Dr. Dinesh

High blood sugar occurs when the insulin in the body fails to metabolize the sugar from the food, which raises the amount of glucose in your blood. It is a metabolic disorder which can be managed effectively with the help of lifestyle modifications such as exercise and food. This article is going to focus on the foods that you can eat to lower your blood sugar levels.

Here are 9 foods that you can use to reduce blood sugar levels:

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a herb which is very effective in getting your blood sugar down to manageable levels. You can simply sprinkle cinnamon on your food before eating it.

Fenugreek (methi): Fenugreek is a common spice which is used in almost all indian cuisines. It has a number of health benefits, one of which is reducing blood sugar levels. Soaking fenugreek in water and then drinking it the next day is a very effective remedy in combating sugar problems.

Garlic: Not just for sending away the vampires, it is also very effective in blood sugar control. Extracts of garlic have been shown to increase insulin in the body which is required to metabolize the sugar in the body.

Heart healthy fats: Heart healthy fat based foods such as nuts and seeds are good for increasing the good, cholesterol levels (hdl) in the body. Avocadoes contain nutrients which lower the risks of various diseases such as diabetes. In a nutshell, these fats make the cells of the body less resistant to insulin.

Blueberries: Blueberries contain anthocyanin (water soluble pigments) which is very good for your health. They also contain fiber in large amounts which make you feel fuller faster. This fruit has also been shown to improve insulin sensitivity in the body.

Vinegar: Vinegar is an age old remedy to control blood sugar levels; it contains acetic acid which causes a reduction in certain harmful enzymes in the stomach. Vinegar is also known to prevent blood sugar spikes when consumed with food.

Complex carbohydrates: Complex carbohydrates raise your blood sugar but not like its cousin, simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates cause an immediate spike in your blood sugar levels where as complex carbs provide a steady stream of energy. So drop that packet of refined flour and get that whole wheat variant.

Cherries: Cherries, especially tart cherries and dark sweet cherries, are full of anthrocyanins. Insulin resistance prevents insulin from working properly to control blood sugar in normal ranges. Eating a diet high in anthrocyanins can mean improved use of insulin and lower blood sugars.

Nuts: People who eat nuts regularly have lower rates of heart disease than people who don't eat them. Even among the healthiest eaters, the ones who also eat nuts boast the best health record. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult

Clenching or night grinding.

If you have ever experienced a strong emotion of either anger or resolve you may realise our body tenses up and our teeth clench. If this is not a frequent occurrence the damage maybe minimal but as sports people or someone with a bad temper you may actually end up wearing down your teeth considerably. Now a large part of this habit is semi voluntary you can remind yourself to control it but a few people suffer from an entirely involuntary condition called night grinding or bruxism.

Unfortunately here you have no awareness of doing the grinding except maybe waking up with a sore jaw or a headache but the person sleeping beside you can even hear you gnashing your teeth. Needless to say the damage this is silent destroyer is causing is significant and rapid. The best solution if diagnosed with this habit is to start wearing a night guard which is a thin plastic appliance that fits snugly on your teeth similar to a sports guard so that it protects your teeth and wears down before your teeth do. Also the jaw separation it creates puts your muscles at ease and they don't get activated or clench anymore.

Mouth breathing.

Many people are unaware of this habit entirely. A very common condition mouth breathing occurs more so when you're sleeping and tend to breathe more through your mouth than your nose.

This condition can be a result of the way your nasal passages and throat are shaped. It commonly occurs in people with a deviated nasal septum as well. The main sign to know if you're mouth breathing or not is if you wake up with an extremely dry mouth, at times bad breathe and tend to have red irritated gums that bleed often on brushing.

Mouth breathing also predisposes you to snoring so if you haven't started yet if you're a mouth breather chances are you will start snoring as well.

It usually can be corrected surgically and if not severe snoring particularly can be corrected by oral appliances or oxygen machines which supplement the air reaching your lungs.

Tongue thrusting.

This habit develops at childhood or birth and is also attributed to the tongue shape and the structure of the palate and throat. A person having this habit tends to push the teeth out while swallowing as a result they present with spaced out teeth and a large tongue.

To prevent the need for braces catching this habit early on and wearing an appliance to control it would be best. If spaces have already increased then best form of closing the gaps would be either with braces or by cosmetic fillings.

Cheek biting.

A surprisingly unnoticeable habit people tend to chew their inner cheek or parts of their lip when under stress or deep thought. While this habit can seem harmless it can create a long term wound in the mouth which can either balloon up with fluids or be subject to infection. Chronic injuries or wounds should never be left unnoticed and habits like these should be discontinued to avoid discomfort and the eventual need for treatment.

Exposure to alternating extremes of temperature.

Another very ignorant but seemingly harmless habit is to eat a hot meal and down it with a glass of ice cold water or have a hot drink and second it with ice cream. While the effects of this habit may only show up in the long term what it does is create an impact on the enamel and slowly cause the teeth to become sensitive.

While our teeth are extremely hardy and don't breakdown until exposed to hundreds of millions of such daily stimuli, the best solution is to keep an intermittent time gap between the extremes of temperature in order not to shock the nerves that rest within your teeth to become hypersensitive.

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