Diabetes and Weight

How to Maintain Blood Sugar Level

Blood sugar or glucose is the main source of energy that is obtained from the food we eat. Glucose is the main sugar in our body that is carried to all cell through the blood stream. Our body regulates the level of blood sugar.

High Blood Sugar is manifested when you are losing weight, have blurred vision, very thirsty and tired and have frequent urination. When you have high blood sugar level, you may feel sick to your stomach, throw up or feel faint. It also causes you to lose fluid.

Low Blood Sugar is known as hypoglycemia. It is caused by too much insulin, delayed meal, missed meal, too much exercise or too much alcohol. It may also be a side effect from medicines taken for other health problems.

Ways of Maintaining Blood Sugar

Eat a low-processed and anti-inflammatory diet. Balancing carbohydrates and sugar with protein and fats in your diet and getting it from whole and real food is one way of managing and treating and preventing diabetes. Consuming carbs and sugar with protein fiber and healthy fats can slow down the absorption into the bloodstream of sugar, aid in managing your appetite and helps in your digestion and metabolism. Healthy fats include virgin coconut oi, nuts and seeds and avocado. High-fiber foods include veggies, whole pieces of fruits and beans and grains.

Other foods and drinks that also can help stabilize blood sugar are green tea, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, herbal tea, spices and fresh herbs.

Use alternative carbs and sweeteners. To aid in maintaining blood sugar, avoid using refined flour and added sugars like cane sugar, beet sugar or beet juice. Use natural sweeteners like raw honey, dates, pure maple syrup or molasses in small portions daily. Whole grain flours should be used or coconut flour. Drink water, seltzer, herbal tea or black tea and coffee only. And coffee should be taken only up to two cups. Stay away from sweetened alcoholic drinks.

Regular exercise. Exercise can manage blood sugar. It helps lower blood sugar as the cells in your muscles take up more glucose for energy and tissue repair when you do short exercise while helps make cells more susceptible to insulin and helps prevent its resistance when doing long-term exercises. Exercises like cycling, running, swimming and lifting weights increases insulin sensitivity enabling your cells to better take up glucose during and after doing exercises.

Manage stress. Stress raises release of cortisol, the stress hormone, and increases cravings for “comfort foods” and interrupts sleep. These factors cause high blood sugar level. Take time to de stress or try coping up with life struggles by doing the natural stress relievers like exercise, mediation and yoga. Spend more time outdoors, talk with friends and family or joining groups in your community are also helpful for diabetics and insulin resistant persons to manage stress and eventually lower down blood sugar.

Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep can increase stress and appetite. These hormones like cortisol makes you hungry and crave for sugary snacks. Too little sleep, poor quality of sleep and sleeping at the wrong time impair secretion of insulin. In order to balance blood sugar, try to get enough hours of sleep of between seven to nine hours and stick to it.

Be aware of changes in your body. There are common symptoms that cannot be ignored and would indicate that you have fluctuating blood sugar levels and should manage the same. Fatigue, sugar cravings, thirsty all the time, weight loss, mood swings, frequent infections, heavy breathing and trouble exercising are one of these signs that should not be taken for granted. Manage your blood sugar, take in natural supplements that can help. Stabilize the level by taking on a healthy diet regime.

Sugar Detox

Sugar Detox is important. Sugar is a natural ingredient that is found mostly in plants, particularly in sugarcane and sugar beets and fruit and vegetables. It is a carbohydrate from which the body derives energy. The sugar we consume either from processed food or from fruits, are broken down by our body to glucose which is needed for the proper function of our brain, muscles and other major organs. It is an important source of energy that our body need in our daily lives.

However, sugar is known to be the root cause of almost all diseases when taken in too much than what is needed by the body. In whatever form, sugar is the reason for obesity, heart disease, cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes infertility, impotence and acne.

Symptoms Of Withdrawal From Sweeteners Or Refined Sugar

Anxiety
Irritability
Fatigue
Depression
Detachment
Palpitations
Rapid Heart Rate
Poor Sleep

Cutting back on all sources of sugar can aid in staying healthy and reduces the need for medication for diabetes related complications. Although consuming sugar is hard to break, there are lots of nutritious food that replace sugary snacks or treats. Try to clean up or remove sugar or unhealthy sugary food from your cupboards. Stay away from cakes and pastries.

A diet of whole grains, vegetable, other complex carbohydrates, and protein foods can help stabilize blood sugar and lessen sugar cravings.

Nutrients That Can Help Minimize Cravings of Sugar

Vitamins B
Vitamin C
Zinc
Amino Acid
L-glutamine
Trace mineral chromium. Chromium has been shown to actively reduce glucose levels.

Reduce sugar intake to gain overall health. It will boost your energy and help improve your skin and sleep by boosting also the immune system. There are available supplements that will help you kick the habit of consuming sugar out of your system. Not only will it boost your energy but also help you be more aware of your sugar intake and control it.

Eat lots of protein especially for breakfast to balance your blood sugar and insulin and stop your sugar cravings.
Eat a lot of green leafy that are non-starchy like broccoli asparagus, green beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, etc. These are carbohydrates that also make you lose weight.
Eat good fat. It helps you feel full. It is needed for fueling cells and balancing of blood sugar.
Get lots of sleep to fight hunger and cravings for sugar and refined carbs. Less sleep tends to affect your appetite hormones and make you overeat.

To achieve optimum health and to avoid raising our blood sugar levels that would eventually lead to serious diseases, it is best practice self-control and eliminate all unhealthy foods from our diet.

5 Best Valentines Day Gifts For Diabetics

Valentine’s day is a special day that involves going out to dinner and treating yourselves with sweets from cakes to chocolate drinks. When you are a diabetic or your spouse is, how do you celebrate this day without making her or him feel left out? In this day and age it is no longer a problem for diabetics to eat their favorite cake or sweets because there are those that are especially made for them. And there are other healthy ways of celebrating Valentine’s day other than eating your favorite sweet treats.

5 Best Gifts for Diabetics on Valentine’s Day

Treat Your Spouse to Dinner

Take your spouse to a fancy dinner in a place that caters to diabetic preferences. If there is no such place in your town, you may wan to cook for her or him. There are now lots of recipes of cakes and other treats that use substitute ingredients to make it still palatable for diabetics and at the same time won’t let them feel left out on this special night of love.

Go Out For a Movie or Other Outdoor Activities

Make time to treat your diabetic spouse out on a movie night. Or go out for a hike or yoga or any activities that she is fond of but has no time to do herself. You make time and of course bring with you her sugar-free snack.

Give Flowers

Instead of giving chocolates, you can give flowers and sweet notes to your diabetic spouse.

Diabetic Socks

Although unusual, giving diabetic socks is best for your spouse. Restrictions in your feet and calf can limit circulation and eventually makes it had for the body to heal. This is often associated with diabetics. The diabetic socks will reduce pressure in the leg and foot, will prevent friction on the skin surface and will lessen moisture. The diabetic socks will help combat complications of diabetics and aid in preventing amputation in the future of even death brought about by foot injury.

Diabetic Supplements

Giving your diabetic spouse diabetic supplements could be the best gift you can give on Valentine’s day. It shows how much you care for their health. Blood sugar support is a supplement that helps maintain glucose levels stable. This may not be the usual gift, but it would surely have a lasting effect on your spouse than any other gift on valentine’s.