One of the hottest topics in wellness: glucose levels, aka blood sugar.
Our blood sugar levels impact our health in all kinds of ways. They can wake us up in the middle of the night, cause intense cravings and hunger pangs, impact our mood and energy, and play a role in preventing chronic disease.
We tapped functional medicine and nutrition specialist Leona West Fox, to explain further.
“Blood sugar balance refers to maintaining stable levels of glucose (sugar) in the bloodstream. It is crucial for overall health and well-being, as it helps regulate your energy levels and supports optimal brain function and mood regulation,” Leona says. “It also plays a significant role in preventing chronic diseases like diabetes and secondary chronic diseases like dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
“Achieving and maintaining blood sugar balance can be accomplished through key diet and lifestyle choices,” Leona tells us.
Today, we’re going to focus on the “what-to-eat” part.
Luckily, the formula is pretty simple. Leona says combining all four things below create a blood sugar-balancing meal:
1. High fiber
2. Moderate to high protein
3. Beneficial fats
4. Low-glycemic complex carbs
And if you can’t get in all four, some are more important than others. “They are listed in order of priority,” she explains. “So ideally, we want to at least have number one and number two and then go down in order of importance to number three and number four for any meal.”
Below, she gives examples of good food sources for each of the four categories.
- Barley
- Beans and lentils
- Brown rice
- Buckwheat
- Oats
- Quinoa
- Squash
- Sweet potatoes and yams
- Whole wheat pasta
- Sprouted and flourless bread
- Wild rice
She recommends eating an early dinner and maintaining a 12- to 14-hour overnight fast. An early dinner “allows more time for your body to process and metabolize the food before bedtime. This can help prevent significant post-meal blood sugar spikes that may occur when eating too close to bedtime,” Leona says.
“Aligning an early dinner with a 12- to 14-hour overnight fast promotes balanced blood sugar levels through an extended period of time without food during late night, sleep, and early morning, which allows insulin levels to decrease and enhances insulin sensitivity,” she explains. “This supports fat burning and glycogen depletion as the overnight fast depletes stored glucose, prompting the body to utilize stored fats for energy through fat oxidation, thus improving metabolic flexibility and reducing the risk of insulin resistance.”
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