What to Eat and Avoid for High Blood Sugar: Expert Tips and Tricks

 Hyperglycemia is a pathological condition that afflicts many people, but it can be controlled and often even treated at the table. Let's see the foods to avoid and those to prefer in case of high blood sugar.

👉What to avoid with high blood sugar

👉What to eat if you have high blood sugar

👉High blood sugar in the morning: tips for breakfast

👉5 foods that lower blood sugar

 The term " glycemia " refers to the concentration of glucose in the blood. Glucose plays a fundamental role since it is an indispensable nutrient for cells since it intervenes in all their functions.

Glucose is taken in through food but can also be synthesized by the body and its levels are regulated by specific mechanisms. In healthy subjects, glycemia during the day assumes values ​​between 60 and 130 mg/dl, while in fasting conditions it varies between 70 and 110 mg/dl. Between 110 and 125 mg/dl fasting is referred to as hyperglycemia.

A hyperglycemia situation must be kept under control since it can develop into diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance. So, it is a problem that shouldn't be dismissed and in which diet is crucial. High blood sugar has numerous causes. It seems that environmental and heredity-related factors are the main culprits. We refer to unhealthy eating habits, inactivity, stress, and an unbalanced lifestyle as environmental variables. 

Weight loss through a low-calorie diet and moderate physical activity is highly advised in these situations because obesity is a key component that predisposes to hyperglycemia and diabetes. A proper diet and a healthy lifestyle are beneficial for all individuals with hyperglycemia, including those who are normal weight or underweight.

👉High blood sugar: what to eat and what to avoid

 If you have high blood sugar it is important to know what to eat and what to avoid. In particular, with hyperglycemia, it is necessary to avoid eating certain foods and prefer others which, on the contrary, are useful in regulating blood sugar levels. Let's see it in detail.

👉What to avoid

 Among the foods to avoid in case of high blood sugar, there are obviously sugar, sweets, sugary drinks, and baked goods prepared with refined flour. The latter, being foods with a high glycemic index, rapidly increase blood glucose levels, thus promoting hyperglycemia. 

 Prolonged cooking should be avoided, therefore the cooking of pasta (which should be chosen wholemeal) or vegetables should be brief, so as not to raise the glycemic index of the food too much. In fact, cooking food increases the glycemic index as it favors the gelatinization of starch, which will be more easily converted into glucose. 

In case of high blood sugar, it is also necessary to avoid fatty meats which, although they do not have a high glucose content, are rich in fats that favor overweight and the onset of cardiovascular pathologies usually associated with hyperglycemia. Also to be limited are non-whole grains, potatoes, and sugary fruit (such as grapes, figs, dates, ripe bananas, or chestnuts).

👉What to eat

 In the case of high blood sugar, the foods to be preferred are low glycemic index foods containing a high percentage of fiber such as vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, and lean meats. Even oilseeds and dried fruit are excellent allies due to the content of good fats, which are also useful for keeping the glycemic index of the meal low.

 Particular attention should also be paid to fruit, trying to prefer those with higher fiber content and lower sugar content. Citrus fruits, due to their fiber content, organic acids, and antioxidants, are the fruits to be preferred, together with strawberries, apples, or berries. In general, then, it is good to choose fruit that is not too ripe, due to the lower sugar content. 

 Furthermore, in the event of hyperglycemia, the diet must also include the consumption of snacks and snacks, in order to avoid excessive glycemic peaks and binge eating at main meals. As a snack or snack, fruits with a low glycemic index, such as berries, strawberries or citrus fruits, sugar-free yogurt, or dried fruit, will be preferred. 

👉High blood sugar in the morning: what to eat for breakfast?

 Choosing which foods to eat for breakfast can often be difficult when you have problems with hyperglycemia. Also in this case it will be necessary to move towards foods with a low glycemic index, which does not cause blood sugar to rise suddenly but cause a gradual increase in blood sugar, a condition that can be managed better by the body. Now let's see some practical ideas for a sweet or savory breakfast that is compatible with high blood sugar.

👉Ideas for a sweet breakfast

 If we prefer to wake up with a sweet breakfast that pampers us in the morning, we can choose various foods to combine in different ways. Here are some examples of nutritionally balanced pairings.

• 1) A low-fat white Greek yogurt with cinnamon and wholemeal oatmeal and a green apple;

• 2) A cappuccino with skimmed milk and a pancake prepared with wholemeal flour with the addition of blueberries;

• 3) A cup of unsweetened barley or coffee and a slice of rye bread with cottage cheese and berries.

 👉Ideas for a savory breakfast

If, on the contrary, we prefer a savory breakfast that gives us the right sprint to start the day, we can choose from other valid alternatives.

• 1) A tea with lemon and a slice of toasted wholemeal bread with bresaola and some almonds;

• 2) An herbal tea (which can also be enjoyed cold in the summer) and an egg white omelet with a slice of wholemeal multigrain bread;

• 3) freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juice and Norwegian crackers with cottage cheese and flaxseed. 

 

👉5 useful foods against high blood sugar

There are some foods that have been shown to help fight high blood sugar. Below we list 5 of them in common use.

1 Asparagus

 Asparagus is a spring vegetable rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber. In a 2012 study carried out on guinea pigs suffering from diabetes, asparagus extract proved to be useful in reducing blood glucose levels and this effect seems to be due to the presence of precious antioxidant agents in this vegetable.

 2 blueberries

 These precious little blue fruits, as well as being very tasty, are able to lower the post-prandial glycemic response thanks to the anthocyanins they contain, as demonstrated in a very recent work carried out on a group of young adults who introduced a controlled quantity into their diet of blueberries.

3 flax seeds

 Thanks to their antioxidant properties, flax seeds have proved useful in modulating blood sugar but also in improving the lipid profile both in healthy subjects and in diabetic subjects. They are also rich in soluble and insoluble fibers which help regulate glucose absorption.

4 Cinnamon

Various studies have shown that cinnamon helps fight diabetes by improving blood sugar levels thanks to its modulatory effect on insulin secretion. In case of high blood sugar, therefore, a good strategy could be to add this spice in recipes and regularly take a cinnamon-based herbal tea.

5 Broccoli

 In addition to being tasty vegetables and very useful in controlling overweight thanks to the presence of fibers, broccoli exerts a hypoglycaemic action due to their sulforaphane content, a compound that has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.