What foods lower blood sugar?

To the question of who and why, besides diabetics, needs to consume products that lower blood sugar, we will answer with an example that is familiar to many, but they just did not attach importance to it.

Well, it's spring outside, the sun is shining, everything is blooming and getting prettier, but the body simply won't let you enjoy life. Either you suddenly feel incredibly weak, or you get tired, even though you haven't worked hard at work.

Just when I thought about vitamin deficiency, other suspicious symptoms appeared: causeless itching of the skin, intense thirst and dry mouth. You begin to notice that your appetite has become "wolfish", and wounds, even small ones, heal surprisingly slowly.

And suddenly, at some point, the realization comes that the body is signaling about disturbances in its functioning, which means it’s time to rush to the clinic to take a blood sugar test, which will clarify the situation.

Is your sugar level elevated? This is not a death sentence, it is just time to take care of yourself and pay attention to sugar-lowering products.

Why does blood sugar level increase?

Sugar enters our body along with food products that are rich in carbohydrates. As a result of chemical reactions involving carbohydrates, glucose is formed. It is this that is then detected in the blood during laboratory tests.

Laboratory blood sugar testing is performed using special reagents, under the influence of which the blood begins to change color. The concentration of glucose is determined by the intensity of the liquid color. Blood testing is performed using a special device - a photoelectrolocator.

The presence of glucose in the blood is not a pathology, because the body needs it as one of the main sources of energy for life. It is thanks to the energy obtained from glucose that many chemical reactions and biological processes occur in the body.

In order for glucose to acquire the form of energy, a component is needed that breaks it down into its components. Such a component is considered to be a hormone produced by the pancreas. The name of this component is insulin. As a result of interaction with insulin, part of the glucose is converted into energy, and a small amount of it is released into the blood unchanged.

With a balanced diet and smooth functioning of the pancreas, the sugar content in the blood is more or less stable. But if we consume a lot of carbohydrates (especially candies, sweets, creams and cakes), we thereby increase the load on the pancreas. It cannot produce such an amount of insulin that could react with a large amount of sugar coming from food, which means that the remains of glucose in an unchanged form again enter the blood.

In this case, a blood test will show an increase in glucose levels, and the body will signal the current situation by deteriorating health (symptoms of prediabetes), which can stabilize with proper nutrition, but if you do not pay attention to it for a long time, it can develop into a real pathology - type 2 diabetes.

This process will be accompanied by a gradual increase in blood sugar levels until they reach critical levels. The reason for this is the constant overload of the pancreas, which becomes exhausted and begins to produce less and less insulin.

In principle, dysfunction of the pancreas can be caused by other reasons besides a large amount of carbohydrates consumed. It, like any organ involved in the digestion process, is negatively affected by the intake of fatty, fried, heavy food that impedes the organ's work, abuse of spicy food, sauces, marinades and seasonings that irritate the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract and cause their inflammation, the presence of a bacterial infection that supports this process, as well as the impact of stress factors that reduce local immunity.

All of the above factors plus bad habits, overeating, lack of sleep, poor ecology, careless attitude to your health and financial difficulties that do not allow you to start treating health problems in a timely manner, have the most negative impact on the work of the pancreas. And as a result, the incidence of prediabetes and diabetes mellitus increases, which are characterized by the symptoms that we described at the very beginning of the article. But these symptoms indicate an increased level of unprocessed glucose and that it is high time to study products that lower blood sugar and reconsider your diet in their favor.

How do you know if your blood sugar is high?

Many of the described symptoms, characteristic of prediabetic condition, characterized by elevated blood sugar levels, are also present in other pathologies and conditions, so you should not diagnose yourself based on them. But it won’t hurt to get tested for sugar once again.

This can be done in the laboratory of any medical institution, where, having heard about the symptoms, they will definitely offer to take a blood test for sugar. The main thing is not to forget that the blood test for sugar should be taken on an empty stomach, otherwise its results will be incorrect.

But, thanks to technological progress, many people do not need to run to a clinic or hospital, stand in line to see a doctor so that he can write out a referral for testing, and then stand in another line to get this same test done and after some time get an answer: high blood sugar or the malaise was caused by another reason.

Today, you can find out your blood sugar level without leaving your home. To do this, you only need to buy a personal glucometer at a pharmacy once, which is indispensable for pathologies with elevated blood glucose levels, when its content must be monitored constantly.

The reader will say: well, okay, I'll buy a glucometer, and what will the numbers on the display tell me if I don't know which indicators are considered normal and which indicate pathology? Will I really have to run to the doctor again with a glucometer and stand in line to decipher the readings?

There is no need for this. It is enough to know the extreme values of the norm and the figures that will indicate pathology, if, of course, they are repeated day after day. On the other hand, a one-time increase in blood sugar caused by the fact that you overate candies or sweets the day before is unlikely to cause pronounced symptoms that are a cause for concern.

There are special tables developed by medical scientists that accurately calculate the indicators of norm and pathology based on the age and gender of the patient.

But even if you find that your blood sugar level is slightly higher than normal, you should not sound the alarm and run to the pharmacy for antiglycemic drugs. This is an extreme measure for diagnosed diabetes or prediabetes with a greatly reduced function of the pancreas. In milder cases, everything is corrected by a diet, the menu of which must necessarily include products that lower blood sugar.

What foods lower blood sugar levels?

The reader will be right if he/she says that it is difficult to adjust the diet if you do not know whether the products you eat are good for the pancreas, which is responsible for glucose metabolism, whether they can facilitate its work and reduce blood sugar levels. Let's try to figure this out together.

All food products are divided into 3 categories according to the hypoglycemic index (GI), which shows how much the product is able to increase the sugar level in the blood. The lower the hypoglycemic index, the safer the product is for people whose blood sugar level is higher than normal, and, of course, for patients suffering from diabetes.

The first group of products has a high hypoglycemic index (more than 70), which means they can increase blood sugar levels. Do not think that this category of products includes only sweets and pastries, among them there are also fruits and drinks.

It is clear that products with an index of 70 and above include candies, including chocolate, various sweets (except marmalade), honey. Favorite desserts and confectionery (wafers, sweet cookies, cakes, pastries) can also be included here. By the way, as for chocolate, only milk chocolate and chocolate bars have a high GI of 70, while dark chocolate with a high cocoa content has a GI of 20-30.

Many dough products that at first glance seem to contain little or no sugar also have a high hypoglycemic index: rich pastries, bakery products made from premium flour, various types of pasta made from soft wheat flour. Even diet wheat breads cannot boast a low GI, theirs is 75.

• High Glycemic Index Foods

Oddly enough, a hypoglycemic index (GI) above 70 (for comparison, pure glucose has a GI of 100) is found in products classified as fast food, although at first glance they contain almost no sugar.

As for vegetables and fruits, people with high blood sugar will have to give up eating sweet fruits and sweet boiled vegetables. Potatoes have a high GI (95) if they are eaten baked or fried or in casseroles, as well as boiled and stewed carrots. And even mashed potatoes with a GI of 83 are hardly suitable for eating with high blood sugar. Dates have a very high GI of 146.

Among drinks, beer (66-110 depending on the type), store-bought juices with added sugar, and carbonated sweet drinks (70) can boast a high hypoglycemic index.

Among cereals, round rice (90), millet (71), semolina and pearl barley (70) have a high GI. What is important is that the cereals themselves can have a high GI, but the porridges made from them have a lower GI. For example, milk semolina has a GI of 65, viscous film semolina has a GI of 50, and pearl barley on water has a GI of 22.

If the GI value is between 40 and 70, the product is said to have a medium hypoglycemic index.

Sweets with a medium GI include marshmallows, marmalade, and pastila. Among sweet products, ice cream, jam, and raisins have this index. Among vegetables, boiled beets and jacket potatoes have an index of 65, and melon has an index of 60.

Black yeast bread, rye bread, yeast-free white bread, pasta and vermicelli made from durum wheat have an average hypoglycemic index.

Many overseas fruits have a medium GI: bananas, coconut, pineapple, kiwi, papaya, mango, figs, as well as cranberries, grapes, and melons. Many sugar-free juices have medium GI: apple, blueberry, grape, grapefruit, carrot, as well as canned peaches and canned vegetables.

Among cereals, buckwheat, wheat and oatmeal (flakes) have a GI value of 40-65. This category of products also includes ketchup and mayonnaise, some alcoholic beverages: dry wines, brut champagne, some types of beer.

And finally, products with a low hypoglycemic index. Their index is within 0-35. These are the very products that lower blood sugar, which should make up the main part of the diet of people with bad tests.

The lowest GI equal to 0 is for seafood, vodka and cognac, soy sauce. Crayfish, various seasonings and spices have an index of 5. The overseas fruit avocado also has a very low index - only 10 units. You can safely eat lettuce in large quantities, but you should not abuse mushrooms with the same GI, because this product is difficult to digest, although it does not affect the sugar level.

A large number of products have a GI index of 15. These are vegetables: spinach, onions, zucchini, rhubarb, cucumbers, radishes, dill. Various types and varieties of cabbage are also useful, including pickled and stewed. This also includes green beans (ripe beans also have a low index - only 25 units), red bell peppers, black currants.

The index is slightly higher (20-30) for many fruits: cherries, gooseberries, apricots, quince. Berries can also be included here: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, red currants and others. Among vegetables, garlic, eggplant, artichoke, raw carrots, tomatoes can be noted.

Many legumes have a low GI, as do overseas fruits (pomelo, passion fruit, tangerines, grapefruit, oranges, pomelo, pomegranate).

• Low Glycemic Index Foods

Peaches and nectarines (even though they are quite sweet), plums and apples have a slightly higher index.

Products with a low hypoglycemic index include milk and dairy or fermented milk products without sugar, tomato and lemon juice, cocoa, canned peas, corn (by the way, canned corn has an index of not 35, but 55, and is considered a product with a medium GI), sunflower seeds, nuts, poppy seeds.

Of all cereals, barley groats and porridges made from them have the lowest GI.

As for protein products of animal origin (any kind of meat and fish, poultry, eggs), the glucose level in them is negligible, which means they can be safely included in your diet.

But here a lot depends on the method of preparation and the composition of the dishes. For example, fried beef liver and an omelet of chicken eggs have average GI values, boiled sausages have a GI of 25-30, and boiled meat has 0. If you fry or bake meat with vegetables, the hypoglycemic index of the dish will increase accordingly, and if you eat it with a salad of raw vegetables, the GI is unlikely to change much. The problem is that heat treatment increases the hypoglycemic index of vegetables, but reduces the GI of cereals, especially if you cook viscous porridges from them.

For those who are interested in this question in more detail, we recommend studying a special table, where all products are listed according to their hypoglycemic index. In the meantime, let's talk about those for whom such a table should become a second Bible.

Nutrition for diabetes

People diagnosed with diabetes need to be especially careful when choosing products and the composition of dishes. The pancreas of these people is so weakened that it can no longer cope with its function of producing insulin. And without insulin, glucose will not turn into energy, but in its original form will go into the blood, causing all those unpleasant symptoms that we recalled at the beginning of the article.

But diabetes itself is only half the trouble. Much worse are its complications, which occur if a person does not receive insulin from outside (with a critical deficiency) and does not adhere to a special diet. Products that lower blood sugar in diabetes are the basis of the diet and a real salvation for patients.

We will not focus on the GI indicators of products, because they can always be found in a special table. We will only focus on which products are considered useful for diabetes.

Read also:

• Diet for diabetes
• Diet 9 for diabetes
• Diet for diabetes type 2
• Nutrition for diabetes type 2

Vegetables. It is hard to imagine a full table without them, because they are a storehouse of vitamins and microelements necessary for a person. And if you also consider the richness of taste that vegetables give to both everyday and festive dishes, then they cannot be excluded from the menu. And is it necessary to do so?

Most vegetables have a medium and low hypoglycemic index, so they cannot worsen the condition of patients with diabetes. Eggplant and zucchini, onion and garlic, raw carrots, bell peppers, radishes, cucumbers and tomatoes - how many delicious dishes can be prepared from these vegetables common in our region! But you still need to be careful with carrots, it is better for diabetics to eat them only raw, since heat treatment significantly increases the GI of this vegetable.

Artichokes, any greens and leafy greens, and various types of cabbage will also be useful for diabetes. But you shouldn't get carried away with potatoes and pumpkins for diabetes, despite the fact that the latter improves metabolism. However, you don't need to exclude them from your diet completely. A small piece of fresh pumpkin and a potato boiled in its skin a couple of times a week are unlikely to significantly increase the glucose level in the body.

Fruits and berries. This is a favorite delicacy of adults and children, the safest dessert you can think of (though not if you have an allergy). Is it possible to provide a complete diet without fruits? The answer is, of course, no. This means that these delicious fruits, given to us by nature, must be present in the diet of patients with diabetes.

True, not all fruits are good for diabetics. You will have to limit the consumption of sweet varieties of fruits. Persimmon, grapes, raisins, sweet apricots and dried apricots, as well as many citrus fruits - these are not fruits for every day. All of them are characterized by an average GI, which means that eating them in large quantities can quite easily increase your blood sugar level, but 2-3 times a week you can enjoy them a little at a time.

But sweet and sour apricots, apples, quince, pear, plum, and sour lemon are quite suitable for daily nutrition, as are the majority of aromatic and healthy berries. Currants and gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries, wild strawberries and blackberries - this is an incomplete list of delicacies that patients with diabetes can afford. The exception is the largest berry growing in our area - watermelon, because its GI is 70 units, which is considered a high indicator.

Some fruits have an interesting property that makes them useful regardless of the hypoglycemic index. For example, an orange (GI within 35-50 depending on the variety) contains a lot of fiber, which inhibits the absorption of glucose, which means it is considered useful for diabetes. The same cannot be said about juice, however, it has a higher index and less fiber. And lemon itself has a low index, but also does not allow other products to affect blood sugar levels.

Cereals and legumes. Different types and varieties of cereals may have different hypoglycemic index. Some grains have quite high ones. But is it worth worrying about if people usually eat cereals in the form of groats in porridges, the GI of which is usually lower than that of whole, thermally unprocessed grains.

And how can you refuse porridge if it contains many microelements and vitamins necessary for our body, as well as fiber, which makes it possible to quickly reduce blood sugar levels.

In this regard, all types of porridge will be useful:

• Barley porridge is the most suitable due to the low GI of the cereal itself.
• Corn, having a low GI, is able to actively reduce blood glucose levels.
• Oatmeal, millet and buckwheat are not only easy to digest, but also help to reduce weight. At the same time, the GI of cereals is considered one of the lowest.
• Pearl barley porridge is considered a source of vegetable protein and nutrients.
• Wheat porridge with a low hypoglycemic index improves metabolism, which is extremely important for diabetes.

Both for diabetes and as a general tonic, sprouted wheat is considered especially useful, the sprouts of which contain the maximum amount of necessary microelements. But semolina porridge, alas, is not considered a welcome guest on the table of patients with diabetes.

As for legumes, almost all of them have a low GI and are considered useful for diabetes. Lentils, soybeans and beans will not only diversify the diet of people with high blood sugar, but will also help them effectively stabilize their condition.

And porridge and soups made from peas even help the body of a diabetic to more easily absorb insulin coming from outside, which means that they are doubly useful for diabetes.

Milk and fermented milk products. Milk is a product that gives life, because it is not for nothing that milk becomes the first food of a newborn, supplying the growing organism with all the necessary substances. However, there are so many disputes around this product that it is difficult to say whether it has any value for an adult, and especially for those with metabolic pathologies.

Even nutritionists argue about the benefits of milk for diabetics. It is believed that a small amount of low-fat milk (including dishes containing it) cannot increase blood sugar levels, because its GI fluctuates between 25-35 units. But fresh and fatty milk is undesirable for diabetics.

As for fermented milk products, there is plenty for diabetics. The choice is large, the main thing is that the product has a low percentage of fat. Ryazhenka, kefir, natural yogurt without additives and with the addition of berries and fruits, low-fat cottage cheese will help to maintain the body's microflora normal, as well as replenish reserves of calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and other important microelements.

Whey will be a real find for diabetics. This low-calorie product effectively quenches thirst, helps fight excess weight and regulates blood sugar levels.

Fish and seafood. Fish is a source of animal protein, phosphorus, calcium, copper and other important microelements. Sea fish is considered especially useful. The GI of fish is actually 0, because it does not contain carbohydrates, which means it is very useful for diabetes.

As for seafood, shrimp, oysters, mussels and other delicacies have an extremely low GI, which makes them welcome guests for diabetics. They are valued for their rich mineral content and ability to reduce blood sugar levels.

Seaweed (laminaria) is considered a very useful sea gift for people. Not only does it have a GI of only 22 units, but it is also considered one of the healthiest products on our table.

Meat products, eggs, nuts. Meat, eggs and nuts are the main suppliers of protein to the human body. Refusing to eat them is quite dangerous, as is eating them in large quantities. In case of diabetes, it is allowed to eat all these products, because their GI is very low. But preference should still be given to low-fat, easily digestible types of meat, so as not to overload the pancreas.

Nuts and eggs are also recommended to be eaten in small quantities: eggs because of their ability to increase cholesterol in the blood, and nuts because of their high calorie content.

Seasonings and spices. Almost all of our favorite spices can be classified as products that lower blood sugar. They help to diversify the table of diabetics, because any spice allows you to make something new and special from a familiar dish.

Dried garlic, dill, parsley, red and black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger are considered especially useful in terms of normalizing blood sugar levels. They can be added to various dishes, thereby making them not only tasty but also healthy.

Flour products. Here the choice of products for diabetics is very limited. In limited quantities, they can eat rye bread and products made from wholemeal flour, baked without adding yeast.

Pasta should also be purchased from durum wheat flour, consumed in small portions and not every day.

Mushrooms. This is a very useful product for diabetes, because it has a hypoglycemic index of only 10 units (for example, salted mushrooms) and many useful substances. However, mushrooms are considered a difficult product to digest, so eating them in large quantities is not advisable even for healthy people, not to mention those whose pancreas is greatly weakened.

Drinks. As for drinks that are good for diabetics, preference should be given to fruit and vegetable juices and fruit drinks from vegetables, fruits and berries with a low GI, as well as whey. Pure water and unsweetened tea (you can add a little low-fat milk) will be useful.

As for alcoholic drinks such as vodka, cognac, liqueur, etc., it can be said that although they have a low GI, their benefit for diabetes is very questionable. And drinking beer can even be dangerous, because its GI can be very high, leaving behind the index of glucose itself.

As we can see, with the right approach to organizing nutrition, keeping blood sugar levels under control is not so difficult even with such a severe pathology as diabetes. But what about during pregnancy, when a certain percentage of women note an increase in blood glucose levels?

High sugar during pregnancy

When preparing to reproduce a new life, the body of the expectant mother begins to work at a different pace than usual, so many processes in it proceed differently. For example, the production of insulin by the pancreas increases, because it is necessary for processing a large amount of carbohydrates, which are needed to provide energy to the mother and fetus.

It would seem that high insulin secretion should reduce blood sugar levels. In fact, this is what happens if the pregnant woman's pancreas works without failures. Otherwise, an increase in blood glucose levels cannot be avoided, which is quite common during pregnancy.

Normally, the blood sugar levels of the expectant mother should be within the range of 3.3-5.1 mmol/l. Both a decrease and an increase in this indicator should cause concern.

Low sugar levels can signal a high probability of the formation of ketone bodies in the body, which have significant toxicity, which means you need to do everything possible to bring sugar levels back to normal.

It is even worse if the blood sugar level exceeds the norm, i.e. is within 5.1-7 mmol/l. This indicates that the pregnant woman is developing gestational diabetes. Despite the fact that this pathology is considered temporary, and its symptoms disappear after the birth of the baby, you cannot leave everything as is.

The fact is that even a slight increase in blood sugar levels in the expectant mother increases the risk of premature birth or intrauterine fetal death. Against the background of elevated blood sugar, women may develop late toxicosis (the so-called gestosis of pregnant women), which is dangerous due to a decrease in estrogen levels, fetal hypoxia, intrauterine developmental disorders due to developing placental insufficiency, and premature birth.

Elevated blood glucose levels can trigger a dangerous condition called polyhydramnios, the consequences of which are, again, oxygen starvation of the fetus, its incorrect presentation, and twisting of the umbilical cord.

Possible pathologies in babies whose mothers had elevated blood glucose levels during pregnancy: diabetic fetopathy, abnormal skeletal development, underdevelopment of the lungs (which often results in the death of the baby in the first minutes after birth), congenital defects of various organs (heart, brain, genitourinary system).

The condition is considered especially dangerous when a pregnant woman's AHC rises to 7 mmol/l and above. This no longer indicates a temporary pathology, but real diabetes mellitus, the treatment of which will have to be continued not only during the remaining period of pregnancy, but also after childbirth.

During pregnancy, blood composition is monitored, but sugar is tested 2-3 times during the entire pregnancy (with a high risk of developing diabetes, a little more often). But a woman herself can notice suspicious symptoms and sound the alarm.

Such symptoms include: sudden increase in appetite, constant thirst, surges in blood pressure, painful and difficult urination, increased weakness and drowsiness.

If the diagnosis is confirmed, the expectant mother and doctors will have to fight for the life of the baby during the entire time remaining before the birth, trying to lower the level of sugar in the woman's blood. If the blood sugar is very high, it is very difficult to do without sugar-lowering drugs. But while the sugar levels during pregnancy are between the norm and the critical value, you can fight for yourself and your child with the help of products that lower blood sugar levels.

What foods will help lower sugar during pregnancy?

This question worries many women who have encountered the problem of high blood sugar during pregnancy. After all, on the one hand, a woman must eat well, providing energy for herself and her child, and on the other hand, limit herself, adhering to a special diet, excluding many healthy products that, unfortunately, have a medium or high hypoglycemic index (GI).

The main supplier of glucose to the body are easily digestible carbohydrates. These are fatty milk and dairy products, sweets and confectionery, baked goods made from premium flour, fatty meat and lard, sausages, mayonnaise. The consumption of such products with elevated blood glucose levels should be reduced to zero. You will also have to forget about such delicacies as sweet store-bought juices and carbonated drinks, as well as sweet varieties of fruit, the GI of which is quite high.

But this does not mean that you need to rely on hard-to-digest carbohydrates (various types of pasta, bread products, cereals). You need to know the norm in everything, especially during pregnancy.

There are also foods that help lower blood sugar levels. Foods that lower blood sugar during pregnancy include fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and cabbage, green vegetables, Jerusalem artichoke, radish and many other vegetables. As well as lemon, blueberries, buckwheat porridge, freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juices without sugar, seafood and many other gifts of nature and dishes made from them.

It is important for expectant mothers to know that GI is not the only indicator of a product's suitability for food with elevated blood sugar. After all, some products can reduce the absorption of glucose released from other products, which means that the effect of the latter can be compensated for in this way.

Let's take a closer look at foods that lower blood sugar during pregnancy, allowing the expectant mother to eat well:

• Sea fish and seafood, red fish that live in rivers. They contain a large amount of Omega-3 fatty acids necessary for the body to carry out various metabolic processes, which regulate glucose metabolism, among other things.
• Beef. It contains linoleic acid, which regulates glucose metabolism in the body. The meat itself has a GI of 0.
• Green vegetables and tomatoes. They contain a special component (quercetin), which helps to reduce blood sugar levels, reducing (like fish) the risk of developing diabetes by almost 25 percent.

• Lemon and lemon juice. This bright, aromatic and sour citrus, with a low GI and calorie content, also reduces the rate of glucose absorption from other products that are famous for their higher hypoglycemic index. By flavoring various dishes with lemon juice, you can keep under control not only your weight, but also your blood sugar.

But most importantly, fiber is considered an active fighter for the sugar norm. Unfortunately, many products with a low GI do not contain it or it is present in small quantities. But fiber is very necessary for a pregnant woman, since it improves the digestion process, controls weight and facilitates defecation, which becomes problematic during this period. What is the way out of this situation?

The solution is to pay attention not only to products that lower blood sugar levels, but also to those that can keep this level normal. As a rule, such products contain enough fiber.

Fresh cabbage is indicative in this regard, as it contains a lot of fiber and substances useful for the body. In order for cabbage to have only a positive effect, you need to choose vegetables collected in your own garden without adding fertilizers and away from the industrial zone.

But you need to be careful with cabbage. High blood sugar indicates insufficient functionality of the pancreas, for which the coarse fiber of cabbage is not the best choice. To somehow soften the tough leaf and facilitate its digestion, it is better to eat cabbage boiled or stewed and in not very large quantities. Even if the GI of a heat-treated vegetable is slightly higher, but not by much.

Oatmeal (or rather flakes) can also lower the blood sugar level of a pregnant woman, because it contains a decent amount of the same fiber that regulates glucose levels. In addition, oatmeal is considered a healthy light dish for breakfast for an expectant mother, especially if you add pieces of aromatic fruits and berries to it, as well as a small pinch of cinnamon (cinnamon is considered one of the best spices in terms of reducing sugar).

Buckwheat is also considered useful for keeping sugar levels under control; dishes made from it will please a pregnant woman at any time of the day. For variety, you can buy buckwheat bran as a source of clean and healthy plant fiber and eat it with kefir or yogurt.

A product that has many names helps to normalize blood sugar and facilitate bowel movements during pregnancy: Jerusalem artichoke, sweet potato, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke. This product has a slightly sweet taste, but unlike regular potatoes, it has a low hypoglycemic index value, and it can be eaten fresh with butter or as part of vegetable salads.

Nuts are considered rich in fiber, healthy vegetable fats and protein. Eating them in small amounts (5-6 nuts) just once a day can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by almost a third. At the same time, all the nuts popular with us are healthy: almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts (also known as filberts or hazelnuts), peanuts, cashews, etc. However, we should not forget about the high calorie content of the product, so it is not recommended to eat more than 50 g per day.

We have already mentioned cinnamon, and for good reason. After all, it is capable of reducing not only sugar levels, but also cholesterol levels in the blood, protecting the blood vessels that supply blood, and therefore oxygen, to the tissues of the mother and fetus (onions also have a similar property). However, the aromatic spice fights excess sugar so actively that it can reduce it too much, and hypoglycemia, as we know, is a rather dangerous condition, especially during pregnancy.

Cherries, which protect the heart, will also be useful during pregnancy. As an antioxidant and a product rich in easily digestible fiber, they quite effectively solve the problem of high sugar and help the heart work.

Among citrus fruits rich in vitamin C and rutin, in addition to lemon, grapefruit is also worth mentioning. This useful overseas fruit also reduces blood sugar.

Among the foreign "guests", avocado is also valued as a sugar-lowering agent. In addition, it is a storehouse of microelements (potassium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, etc.) and vitamins necessary for both the mother and the baby growing in her womb.

Raw garlic in small quantities can stimulate the pancreas and its production of insulin. By adding it little by little to different dishes, you can regulate the glucose metabolism in the body.

Vegetables that can keep blood sugar levels under control include tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and squash (except zucchini), green leafy vegetables (parsley, spinach, asparagus, dill, various types of lettuce), and legumes (beans, peas, soybeans) and mushrooms.

These products can be said to lower blood sugar levels by reducing the rate of its absorption in the intestines.

When planning a diet, a pregnant woman with high blood sugar needs to know some important points:

• As we have already written above, preference should be given to raw vegetables. The thing is that heat treatment of vegetables can significantly increase their hypoglycemic index, and then seemingly safe vegetables with a GI of 30-40 can move into the category of products with a high index, which are not recommended for consumption.

This applies to vegetables such as beets, carrots, potatoes, and pumpkin. Juices from these vegetables will not raise blood sugar levels, which means they can and should be consumed during pregnancy. But purees, salads, casseroles, and soups can negatively affect the condition of the expectant mother if her blood sugar is already elevated.

• As for grains and starchy vegetables, it is not by chance that their heat treatment increases the GI of dishes. The reason is starch, which is considered a complex carbohydrate. Long boiling or heating helps to transform starch into an easily digestible form. This is the reason why the hypoglycemic index of potatoes or pasta made from soft wheat varieties in ready-made dishes is so high.

Nutritionists recommend that the dish be sure to combine starchy foods with vegetables whose GI remains fairly low after processing, and also to supplement it with fresh leafy vegetables and herbs.

• By adding vegetable fats to dishes, you can reduce the absorption of carbohydrates, which cannot be said about fats of animal origin. Sunflower, flaxseed, corn and especially olive oil will be useful.
• In order to keep sugar levels under control, it is recommended to consider not only the hypoglycemic index of the foods consumed, but also the portion size. If you eat small portions but more often (the principle of fractional nutrition), the sugar level will not rise so quickly and not to critical levels.

A pregnant woman who is used to eating for two may find this principle absurd, since she will most likely feel hungry all the time. In fact, the problem is solved by chewing food thoroughly and not rushing while eating. In this case, the feeling of satiety will come just by the end of the meal, and hunger will not torment the woman. And the daily norm of food with fractional nutrition does not become smaller, it is simply divided into more parts.

Elevated blood sugar during pregnancy, no matter how dangerous the situation may seem, is actually considered a solvable problem. You just need to adjust your diet, make the pancreas work easier, and soon everything will return to normal. The main thing is to include foods that lower blood sugar in your diet and limit the consumption of those that can have the opposite effect, preventing glucose levels from rising to critical levels and the development of diabetes. And then neither the expectant mother nor her precious baby will be in danger.