The saying “Let your food be your medicine, your medicine your food” (Hippocrates) is as true to-day as it ever was. Blood glucose balancing meals are not boring. As with hypoglycemia and insulin resistance, foods should be as unrefined as possible, low on the Glycaemic Index of foods, thereby making less demand on insulin.
Make sure you have at least five servings of vegetables per day, plus 2-3 of fresh fruit. Divide your dinner plate into four quarters: two of those should be filled with non-starchy vegetables; one with high quality protein such as fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, beans and other pulses; and the fourth with a carbohydrate such as rice, quinoa, pasta, potato with its skin. Where possible, eat whole grains in the form of wholemeal bread and brown rice.
Have a range of healthy snacks to hand - particularly nuts, seeds, fresh fruit, oat cakes or rice cakes with hummus or peanut butter. Pre-prepared vegetable sticks and a low-fat dip are great.
If you can learn to love the chocolate which contains 70% cocoa solids, researchers have shown that the proanthocyanidins it contains might be beneficial in preventing high blood glucose levels, amongst many other health benefits. I would, however, suspect that moderation is the keyword here! It would also appear from reports that the sweetening agents Stevia and Xylitol may actually help to keep blood glucose levels down, although in the long term it would be preferable to try and reduce your “sweet tooth” by gradually cutting down on sweet flavors.
Cut down on fats too, but not the good, Omega 3 variety obtained from oily fish such as salmon, sardines, pilchards and tuna. If you’re vegetarian, these can be obtained from flax seeds (linseeds) and pumpkin seeds. Olive oil, which is a monounsaturated oil, also helps to protect against diabetes and prediabetes.
Go easy on coffee and alcohol, which push up blood glucose levels. Teas - and particularly green tea - are healthier choices. And of course have plenty of water throughout the day. If you have fruit juice, dilute 50/50 with water and just have one small glass.
So, the answer to combating hypoglycemia and insulin resistance and in balancing blood glucose seems to be to base your diet on foods which demand the least insulin and to take pleasure in your food. Try not to think of its preparation as a chore - more of a health-enhancing activity. Buy the best you can and look for new recipes which are quick and easy to prepare. Find a form of exercise which you can enjoy and look forward to, and take a long, hard look at your stress levels and what you might do to lower them.
To learn more about blood sugar levels, how this can affect you and how you can prevent the negative effects on your life visit Liz’s website which concentrates on hypoglycemia. Liz has also written a book entitled “But I Haven’t Got Time to Cook! Health Eating In A Hurry” http://symptoms-of-hypoglycemia.weebly.com/ Her website http://www.sugarbalance.co.nz deals in various aspects of sugar imbalance.
