Foods That Help Reduce Blood Sugar Levels

Too much blood sugar can cause a person to feel irritable, excessively hungry, thirsty or exhausted, and it can also cause unusual weight loss. Whether you are hyperglycemic or diabetic, excessive blood sugar can be a serious condition if left untreated. In addition to physician-prescribed medication, paying close attention to your nutrition and choosing the right foods can help lower blood sugar levels.

Facts

There are two main reasons that blood sugar levels can be too high. One cause is that the pancreas does not secrete enough insulin, the hormone that allows the body to use energy. A second cause is insulin-resistance, a condition that occurs when the body is resistant to insulin's effects.

Carbohydrates

Understanding carbohydrates in food is an important step to controlling diabetes. Starches, sugars and dietary fibers are all carbohydrates, and starches and sugars especially can cause an increase in blood sugar. To manage blood sugar, balance your carbohydrate intake with good fats and fiber. For example, add peanut butter, a source of good fats, to the fruit of your choice. In addition, you can simply add vegetables to your plate. If you have more vegetables in your meal, you have less room for carbohydrate-rich foods.

Zinc and Cinnamon

According to Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona of the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine, one of the key minerals in lowering your body's blood sugar is zinc, so eating foods that contain zinc may help you naturally regulate your sugar. Foods high in zinc include protein-rich foods like lamb, chicken, and oysters, and nuts such as pecans and almonds. In addition, cinnamon may also help reduce blood sugar. You can either add cinnamon to the foods you eat, or take a supplement to increase your intake of the spice.

Recipes

If you want to lower the sugar in your recipes, thus lowering the food's effect on blood sugar, there are many artificial sweeteners available to accomplish that. The makers of Splenda claim the body does not recognize the product as sugar even though it is made from sugar. This is an option for those trying to avoid sugar completely, and Splenda can be measured cup for cup with sugar, requiring no measurement conversions. Saccharin can also be used as a sugar substitute, but recipes must be adapted to the sweetener because it is about 100 times sweeter than sugar.

Warning

Always consult your doctor before beginning any nutrition plan to manage your blood sugar. Diabetes patients, especially, must allow their physicians to help them make choices that balance medications, activity levels and nutrition. It can be dangerous to bypass the doctor's office in favor of nutritional alternatives.