Superfoods ease fasting blood sugar in diabetics

There is no superfood that can directly “treat” fasting hyperglycemia. However, on the premise of following doctor’s instructions and controlling total calories, choosing the right superfoods and using the right eating methods can indeed help patients with type 2 diabetes reduce the fluctuation of fasting blood sugar by 10% to 25%. Some patients with mild insulin resistance can even see the fasting value drop by 0.5~1.5mmol/L.

Uncle Zhang, a 52-year-old diabetic with type 2 diabetes who I have been in contact with, has been taking metformin as prescribed by his doctor for 3 years. He strictly controls the dosage for breakfast and dinner. However, his fasting blood sugar has been stuck between 7.5 and 8.5mmol/L, and he cannot lower it no matter how he adjusts it. Later, he tried to replace half a cup of warm milk before going to bed with warm milk with 10g of chia seeds added. His other routine, medication, and diet remained unchanged. In less than two months, his fasting blood sugar stabilized in the range of 6.2~7mmol/L, which surprised even his attending doctor.

However, when it comes to superfoods to control sugar, there are many people who criticize IQ tax. In fact, both views are valid. Most doctors of the evidence-based medicine school do not agree with the statement that "super foods lower blood sugar". The core reason is that many people with diabetes blindly believe in the effects of food and stop hypoglycemic drugs or insulin without authorization. In the end, blood sugar levels soar even higher, which is dangerous. ； Research in the field of clinical nutrition has confirmed that many specific ingredients in highly active ingredients that are not deeply processed can indeed target the two core triggers of fasting hyperglycemia—either improving basal insulin resistance or reducing excessive glycogen output by the liver at night, helping to stabilize fasting values ​​from the root cause.

Take the chia seeds that Uncle Zhang eats, for example. Many people eat them to no avail, mostly because they eat them at the wrong time and in the wrong amount. Some people sprinkle a spoonful of it on yogurt bread for breakfast in the morning. Of course, it has no effect on fasting blood sugar. For its soluble dietary fiber to work, it must be eaten 1 hour before going to bed. 10g is just right. Soak it in warm milk or warm water for 10 minutes. Wait until it completely gels before drinking it. This will just cover the nighttime sugar metabolism cycle and will not burden the gastrointestinal tract. It will not cause blood sugar to rise at night because of eating too late. A friend with diabetes heard that chia seeds are useful. He ate 30g at a time. The next day, his intake increased by 1.2mmol/L on an empty stomach. He was greedy for too much and ignored that chia seeds themselves also contain carbohydrates. Excessive consumption is counterproductive.

When it comes to flavoring sugar-control ingredients, the first thing that many people think of is cinnamon, and it is also the most controversial. Some people say that long-term consumption of cinnamon is harmful to the liver. This is not an alarmist statement - the Chinese cinnamon we usually use for stew has a high coumarin content. Eating more than 3g per day for a long time will indeed increase the metabolic burden on the liver. If you want to eat it, you have to choose Ceylon cinnamon with low coumarin content. You don't have to eat it every day. You only need to eat it 3-4 times a week. For example, sprinkle 1g when steaming egg custard, or throw a little in when cooking multi-grain rice for dinner. There is almost no strange smell, and there is no need to increase the amount. Last year, a colleague from the nutrition department who did relevant follow-up provided data. Sugar patients who regularly ate low-dose Ceylon cinnamon for 8 consecutive weeks could reduce fasting blood sugar by an average of 0.8~1.2mmol/L. The effect is indeed real.

There is also the tartary buckwheat that everyone is most familiar with, and more people are stepping on it. Many people buy tartary buckwheat tea and tartary buckwheat biscuits with added sugar. After eating, their blood sugar spikes, and they turn around and call tartary buckwheat an IQ tax. In fact, what is really useful is whole tartary buckwheat with intact bran. It doesn’t need to be much, just replace 1/3 of the white rice in dinner. The resistant starch and D-chiro-inositol in the bran can slowly improve basal insulin resistance. Eating it at night can just affect the fasting blood sugar the next day. I used to help a young man born in 1995 who was newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to adjust his diet. He used to eat white rice with takeout for dinner, and his fasting often reached more than 8. So I only replaced 1/3 of the white rice in dinner with tartary buckwheat, and nothing else changed. After another half month, the fasting level was stable at around 6.8.

Of course, I have to put what endocrinologists often say here: no food can replace hypoglycemic drugs and insulin. The role of superfoods is always "auxiliary". After you have done the basics of medication, total calorie control, and regular exercise correctly, they can help you smoothen your fasting blood sugar and reduce fluctuations. If you expect to stop taking medication just by eating chia seeds and cinnamon, you will definitely be the one who suffers in the end.

I have been dealing with people with diabetes for almost 6 years, and I have found that the "superfoods" that can really help stabilize fasting are never the imported powders or hypoglycemic tablets with fancy packaging. They are all raw ingredients that can be bought for a few dollars. To put it bluntly, there is nothing magical about them. They just fall into the logic of regulating fasting blood sugar. After all, controlling sugar is a matter of taking your time. You don’t have to be superstitious about some god-level food. Try more and find a way to eat that suits you. Once your fasting is stable, your overall mental state will be much better. Isn’t this better than anything else?