NATURAL WAYS TO BALANCE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS

Insulin resistance is a condition by which the body’s response to insulin in the blood is impaired. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas which enables the glucose to enter your cells from the blood. As blood glucose levels drop in healthy individual so does insulin levels but when someone is insulin resistant then the pancreas keep on producing insulin and produces insulin in larger amounts than normal as the body cannot tell how much glucose is present in the blood.

Some ways that you can tell if your blood sugar is a little bit out of whack is if you get that 3pm slump of energy in the arvo, craving sweets, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

When insulin resistance is long term it can develop into type 2 diabetes so getting on top of this issue and improving the sensitivity of your insulin is very important. Below I have some simple ways that you can naturally balance your blood sugar and in turn increase your insulin sensitivity.

Cut the refined sugar

Simple. This is the most important thing to change in order to balance your blood sugar. Without changing your diet not much else will shift. Cutting the refined sugar doesn't mean that life has to be boring, there are so many yummy alternatives for sweeteners which will still add a little flavour to your life.

If you are really struggling with reducing the sugar start by swapping it for these natural sweeteners.

Palm sugar/coconut sugar

Raw honey

Rice malt syrup

Maple syrup

Stevia

Xylitol

Pump up the Protein

Increasing your protein levels will help to stabilise your blood sugar levels by sort of acting as a buffer. For example if you have some dried fruit ( which is natural high in sugar) pair the fruit with some nuts and this will help to reduce the Glyceamic index of the dried fruit. This means that instead of getting a quick hit of energy from the sugar, you will get a slow release of energy.

Magnesium

Numerous studies have demonstrated the link between low magnesium levels and an increased level of insulin resistance. Low magnesium is also associated with sweet ravings, in particular chocolate, so maintaining good magnesium leavels is a great way to reduce the cravings for the sweets, as well as reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a natural blood sugar regulator, so including it in your diet wherever possible will help to gently balance your blood sugar. Even having it in a tea may be an effective way to help regulate your blood sugar. Please keep in mind that when I say cinnamon I mean the proper cinnamon spice, not the sugar cinnamon that you can buy.

Gymnema

Another great herb for balancing your blood sugar. It can also work by ‘numbing’ your sugar taste buds on your tongue to really reduce the cravings for sugar. Pretty cool huh?

Chromium

This lovely mineral is used to increase the bodies insulin sensitivity, making it much more effective in reducing the bodies blood sugar levels. A simple chromium supplement can help to balance your blood sugar naturally and even enhance the effectiveness of anti diabetic medications, so a lower dose may be needed. For this reason if you are on anti diabetic medication, you should only use chromium under the guidance of a healthcare professional.

Karah xx

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24084051