The first commandment of healthy living is to eat plenty of fresh fruits. However, did you know that some fruits are healthier than others? Fruits do not have any added sugars but many fruits are rich in natural sugar. However, here are 11 fruits which have lowest sugar content.

Limes and lemons: Limes and lemons are known as sour fruits. While they are rich in vitamin C, they do not contain a lot of sugar. Freshly squeezed lime juice and hot water is the perfect drink to curb your appetite and raise metabolism.
Raspberries: Raspberries are rich in fiber but have only a little more than a teaspoon of sugar per cup. This makes them the perfect fruit to start the day with.
Strawberries: Strawberries may taste sweet but a cup of fresh strawberries has only about 7 grams of sugar. However, a cup of strawberries has enough vitamin C to take care of your daily requirements.
Blackberries: A cup of these berries also has minimal sugar. Along with fiber, these fruits are also rich in antioxidants. These berries also help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other such conditions.
Kiwi: Did you know that kiwis are technically berries? Each kiwi has less than 6 grams of sugar but is very rich in vitamin C.
Grapefruit: A grapefruit is a perfect breakfast. These citrus fruits are rich in fiber and low in sugar. Half a grapefruit contains only 52 calories and minimal sugar. They are also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and potassium.
Avocado: Avocados are naturally low in their sugar content. One raw avocado has less than a gram of sugar. However, they are full of vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, and potassium.
Watermelon: Summer would be incomplete without watermelons. Though they taste sweet, watermelons are very low in sugar. A cup of watermelon has less than 10 grams of sugar.
Cantaloupe: Cantaloupes are rich in vitamin A but a cup of this fruit has only about 14 grams of sugar. They are also rich in vitamin B, magnesium and fiber.
Oranges: Eating an orange is the best way to boost our vitamin C levels and keep infections away. One orange typically contains less than 70 calories and 12 grams of sugar.
Peaches: A medium sized peach has less than 13 grams of sugar. This is an example of how taste can be deceptive when it comes to calories.
Given the sugar content in these fruits, it would be a great idea for the diabetics and weight watchers to include them in their diet and have a healthy and hearty meal. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Physician.

11 Best Fruits That Are Low In Sugar Content!

It is a known fact that the human body requires natural sugar for it to have energy and benefit the body but, when examined, It was found that we consume more of refined sugar. Foods that we buy from markets or shops outside contains large quantities of this refined component but once we know what happens to our body and choose to stop eating sugar completely, those mouth-watering savories will no longer allure us.

Read on to know what happens to your body when you ignore sugar completely-

Glow with the healthy glossy skin: Those pastry donuts and sweets will tempt you for sure, but once you cut them of blatantly, you are bound to notice a vibrant glow on your skin. This is because sugar tends to disrupt the elastin content and intervenes with collagen buildup.
High on energy: Excess sugar consumption tends to make you feel fatigued and sluggish. So ignoring it can give you the power you deserve. Also, it does reduce your chances of having diabetes to almost half.
Vibrant Mood: It might seem paradoxical, but it is true. Having chocolates or sweets can make us feel happy, but the feeling is temporary. On the longer and more permanent page, once you overcome the craving phase you will notice a change in your mood. Excess sugar intake can cause a short circuit in the brain giving rise to anxiety disorders and even schizophrenia. Sugar inhibits the secretion of dopamine transporter as well.
More Active: Sugar has a relation with joint pain. It tends to increase inflammation and joint pain making the autoimmune disorder even worse. The more sugar content there is in your body, the more will be insulin levels. This increased insulin is the key cause of pain and inflammation. Stopping sugar completely will get you rid of this completely. You feel much more active and healthy.
Quality Sleep: If you cut down sugar intake you can have a better sleep. This is because cutting of sugar has link-ups to getting relief from insomnia.
Balanced weight: When you cut down sugar intake, you consume a lot less calorie thus making your system free of harmful substances and toxins. Sugary foods contain carbohydrates and fat contents that make your body obese and tired. Removing sugar will help you gain a balanced weight and make you fat-free which in its course is a relief as you shun of majority risks of having ailments related to weight issues.
Quitting sugar completely can be a real-time pain as it is almost a primeval addiction more like smoking but once it is shunned of you can experience and feel the bliss that you will be going through. Make your life healthy!

Ignoring Sugar Completely - This Is What Will Happen To Your Body!

Exercise has a considerable number of benefits to offer people who have diabetes. As a result of doing exercise on a regular basis, the blood sugar level stays in check. Managing diabetes without indulging in any physical activity is near to no good as exercise is the backbone of diabetes treatment. Here are the ten exercises that prove to be great for people with diabetes.

Walking: Walking is considered to be one of the best exercises for treating diabetes and the most prescribed physical activity for people with Type 2 diabetes. A daily brisk walking of at least 30 minutes can be the easiest way of increasing one s physical activity level.
Running/jogging: By jogging or running daily, people can control their blood pressure and ensure good heart condition. It proves to be extremely beneficial for diabetes people who often develop risks of heart attacks or high blood pressure.
Weight training: As regular weight training helps in building the muscle mass, opting for this becomes necessary for people with Type 2 diabetes. Because losing muscle mass means difficulty in maintaining the blood sugar levels.
Tai Chi: Tai Chi helps in relaxing the body and mind as well as ensures trouble-free body movements. Tai Chi plays a crucial role in reducing stress and nerve damage, which is a common complication in diabetes.
Swimming: Swimming helps in relaxing and stretching the muscles, without exerting any pressure on the joints, which is why it is a great exercise for diabetic people. Often diabetic people lose sensation in their feet, which makes swimming the best option for them.
Yoga: Helping in lowering the body fat, improving the nerve function, and fighting the insulin resistance, yoga can benefit people suffering from diabetes in a lot of ways. By controlling the stress, it indirectly helps in lowering the blood sugar levels.
Stationary bicycling: A form of aerobic exercise, stationary bicycling ensures a strong heart and well-functioning lungs. Burning lots of calories, it improves the blood flow to the legs, which is important for diabetic people.
Water aerobics: Water aerobics, too, has a lot of benefits to offer to the diabetic people in terms of regaining the right body balance and strengthening the muscles.
Playing: For those who enjoy playing tennis or basketball, treating diabetes with exercise can be an easy job. All one has to do is play rigorously on a daily basis, and the body will stay fit and the blood sugar levels well controlled.
Dancing: Dancing can be a great way of doing exercise for the diabetic people as it helps in improving the flexibility of the body, reducing stress and lowering the blood sugar levels.
By including exercise as a regular part of their daily life, people with diabetes can not only experience positive effects on their diabetic condition but can also achieve an overall good health with desired fitness.

10 Exercises That Will Surely Help Diabetic Patients!

Diabetes is often called the silent killer. This is because you would not even know when it sneaks up on you. It may not have any symptoms initially but once you have it, you would need lifelong administration of drugs. Diabetes or diabetes mellitus, is a metabolic disease in which sugar does not get metabolized properly in the body. This means that the blood sugar levels continue to be high, threatening the normal functioning of the body.

Types of Diabetes

There are three types of diabetes. These are:

Type 1 Diabetes: this is a condition in which in which the body does not produce insulin at all. Patients suffering from this condition may need to take insulin supplements for the rest of their life, in order to properly metabolize sugar in the body. This is a very rare, genetic condition.

Type 2 Diabetes: this is a condition in which the insulin product is impaired and there is not enough insulin in the body for metabolizing sugars properly. This leads to high blood sugar and eventually, the symptoms of diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes: This is an affliction of pregnant women. Some women s bodies may not be able to produce enough insulin at the time of pregnancy and therefore they have excess sugar in their blood stream. Gestational diabetes may be harmful for both the mother and the baby.

Diabetes Treatment in Ayurveda

For Ayurvedic treatment of diabetes, the first step is usually dietary planning and lifestyle change. Adopting a more active lifestyle, and a healthy, balanced diet low on sugars and starches, is a must. You must begin by avoiding sugars in all forms. This means you will have to get rid of rice, potatoes, white bread, sugar coated cereals, bananas, colocasia and much more. Add a lot of green leafy vegetables to your diet to improve your nutritional status and metabolism. In addition to these, also add some herbs to your diet. Ayurvedic herbs that act as natural medicine for diabetes include turmeric, bitter gourd, gurmar leaves, bael, fenugreek and many more.

Apart from diabetes Ayurvedic treatment, you could also practice yoga, which can help you improve your health. Several yogic asanas help massage your internal organs so that they are healthier and can function much better. Some of the asanas are especially beneficial for the pancreas, which produce insulin. You may have to make some changes to your lifestyle as well. For starters, you will have to maintain a more active lifestyle. You will also have to avoid sleeping in the daytime. Avoid smoking and consuming alcohol and take extra care of your feet.

Here are a few home remedies that may help cure diabetes naturally:

Juice of Bitter Gourd:

You may consume 30ml of fresh juice of Karela/ bitter melon every day early in the morning. You can also mix it with other things to make simple recipes and consume it.

How to prepare:

Separate the seeds and mix the fruit in the mixer. Add a little bit of water and mix it in the blender. Use a sieve to obtain the juice.

Small and thin pieces of the bitter gourd are cut. Fry them with some mustard oil and the required quantity of salt. Add green chillies and onions to the pan and heat the mixture for 10-15 minutes.

Aloe Vera and Ground bay leaf:

The mixture of aloe vera gel (1 tbsp), ground bay leaf (1/2 tsp), and turmeric (1/2 tsp) is recommended to be taken twice a day before lunch and dinner for effective hyperglycaemic control.

Methi Seeds:

Methi seeds, also known as Fenugreek seeds, when taken by itself or in combination with other Ayurvedic herbs, can act as an effective remedy to lower the symptoms of diabetes.

How to prepare:

Grind a few Methi seeds and turmeric together and take it with a glass of milk at least twice a day.

Soak fenugreek seeds in warm water overnight followed by chewing it in the morning.

Soak 4tbsp of fenugreek seeds in about 300ml of water overnight and chew it the following morning.

Prepare chapattis with fenugreek seed powder

Jamun Seeds:

The powdered seeds of Eugenia jambolana (about 1 tsp) should be taken twice a day with lukewarm water. Jamun has the beneficial property of not allowing the starch in food to get converted into sugar.

Amla:

Amla juice (Embelica officinalis) (20 ml) two times a day is beneficial for a diabetic patient. You may also use powdered  Amla  powder and consume it twice a day.

Banyan Tree Bark:

A decoction of the bark of banyan tree is taken (50 ml) twice a day.

Preparation method: 20 gm of the banyan tree bark is boiled in 4 glasses of water. Evaporate the water until only about one glass of the decoction is remaining and drink it when it is warm.

Cinnamon Powder:

Cinnamon powder is probably considered as one of the most important home remedies.

How to prepare: Add 3-4 Tbsp of cinnamon powder and add to one litre of water and boil the same for about 20 minutes. Strain this mixture and cool the same. It is recommended to consume it every day.

Diabetes Cure In Ayurveda 

For people who need to keep an eye on their blood sugar level, a glucose meter is a handy thing to keep around. There are many different types of glucose meters available with continuous glucose monitor being one of them. Unlike other glucose monitoring devices that merely detect the amount of glucose present in your system, a continuous glucose monitoring device also detects trends and patterns thus, gives your doctor a more comprehensive picture of your condition.

A continuous glucose monitor is not available over the counter and will need to be prescribed by your doctor. It uses a tiny sensor that is placed under the skin of your abdomen to measure the glucose level in the fluid within your body. This insertion is quick and quite painless. The sensor has a transmitter that sends the information about your glucose levels to a small pager like device. The data collected can be seen in the form of readings every 1,5 or 10 minutes. If your sugar levels drop to an extremely low level to go up to a very high level, the monitor will sound and alarm to notify you.

The data collected by a continuous glucose monitor can also be downloaded to your smartphone, laptop or tablet. By looking at the readings over a period of time, you will be able to notice trends and patterns in your sugar levels. This data helps diabetic patients and their doctors to decide on a number of things such as:

How much insulin is needed?
What is the optimum dosage of medication required for you?
What is the optimum number of meals needed per day?
How much should you eat in every meal?
What is the right exercise plan for you?
Diabetics who use an insulin pump can also link this to the continuous glucose monitor so that they do not need to manually program the pump. This is known as a sensor augmented pump. This device can also help record blood sugar levels as you sleep thus, detecting spikes and lows that would otherwise go undetected. It also helps understand the relationship between your diet as well as exercise and your blood sugar levels.

A continuous glucose monitor needs to be changed every 3 to 7 days. Also, it cannot be used to replace finger sticks or traditional home monitors. You may also need a little training on how to use the device correctly.

Continuous Glucose Monitoring - How It is Helpful?

Diabetes is caused in your body due to an insulin imbalance or improper functioning of insulin, and it can affect multiple parts of your body within a short time. Therefore, regular check-ups of your body are very essential to know if you have diabetes.

Once you find out that you have tested positive for the disease, you need to become even more thorough in your testing to find out if your blood sugar levels are rapidly fluctuating. If they get out of hand, they may cause medical emergencies that may be impossible for you to tackle alone at home.

Hence, daily monitoring of blood sugar is of great importance, and can be done in the following ways-

  Monitoring with a meter - In this rather simple but effective way, you have to draw blood from a small puncture on your skin made with the help of a needle or small pricking device. The blood is placed on a strip and then introduced on a testing meter, which displays accurately your blood sugar levels.

  Meters that monitor blood from several body parts - There are meters that monitor glucose levels in blood from several parts of the body. These parts include the base of the thumb, and the forearm too. This method of diagnosis is particularly helpful for those whose blood sugar levels constantly fluctuate, as this device provides an average of blood sugar levels from different parts of the body, as a composite whole.

  Continuous glucose monitoring systems - Known as interstitial glucose measuring devices popularly, they give results not as accurate as the other two devices, but still a fairly accurate estimate.

How to keep your sugar levels in constant control?

If your blood sugar levels are too high or too low, you have to bring them to normal via treatment, and if they are at a harmless level, you have to maintain it at that mark. There are several ways to maintain your sugar levels at acceptable rates. They are-

  Daily regulated exercise - Daily exercise dramatically helps your health if you have diabetes because it increases your insulin sensitivity and promotes better utilization of it in your body. Exercise is also helpful to guard you against other illnesses related to high bad cholesterol, or a weak immune system.

  A balanced, healthy diet - A balanced diet helps you keep your sugar levels in check while providing you with the requisite nutrients for making your body even healthier. Make sure to include an abundance of fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables in your diet, and cut down intake of fast, processed and extremely sugary foods/beverages.

  Drinking plenty of water - Drinking adequate water hydrates your body, and contributes to a healthy diet. It also reduces your risk of diabetes and guards you against diseases like gallbladder stones which are caused due to a lack of water in your body.

  Stay mentally sound and stress-free - Controlling your stress and anxiety levels can work wonders for your diabetes. If you make it a goal to stay stress-free about factors that are beyond your control, and be optimistic about life in general, it could work wonders for control of your diabetes.

Diabetes is a potentially life-threatening disease with a host of secondary complications. To avoid the worst of it, make sure you go for regular medical checks. If you do happen to be diagnosed with it, perform regular tests to check your levels, and take adequate measures to keep it under firm control.

Ways To Monitor Blood Sugar And Followup Care!

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