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How Does Your Body Naturally Regulate Blood Glucose & Sugar: Foods That Help to Reduce the Level
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Eating food is how you provide fuel to your body to stay alive. Food is digested by a complex system of organs, hormones and enzymes and eventually becomes the usable energy for your cells called glucose. Your brain and muscles must have a supply of glucose to function.

The body maintains a minimal level of glucose in the blood, about 70 mg/dl, and also regulates surges of glucose, when you eat a meal, to not exceed 140 mg/dl. When you are not eating, your liver has stored glucose, called liver glycogen, readily available to keep your blood levels at a minimum functioning level. Insulin is minimally at work when there is no food, but another hormone called glucagon is responsible for breaking down the glycogen stores. Your muscles also have stored glucose, muscle glycogen that is constantly being burned for energy -  more so when you move. This is the “baseline of fuel” that must be maintained to keep alive.

When you eat a meal, and the food is digested, your blood glucose rises. Typically, two hours after a meal is the highest concentration of glucose in the blood. This rise in blood glucose signals the pancreas to release insulin from the beta cells. Insulin makes the glucose available to the cells of the body. From the first bite of food, there is a burst of insulin secreted to control blood sugar rise. Then a steady stream of insulin is released to handle the continued digestion of the meal. Around the clock, a small amount of insulin keeps control over blood glucose. Insulin’s effect is to lower your blood glucose by transporting the glucose into the cells of the body to be burned for energy or stored as fat. Another hormone, called amylin, is released with the insulin and works in the intestinal tract to regulate glucose absorption.

When this complex system of fueling your body malfunctions, you develop diabetes. Managing diabetes is like a balancing act, and the more you understand what you can do, the better control you will have. You now need to take an active role in keeping your blood glucose as close to normal as possible.

 

Foods That Help to Reduce the Sugar Level

There are a few common foods that help to lower blood sugar level if anyone is suffering from diabetes. Since controlling this level is one of the most important things one can do to remain healthy and live a long life, people need to learn what kind of foods and diet can help to do that. Foods that help to reduce blood sugar is as follows:

Non-starchy and green Vegetables                                 

The vegetables that are best for lowering blood sugar are cauliflower, green beans, broccoli, and cabbages as they are low in carbohydrates and have cleansing effect. Lentils, legumes and oats are starchy, but their fiber neutralizes the effects of the starch.

Artichoke and Celery are also good food for lowering blood sugar quickly and naturally. Spinach, Kale, and Collard Greens are green leafy vegetables and good sources of lutein, a carotenoid which is good for the eyes. These foods also provide fiber, B vitamins, iron, calcium, and vitamin C.

Spices and herbs

Cinnamon, people who have diabetes, is commonly used to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol level in blood. Onions contain falconoid and high sulfur which if consumed two ounces daily by diabetics reduces blood sugar significantly. Garlic is a beneficial herb is another of the foods that lower blood sugar. Garlic helps to elevate production of insulin and its sensitivity.

Nuts

Nuts are high in good kind of fat which helps the body cells to be more sensitive to the production of insulin and this effectively lower the blood sugar of the people with diabetes. People who have diabetes also have high risk of heart disease and nuts help to lower the risk.

Fruits

Apples: The finding of a Finnish study is men who ate the most apples and other foods high in quercetin had 20 percent less heart disease deaths and diabetes. Quercetin is also found in berries, tomatoes, leafy green vegetables and onions.

Citrus Fruit: Diabetic people have low vitamin C in their bodies. Though pills are faster means to get vitamin C, but as fruit contains low-fat and high fiber, and provides a lot of other nutrients, it is better than pill. Lemons are the best example of these types of fruits. Lemons are best for controlling blood sugar with their acidity which can lower the glycemic index of a meal. They have the power of controlling cholesterol and have anti cancer properties too.

 

Avocado:  This fruit contains the healthy fats which raise insulin sensitivity and is thus lower blood sugar. Avocados have fiber to help slow down blood sugar increases when taken with a meal.

Cherries: Cherries contain red pigmented antioxidants and thus help to lower blood sugar and raise body’s insulin production. Cherries have high fiber and low calories, and their antioxidant which protect the body against cancer and heart disease and moreover control diabetes.

Foods with high fiber

High fiber foods also help to reduce blood sugar. All sorts of legumes i.e. cannelloni beans, lentils , chickpeas,  and kidney beans—are  great when added to soups, salad and other dishes. And this helps to reduce risk of diabetes and heart disease as they are low-calorie, high-fiber, and low-fat and high-protein food. The fiber releases the glucose into bloodstream slowly, and thus helps to prevent the blood sugar. Barley and oats have the same cholesterol lowering fiber which helps to reduce blood sugar.

Foods with omega-3 fatty acid

Ground flaxseeds have high lignans and magnesium and thus help to lower blood sugar. It is also a great source of omega-three fatty acids, which also help in controlling blood sugar. Additional quality of flaxseed is that flaxseed can also resist some of the negative effects of natural estrogen and thus helps to prevent estrogen related cancers. Cold-Water Fish like wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, and Atlantic mackerel also contains high omega-3 fatty acids. Foods that help to reduce blood sugar or in other words high insulin level also provide a lot of additional health benefits to protect one’s health from cancer and heart disease. The result of which is a longer and healthier life.