12 Simple Ways To Stabilise Your Blood Sugar

Stabilising your blood sugar is the secret to staying healthy, energised and slim, the latest research shows. This is news that hits fit women, too. If you work out, you need to know how to manage the highs and lows. Here’s why.

Of all the health-related things you worry about, blood sugar probably isn’t one of them. But groundbreaking studies are providing evidence that there is reason to worry. “Blood sugar is a primary determinant of your health,” says Dr James O’Keefe, a professor of medicine at the University of Missouri–Kansas City in the US. It affects the strength of your immune system, the quality of your sleep, and even the rate at which your body ages. But what’s most surprising is that fit women are especially vulnerable to its dips.

Let’s back up: What is blood sugar exactly? Also known as glucose, it’s your body’s fuel, providing the main source of energy for your muscles, metabolism and

brain. After you eat, glucose enters the bloodstream quickly, causing a bump in your blood sugar level. Your pancreas then revs its production of insulin, a hormone that helps cells absorb glucose and use it to function.

When you consume meals consisting of healthy whole foods such as produce and lean meat, the rise in your blood sugar and insulin levels is small, steady and long-lasting, which is the effect you want.

But certain types of foods – especially highly processed ones like white bread, pasta and cookies – can cause a huge spike. In addition, scientists have discovered that certain habitual factors, including when you eat your meals and how much you exercise, can also make your blood sugar level skyrocket.

When that happens, “it’s like flooding an engine,” Dr O’Keefe explains. “The amount of glucose in your system exceeds your body’s capability to deal with it.” His research has found that an elevated blood sugar level triggers a surge in free radicals – dangerous compounds that can cause inflammation throughout the body, damage the lining of blood vessels, and cause blood clots.