Five steps can help you to lower your blood sugar levels: Lose weight, eat four to six meals a day, consume about the same amount of calories at each meal and avoid refined carbohydrates. If you want help planning a diet, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the Mayo Clinic offer online and offline resources to help.
'Super Foods' to Lower Blood Sugar
You can eat a wide variety of foods on a diet aimed at lowering your blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association recommends that you include 10 "super foods" in your diet. Beans top the list because they provide fiber, protein, potassium and magnesium. Another good protein choice is salmon, because it contains omega-3 fatty oils. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and collards provide a lot of nutrients and few calories. Tomatoes, citrus fruits and berries are rich in vitamins, fiber and antioxidants. If you replace white potatoes with sweet potatoes, you will gain vitamin A and fiber as well as lower your blood sugar. The American Diabetes Association says nuts, whole grains and low-fat dairy should also be included in your diet.
Balance Your Food Intake
Although your aim is to lower your blood sugar, you don't want it to fall too low. You will be more tempted to reach for a sugary treat to boost your levels, which will cause rapid elevation. You want to limit your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates --- cookies, cakes, doughnuts --- but you should take additional steps to reduce fluctuations. According to the American Dietetic Association, it helps to eat frequently so that you don't get overly hungry. It also helps to eat similar quantities of food at each meal. Five meals of 400 calories each would be better for your blood sugar than skipping breakfast, eating a light lunch and then sitting down to a 1,000 calorie dinner.
Lose Weight to Lower Blood Sugar
If you lose weight, your will lower your blood sugar. The Mayo Clinic offers a diet that is compatible with food recommendations made by the American Diabetes Association. On the Mayo Clinic Diet, you can eat unlimited quantities of fruits and vegetables. Although fruits contain sugar, they enter your bloodstream slowly and do not cause blood sugar spikes. You can also eat four to eight servings of carbohydrates, three to five servings of fats and up to 75 calories a day in sweets. The Mayo Clinic Diet also provides three to seven servings of dairy. If you choose whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean protein, you can limit your calories to about 1,500 a day and lose about 1 lb. a week.
Glycemic Index
It's important to learn about the Glycemic Index, which measures the effect of food and beverages on your blood sugar levels. Foods high on the Glycemic Index --- sugar, white potatoes, white bread, white rice, commercial baked goods --- should be eaten in limited quantities. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and low-fat dairy products rank low on the scale, so you can eat more of them. Meat and fat have no glycemic value as they contain no carbohydrates. On the other hand, meat and animal-derived fats contain cholesterol, which can contribute to heart disease. And, fat contains a lot of calories.
No Food is Forbidden
No food is strictly forbidden on a diabetic diet. If you attain and maintain a healthy weight, you can eat the occasional piece of cake or pie. And, if you're going to eat a food that ranks high on the Glycemic Index, it's healthier to combine it with lower-ranking choices. A baked potato paired with broiled chicken would be better for your blood sugar than eating the potato by itself. Better still, you can add spinach and a glass of skimmed milk to the meal, according to Leslie Beck, a registered dietitian.
