The Independent Healing Sugar Free 30 Challenge is officially underway… And if you’ve been following along, you’re already familiar with the foods you should be avoiding. It’s a long list. That’s because added sugars—and sweet imitators—are hard to get away from. But there are also foods you should be seeking out. They can help you beat cravings…and even lower your blood sugar in the process.
Here are five foods that help keep blood sugar in check:
1. Pistachios: A Spanish study found that eating a diet high in pistachios helped subjects lower their glucose uptake by almost 80%. This means they needed less sugar to get the same amount of energy output from their cells. Just make sure to skip the roasted and flavored varieties. You should even avoid salted and shelled nuts. Eating them may take a little more work, but raw pistachios in the shell are your best bet.
2. Okra: Okra seeds are rich in alpha-glucosidase inhibitors. This stops starches from converting to sugar in your bloodstream. This—and plenty of fiber—is why okra is a potent anti-diabetes agent. If you’re going to give okra a try, lightly steam or grill it. Overcooking it makes it slimy. You’ll also lose its vitamin content in the process. And you can pair it with this next solution for even better results—and flavor…
3. Garlic: Studies show that garlic decrease serum glucose levels.1 It has the same effect as drugs like metformin on glucose levels… But it takes it a step further by also lowering triglycerides—and being free of dangerous side effects.2 You’ll get the most benefit from eating raw garlic. But this may be a little intense for some people. Try adding fresh garlic to the foods you already eat. You can also take a natural garlic extract supplement to get even more benefit.
4. Walnuts: They’re high in healthy fats, protein, and antioxidants. And research shows eating walnuts can lower your diabetes risk by an average of 24%. In fact, even eating them just once a week can lower your risk by over 10%. And just like pistachios, you want to find them raw whenever you can. Don’t discard their waxy outer skin. That’s where you’ll find most of its antioxidants. Try adding raw walnuts to a fresh salad to extra texture, flavor, and blood sugar protection.
5. Coffee: A recent study found that people who cut their coffee intake by one cup or more a day were at 17% greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes after four years. But people who increased their coffee consumption by one or more cups each day lowered their risk by 11%.3 Just make sure to drink clean, quality coffee—not just the cheapest cup you can find. Organic, minimally processed coffee is your best choice. Be sure to avoid using creamers and sugar—or other dangerous sweeteners. They’ll wipe out most the coffee’s health benefits.
Eating foods that lower your blood sugar is a great way to avoid type 2 diabetes. They’ll also help you fight off cravings for sugary foods… Not to mention the other unique health benefits that come with eating them. Try picking up more of these foods in place of sugary treats to help stay in control of your blood sugar.
And if you want to join our no sugar challenge, or just take a peek at how it’s going, it isn’t too late. Go HERE now to sign up. It’s already shaping up to be very interesting.
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References:
1http://www.phytomedicinejournal.com/article/S0944-7113(05)00217-5/abstract
2http://www.advances.am.wroc.pl/pdf/2012/21/6/705.pdf
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