5 Tips for Balanced Blood Sugar To Reduce Inflammation

Our blood sugar levels are something that most of us overlook. Yet, taking a few easy steps to have more balanced blood sugars is one of the best things we can do to protect our health. In this article, I’ll share some oh - so - practical science - based tips to help you to have steady blood sugars - whilst still enjoying carbohydrates and the occasional sweet treat!

Eating sugary foods and refined carbohydrates can put us on a blood su gar roller coaster - a series of peaks and dips in blood sugar levels. You can read more about this here in my article on understanding what blood sugar does to your body. Other than causing inconsistent energy levels, over the longer term frequent spikes i n blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance and increased levels of inflammation.

To be clear, it is of course natural for your blood sugar levels to fluctuate throughout the day and when you eat, but if you imagine a curve on a graph, healthy blood sugar balance should be more like gentle rolling hills than the Swiss Alps! Those niggling aches and pains you’ve been experiencing? Your mountainous peaks in blood sugar (leading to increased levels of inflammation) could be one of the culprits.

So how can we prevent those spikes and keep our blood sugar levels nice and steady? Here are five of my favourite science - based tips to help you balance your blood sugars:

Have vinegar before or with your meal

Yes - really! Studies have shown that the acetic acid in vinegar can help to reduce blood sugar spikes. One of the reasons for this is that the acetic acid in the vinegar temporarily inactivates some of the alpha - amylase enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates, so the carbohydrates get broken down and released into our bloodstream more slowly.

It’s also thought that acetic acid helps our muscles to take up the sugars faster and more efficiently, helping to prevent that spike in our blood sugar level.
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You can use any vinegar for this. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed into a tall glass of water makes a surprisingly tasty drink. You can also make a tasty dressing to add to your savoury meals - vinegar isn’t just for salads! There’s even something to be said for the classic British combo of fish and chip s with plenty of vinegar.

An experiment using a continuous blood glucose monitor showed that chips served with vinegar produced a significantly lower increase in blood sugar compared with eating the chips alone. But if you’re not a fan of vinegar, fear not - the next tips can be just as effective.

Eat a vegetable - based starter

Having non - starchy vegetables or salad as a starter is another great way to keep your blood sugar levels steady. This is because when you eat fibre - rich foods first they work to slow down the digestion and absorption of the sugars in any of the foods you may eat next.

Fibre - rich veggies work their blood sugar - stabilising magic in three ways; similar to vinegar, fibre reduces the effect of the alpha - amylase enzyme so carbs are broken d own into sugars at a slower pace, it also reduces gastric emptying (the pace at which food leaves your stomach), and finally, it forms a kind of mesh in your small intestine, slowing down the rate at which glucose is absorbed into your bloodstream.

Move after your meal

Though it may be counterintuitive to what we’ve been told as a child ‘sit still to give your food a chance to digest!’ some gentle movement after eating is another great way to keep your blood sugars more steady.

The reason for this is simp e - your muscles will soak up and start to use the sugar from your bloodstream. Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a vigorous HIIT workout - a ten minute walk or a few sets of squats within the 60 mins after your meal is enough to have a positive effect.

Be a glycaemic goddess or god with ginger

Ever heard of the glycaemic index? The term glycaemic is used to refer to how much a food causes your blood sugar to rise after eating it. And this is where ginger comes in - studies have shown ginger to be excellent for helping to improve our glycaemic control.

So the bottom line is that ginger makes a great addition to our blood sugar balancing toolkit. Therefore, including ginger in your diet and in high - quality supplements such as Deflame could be an easy and convenient way to support balanced blood sugar levels

Eat sweet foods as dessert rather than as a snack

At this point in the article, you’re probably getting the hang of the science behind balancing your blood sugar. The main aim is to slow down the release of sugars into your bloodstream, and, you guessed it - eating that sweet treat as dessert rather than as a snack between meals will do just that.

Similar to how eating vegetables as a starter for your main meal works, eating a balanced main meal with plenty of protein, healthy fats and fibre will slow down the digestion and absorption of sugars in anything sweet you have afterwards. Dessert for the win!

But what about snacks? The problem with having something like a cookie or chocolate bar in between meals is that the sugars will be digested and absorbed into our bloodstream very quickly leading to a big spike before a dip.

This dip after the spike often leaves us feeling lethargic... and hungry again! To fuel yourself properly when you need to eat between mea ls, go for more savoury snacks with a good balance of protein, healthy fats and fibre. Your blood sugar will stay steady and your energy levels will thank you.

You can find some snack ideas here in my article about 10 healthy snacks.

Hopefully you’re now a bit wiser about some of the best ways to keep your blood sugars more balanced to help you keep your energy levels steady and stave off inflammation. Which tip are you going to try? Let me know in the comments below.