How to Lower Blood Sugar

Must Try

Maria Lorenz
Maria Lorenzhttps://ifitandhealthy.com
Join me on my "I Fit and Healthy" journey! Maria is an Upstate New Yorker interested in all things healthy-living related! She started the "I Fit and Healthy" Blog to document life and her pursuit of healthy living. By day she work in digital media and advertising. By night she’s a first-rate wife and mom of two crazy little girls! She is self-proclaimed addicted to her iPhone/iPad and always on the hunt for the latest health tools and fitness gadgets.

People around the world love sugar, a simple carbohydrate.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, sweeteners added to foods make up a troubling 16 percent of the calories we consume – way above the recommended limit of 6 to 10 percent.

Is sugar bad for you? While there’s nothing toxic about it, it adds calories without vitamins or minerals. Sugary foods also may elevate triglyceride levels, blood fats that increase the risk of heart disease.

While sugar itself doesn’t cause diabetes, a diet high in sugar and refined grains and low in fiber-rich whole grains may increase your risk of adult-onset diabetes. And of course, sugar, especially the sugar in sticky foods, promotes cavities.

Worst of all, sugary foods add extra calories, making weight control much harder. They also crowd out more nutritious foods from your diet.

Sugar is everywhere. It’s in many processed foods – even in ketchup, soups, and salad dressings. So moderating your intake requires a conscious effort.

How to Lower Blood Sugar Limit non-diet soft drinks (they account for one-third of the added sugar in our diets), sweetened fruit punch and iced tea, and lemonade.

Look for hidden sugars on packaged food labels: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose (dextrose), high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, lactose, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, table sugar (sucrose), and syrup.

If one is listed as the first or second ingredient, or if several are listed, that food is high in added sugar.

Cut sugary fruit juices with water or seltzer. Unlike fruit juice, whole fruit has fiber in addition to natural sugars, so it doesn’t raise your blood sugar as much.

Watch out for “low-fat” foods that are high in sugar and calories. Use less sugar in coffee or tea, or eliminate it completely. [source: RD Special]

Latest Posts

More Recipes Like This