
Using a glucose meter is an easy and affordable option. When you begin to monitor your blood sugar with a glucose meter you begin to learn what works best for your own body. Some days you may have to make mealtime compensations to balance your blood sugar levels. For example; if your blood sugar has dropped between meals, consider increasing carbohydrates from fruit or root vegetables. If you blood sugar has increased between meals, consider increasing the healthy fats in your meal.
What Do You Do To Naturally Balance Your Blood Sugar?
If you haven’t already, join our free global challenge at www.GetOffTheGluten.com to receive daily recipes & health tips, access to our private group for support and inspiration, plus before and after testing to track your progress in key areas of your life such as weight, sleep, bloating, skin-conditions, mental health and more!
Cyndi O'Meara is a nutritionist, best-selling author, international speaker and founder of 'Changing Habits'. Not your typical nutritionist, Cyndi disagrees with low-fat, low-calorie diets, believes chocolate can be good for you and thinks cheating and eating yummy food is an important part of a well-balanced diet.
Cyndi must be doing something right because she maintains a healthy weight and has never (in her whole life!) taken an antibiotic, pain-killer or any other form of medication.
Cyndi is a passionate, determined and knowledgeable speaker on health issues and uses her education and experience to help others improve their quality of life so they too can enjoy greater health and longer lives. Her unique, surprisingly simple and down-to-earth approach challenges …