Adhering to a balanced diet is crucial for those with prediabetes, diabetes, and other illnesses that influence blood sugar.
Adhering to a balanced diet is crucial for blood sugar regulation, despite the fact that variables including body weight, exercise, stress, and heredity all play a role.
Some meals, especially those with a lot of added sugar or refined carbohydrates, may cause blood sugar levels to rise and fall, while others, including those low in either of these, can help keep blood sugar levels steady and even improve health.
Best 11 foods diet to help you to regulate your blood sugar level.
- Broccoli and Broccoli sprouts
- Seafood
- Pumpkin and Pumpkin seeds
- Nut butter and Nuts
- Okra
- Flax seeds
- Lentils and Beans
- Chia seeds
- Berries
- Avocado
- Oats and oat bran
How this diet food helps you to regulate your blood sugar level.
- Broccoli and Broccoli sprouts
Broccoli is the best diet for controlling or lowering blood sugar levels, including improved insulin sensitivity and reduced oxidative stress indicators. People with type 2 diabetes who take a powder or extract of broccoli sprouts, which is a high supply of glucosinolates including glucoraphanin, have improved insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels. Eating cruciferous veggies may also reduce your chance of developing type 2 diabetes.Keep in mind that eating broccoli and broccoli sprouts raw or barely steamed, or adding active sources of myrosinase like mustard seed powder to cooked broccoli, is the greatest strategy to increase the availability of sulforaphane.
- Seafood
Protein, good fats, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in seafood like fish and shellfish are the best diet foods that help you lower your blood sugar level.
Without protein, controlling blood sugar levels is impossible. In addition to making you feel fuller for longer, it also reduces the risk of a blood sugar dip after eating. Furthermore, these diets have the potential to reduce binge eating and boost weight loss, both of which are important for maintaining normal blood sugar levels. Increasing one’s consumption of fatty fish like salmon and sardines has been linked to better control of blood sugar levels. One research found that post-meal blood sugar levels were much better in those who ate 26 ounces (750 grammes) of fatty fish weekly compared to people who ate leaner forms of fish.
- Pumpkin and Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin, with its vibrant color and plenty of fiber and antioxidants, is a fantastic diet food for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.. Many nations, including Mexico and Iran, employ pumpkin as a traditional cure for diabetes.
Polysaccharides, a kind of carbohydrate found in pumpkin, have been investigated for their ability to lower blood sugar. Research on both humans and animals has revealed that treatments using pumpkin extracts and powders may considerably reduce blood sugar levels. The high protein and healthy fat content of pumpkin seeds makes them a smart food option for managing blood sugar levels. Researchers in 2018 observed that compared to a control group, those who ate 2 ounces (65 grammes) of pumpkin seeds had 35% lower blood sugar levels after eating.
- Nut butter and Nuts
Consuming nuts may be useful in controlling blood sugar, according to the results of a recent study. Both peanuts and almonds, when consumed throughout the day as part of a low carb diet, were shown to lower fasting and post-meal blood sugar levels in a research involving 25 persons with type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, a review found that people with type 2 diabetes who ate a diet high in tree nuts, with an average daily intake of 2 ounces (56 grammes), had significantly lower fasting blood sugar and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), a marker of long-term blood sugar control, compared to those who ate a control diet.
5. Okra
Okra is technically a fruit, but it’s usually cooked and eaten like a vegetable. Antioxidants such polysaccharides and flavonoids are abundant, which helps keep blood sugar levels stable.
Okra seeds have been used in Turkey for centuries as a diabetic treatment because of their ability to significantly reduce blood sugar levels. Okra’s primary polysaccharide, rhamnogalacturonan, is a potent antidiabetic molecule. In addition, the flavonoids isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside found in okra have been shown to lower blood sugar by reducing the activity of enzymes. However, further study is required to confirm these promising results in humans before okra can be considered a panacea for diabetes.
6. Flax seeds
The fibre and good fats included in flax seeds are what give them their famed health advantages. To be more specific, flax seeds have been shown to lower blood sugar levels. For 8 weeks, 57 patients with type 2 diabetes who ingested 7 ounces (200 grammes) of 2.5% fat yoghurt with 1 ounce (30 grammes) of flax seeds per day had significantly lower levels of the blood sugar indicator haemoglobin A1c than those who received plain yoghurt. Additionally, ingesting whole flax seeds was shown to significantly enhance blood sugar management throughout a meta-analysis of 25 controlled research.
7. Lentils and Beans
The high levels of magnesium, fibre, and protein in beans and lentils have been linked to reduced blood sugar levels. Soluble fibre and resistant starch are especially abundant in these foods, and both contribute to a more gradual digestion and, perhaps, a better post-meal blood sugar response.
Twelve women participated in a research that found that eating black beans or chickpeas with rice substantially lowered their blood sugar levels after eating. Beans and lentils have been demonstrated to help regulate blood sugar and may even provide protection against diabetes in certain studies.
8. Chia seeds
Chia seeds have been linked to improvements in glucose regulation. Consumption of chia seeds has been associated in studies to lower blood sugar and increased insulin sensitivity. Based on the results of 17 separate animal investigations, researchers in 2020 determined that chia seeds have the potential to increase insulin sensitivity and blood sugar management, as well as lower illness risk. Another research conducted on 15 healthy people found that when combined with 2 ounces (50 grammes) of a sugar solution, 1 ounce (25 grammes) of crushed chia seeds reduced blood sugar levels by 39%, as compared to the sugar solution alone.
9. Berries
Intake of berries has been associated to better regulation of blood sugar in a number of studies. Because of their high levels of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, berries are a great food option for diabetics and other individuals who struggle to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Consuming 2 cups (250 grammes) of red raspberries together with a high carb dinner substantially decreased post-meal insulin and blood sugar in persons with prediabetes, compared with a control group, according to a research. It has been demonstrated that berries like strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries may help with blood sugar control by increasing insulin sensitivity and facilitating the removal of glucose from the circulation.
10. Avocado
Avocados, in addition to being tasty, may also help control blood sugar levels. Including them in your meals has been proved to lower your blood sugar levels because of their abundance of beneficial fats, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Multiple studies have showed that eating avocados may help lower blood sugar and protect against metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms includes hypertension and diabetes that raises the chance of developing a chronic illness.
Bear in mind, however, that several research investigating the effects of avocado consumption on blood sugar levels were financed by the Hass Avocado Board, which may have impacted the results.
11. Oats and oat bran
Due to its high soluble fiber content, which has been demonstrated to have substantial blood-sugar-lowering characteristics, eating oats and oat bran may help improve blood sugar levels. Compared to control meals, oat eating substantially lowered HbA1c and fasting blood sugar levels, according to a meta-analysis of 16 research.
Drinking 7 ounces (200 mL) of water combined with 1 ounce (27.3 grammes) of oat bran before eating white bread substantially lowered post-meal blood sugar, compared with drinking plain water, according to a small trial involving 10 persons.
The author is a Lead Ayurveda Specialist at Diabetes Reversal Clinics & EliteAyurveda Clinics. With over 15 years of experience in treating endocrine & diabetes cases