To maintain the right blood sugar values, you often need to know how to choose well what to eat.
Our body needs sugar. Unfortunately, even if we too often tend to avoid them, we know that we cannot do without them altogether.
However, reducing them can be a healthy choice and does not involve structural damage, on the contrary it can help to avoid the risk of the onset of some more serious diseases such as diabetes.
For this you need to learn to pay attention to glycemic values which precisely highlight the concentration of glucose in the blood.
But how to monitor blood sugar? The easiest way is to adjust the power supply. So today we want to see with you what blood sugar is, what to eat and what to avoid, adding some practical advice to face the issue without fear.
What does high blood sugar mean?
We immediately begin to understand why sugar it is so important for our organism.
We can say that it represents an essential nutrient because it gives energy that directly recharges the brain. Therefore, a huge drop can destabilize and too high values can cause serious complications and pathologies.
What happens in the second case? The medical term is hyperglycemia, which is nothing but high blood sugar. It occurs when, through the analyses, excessive blood glucose values are highlighted and it is necessary to intervene to lower them, otherwise the worst risk is to incur diabetes.
Average values are between 70 and 100 mg/dl on an empty stomach, while during the day they are around 60 and 130 mg/dl.
On the other hand, when on an empty stomach you find values between 100 and 125 mg/dl, an alarm bell should immediately go off because it means that something is wrong and you need to immediately seek medical advice.
Finally, a value that exceeds 126 mg/dl is already in the final stage and almost certainly indicates ongoing diabetes.
But self-control can help not get to this point and intervene promptly to solve the problem in the bud. And in this phase, nutrition plays a leading role.
How nutrition can make a difference
Even if the very first phase can be asymptomatic, if the values slowly get higher and higher, it can be guessed from some signs:
- the mouth tends to be drier
- you are very thirsty
- there is a feeling of constant tiredness
- you suffer from frequent headaches
- vision can become blurred
- urinary infections may occur.
At that point, more precautions are necessary, especially at the table, which can help you bring down the glycemic values and bring them back to normal.
Because often the body needs a helping hand. In fact, under normal conditions it self-regulates blood sugar concentration through hormones.
In conditions of high blood sugar, however, the values are altered and it is possible to intervene by regulating one's diet, which represents the most important source of sugars, essential for the proper functioning of brain activities.
So what to eat to counteract blood sugar?
Blood sugar: what to eat to keep the values from rising
The hormones that work to keep blood sugar under control are insulin, which takes care of the metabolism of sugars and therefore lowers the values after meals, and glucagon which instead works when we are fasting.
It is a well-balanced process which, if altered, can lead to the complications mentioned above. And it is here that we must intervene with a careful selection of foods that we must eliminate from our diet because they have a high glycemic content.
So let's see together in cases of blood sugar what to eat:
- fresh fruit, preferably in season. It means choosing apples, pears, oranges, apricots, peaches, medlars.
- Green leafy vegetables: broccoli, asparagus, arugula, spinach and lettuce.
- Whole grains. From pasta to rice, from bread to oats, from quinoa to millet, for a necessary fiber intake.
- Legumes, which facilitate a natural reabsorption of sugars. Choose beans, lentils, chickpeas and broad beans.
- Flaxseed, pumpkin, sesame and chia seeds.
So having high blood sugar doesn't mean eliminating some nutrients but inserting them all, paying attention to temporarily reducing or suspending some specific foods, such as refined products.
Proteins, fibres, carbohydrates and mineral salts remain important for the daily requirement.
Blood sugar: Foods not to eat
Obviously there are foods that have a strong effect on glycemic values and therefore become your enemies. Knowing them becomes the first step to self-regulate.
We have seen what to eat in case of blood sugar, but now let's find out what to avoid in the most absolute way:
- foods with a lot of fat, including frankfurters, sausages or cream and fatty cheeses.
- sweets and snacks. Snacks and pastries are a luxury that you cannot afford at this stage, so avoid keeping them in the pantry so as not to fall into temptation.
- refined products. Whether it's bread, pizza or pasta, it is preferable to leave them alone if they are not wholemeal.
- particularly fatty meats. Therefore prefer leaner cuts.
- sugary drinks, alcohol and fruit juices. The high concentrations of sugars among the ingredients make it one of the more subtle enemies. Always pay attention to labels!
- more sugary fruit such as bananas and grapes, which for the same reason are also often banned in low-calorie diets.
- dried fruit.
Exceptions are to be avoided. Here we are talking about health and not just well-being perhaps linked to physical fitness. So if a diet is allowed to make a mistake from time to time, in the case of high blood sugar it is advisable to pay more attention and be stricter with yourself, to avoid having to face more serious problems in the future.
Our tips for monitoring blood sugar
In addition to nutrition, there are other measures that can help prevent or combat high blood sugar.
The question always focuses on lifestyle: the healthier it is, the more our body works better and we are healthier. We therefore want to conclude with some valuable advice for a better life.
First, drink a lot. Those who are on a diet already know the benefits of drinking plenty of water throughout the day. But also to counteract glycemia it is an excellent strategy to drink at least 1.5 liters a day.
Then you have to say goodbye to a sedentary lifestyle. Moving, walking or running: it doesn't matter which way, but you need to do physical activity.
Sleeping well is essential for psycho-physical well-being. Did you know that sleep affects blood sugar levels? So you have to learn to allow yourself a few more hours to rest well. This also helps manage stress, which causes imbalances throughout the body.
Finally, an herbal tea at the end of the day is what you need to relax and promote the release of insulin. Therefore choose varieties of infusions with hypoglycaemic power, such as ginseng, eucalyptus, myrtle or elderberry.
Sometimes it is enough to take care of your body with simple gestures instead of neglecting yourself and then having to resort to drugs and therapies, as in cases of high blood sugar which leads to serious problems such as the aforementioned diabetes.
