For those with diabetes, controlling blood sugar is often a daily struggle. Whether you have Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, it’s likely that one of your primary concerns each day is monitoring your blood glucose levels to make sure your blood sugar is in the Goldilocks Zone of just enough and not too much. But while it’s simple to talk to lower your blood sugar, the actual task itself may be challenging.
1. Check Your Blood Sugar Regularly
It may seem obvious, but knowing what you’re working with is one of the easiest ways to control your blood sugar. Checking your blood glucose levels regularly is key to understanding the behavior of your body, which can make planning for meals and other lifestyle habits much easier. For many with diabetes, checking your blood sugar is a daily task that happens at least once. However, if you’ve noticed lately that your blood sugar spikes or fluctuates too drastically day-to-day, you might want to check your blood sugar more often throughout the day to try and figure out where the spikes are coming from.
Keep a notebook of time and blood sugar levels, as well as notes about what you’ve eaten and what steps you have taken to lower your levels to try to pinpoint the cause of blood sugar spikes and to see what methods to control spikes work best for your unique chemistry.
2. Study the Glycemic Index
You can think about the glycemic index as being your cheat sheet for what you should and shouldn’t eat. Studying the index not only makes it easier to eat worry-free, but it also gives you more power to plan your meals – especially meals that happen outside of the home. It might be a worthwhile project to bookmark the index on your phone, print out a wallet-sized index, or keep the index pinned to your refrigerator.
The glycemic index is separated into three categories of foods. For most diabetics, the best rule of thumb is to make sure most of your diet consists of foods in the low category. However, if done mindfully, you can incorporate small amounts of medium or high-glycemic foods into your regular diet.
Low
Foods low on the index include:
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- Oats
- Museli
- Whole wheat
- Quinoa
- Sweet potatoes or yams
- Beans and lentils
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Celery
- Bran cereal
- Cucumber
- Spinach
- Tomatoes
- Grapefruit
- Yogurt
- Milk
- Eggs
- Cheese
- Peanuts
Medium
Foods medium on the index include:
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- Whole grains
- Pita bread
- Brown or wild rice
- Chickpeas
- Popcorn
- Banana
- Mango
- Carrots
- Pineapple
High
Foods high on the index include:
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- White bread
- White rice
- White pasta
- Granola
- Potatoes
- Taco shells
- Watermelon
- Ice cream
- Corn chips
- Pumpkin
- Soda
- Donut
- Maple syrup
