Each morning as I wake up, my body tells me how well I ate the previous day. If I did not experience any blood sugar fluctuations, I have a clear mind and abundant energy. The incredible sensation of how God created our bodies to feel motivates me to eat well every day. I am more productive when I eat healthy foods—the foods God intended for us. Today I’m sharing 13 ways to lower blood sugar levels naturally.
Conversely, when my blood sugar spikes and then plummets, I feel drained, have a headache, can’t concentrate, and don’t feel like doing anything. Have you ever experienced the symptoms associated with low blood sugar? If yes, then you know how it can drain you of energy and enthusiasm.
My secret to maintaining a stable blood sugar level is eating low-carbohydrate, low-glycemic foods. This type of diet improves memory and cognition and prevents and reverses type 2 diabetes.
A low-glycemic diet does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels. Foods high in refined carbohydrates cause a release of glucose (sugar) into the bloodstream and a corresponding rise in insulin. Avoid the following high-carbohydrate foods: cakes, crackers, cookies, sugary cereals and drinks, flours, bread products, jellies/jams, and refined potato products. In addition, these types of foods are addictive.
Tips to Balance Blood Sugar
Instead, follow these tips to maintain a balanced blood sugar level
- Incorporate more fresh organic vegetables into your diet—up to 50% of your food intake. Eat several servings of raw vegetables every day. Have a salad for lunch with either nuts, avocado, or meat. When eating out, order a salad or coleslaw as sides, since both are raw.
- Consume only one fresh, raw serving of low-glycemic fruit per day. Low-glycemic fruits include green apples, berries, cherries, pears, plums, and grapefruit. Make sure to check out the 2021 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Produce Lists
- Make sure to eat enough animal or vegetable protein (25% of your food intake) such as beans, nuts, and lean meats. Try to eat fresh fish once a week.
- Eat a variety of nuts and seeds as they are excellent sources of protein, minerals, and essential fatty acids.
- Avoid sugar, flour, rice, pasta, and bread. Instead, eat more fruits, vegetables, and low-glycemic grains such as quinoa and pearled barley.
- Skip the sugary cereals. Instead, eat organic oatmeal or eggs.
- Read labels and do not to eat anything containing more than 10 grams of sugar in one serving.
- Eat ancient grains such as quinoa, amaranth, pearled barley, and wild rice.
- Replace sugary snacks with nuts, nut butter, dark chocolate, and plain Greek yogurt with berries.
- Replace condiments and sauces containing high-fructose corn syrup with spices, vinegar, and herbs.
- Replace fried foods with baked foods.
- Boil eggs and keep them in the refrigerator for a nutritious snack.
- When you do eat high-sugar content foods, eat some nuts (high protein) with it to prevent your sugar level from rising.
Sugar Substitutes
Stevia is a natural sweetener, which is an herb. Purchase stevia in a health food store because popular stevia products at the grocery store are too refined. Another option is local honey. However, honey raises blood sugar levels. I use a powder form of stevia for baking. Also, I found a natural sweetener with zero calories that rates zero on the glycemic index—monk fruit sweetener.
The following list gives the best natural sugar substitutes based on their glycemic index:
- stevia-0
- monk fruit sweetener-0
- xylitol-12
- agave-15
- coconut sugar-35
- honey-50
- maple syrup-54
Try out these different sweeteners. Choose a natural, low-glycemic sweetener that you can live with and use it sparingly. Check out my post on 6 Tips to Fight Your Sweet Tooth.
Pasta Substitutes
Delicious pasta substitutes include spaghetti squash, shirataki noodles, and spiralized zucchini. Spaghetti squash can sit on a counter for a couple of weeks, just like a box of spaghetti, and it is simple to cook. The squash absorbs any flavor you put on it, such as shrimp scampi or spaghetti sauce. This vegetable also tastes great as a side dish with olive oil and seasonings.
A spiralizer machine produces tasty zucchini noodles. For shirataki noodles, cook them as directed on the package and add your sauce. Again, zucchini and shirataki noodles absorb the flavor of the sauce added to them.
Grocery Shopping Tips
While shopping at a grocery store, shop along the edges of the store in the produce, meat, and refrigerated sections. Stay away from the center of the store where processed foods experience an extended shelf life. A long shelf life means the nutritional value of the food has been removed. Otherwise, the food becomes rancid at some point. As a rule of thumb, buy foods that spoil, like vegetables and fruit. Stay away from foods that don’t spoil, like canned foods, rice, and pasta.
If you previously consumed high-sugar products, the fluctuations in your blood sugar may have caused lethargy, especially when blood-sugar levels plummeted. As you remove these products from your diet, at first you will become even more tired, but after a few days, your energy level will increase and your weight will decrease.
I connected many of the health problems we suffer to eating habits. You can change your life by changing the types of food you eat. These dietary modifications will stabilize your blood sugar levels and start your lifestyle journey to the abundant life Jesus wants you to experience—one with health and vitality.
Author Bio
Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS is the award-winning author of seven books including 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates. She is a Certified Christian Health & Wellness Coach and inspires others to reclaim their health.
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