How to block the sudden surge of blood sugar?

The diabetes mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood glucose level either because insulin production is inadequate or the cells of the body don’t respond adequately to insulin or both. The management of high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) is of primary importance which can be achieved by healthy dietary choices and good lifestyle. Below are mentioned some of the major sugar blocking strategies, which will prove useful in controlling hyperglycemia.

Some sugar blocking strategies-

• Take sweets for desserts- If you take sweets on an empty stomach, the sugar will rush into your blood stream directly raising the blood sugar level suddenly. If you want to keep your blood sugar at an even keel, take little sweets after a meal as a dessert. It will satisfy your craving for sweets as well as will avoid sudden rise of blood sugar.

• Take exercise- Exercise is one of the best ways to blunt the sugar spikes. Muscle cells are the biggest users of glucose in the body. So when you exercise, the muscles need to replenish the energy stores. They do so by making glucose ‘transporters’ which sit on the surface of the cell and allow glucose to enter. While cells are making their own transporters, they open up special channels independent of insulin. So going for a walk after eating is a great way to reduce blood sugar spikes.

• Sip wine with dinner- Alcohol has a special sugar blocking property. Alcohol consumed with meal slows the glucose production by the liver. A drink of any alcohol will reduce the blood sugar load of a serving of starch by 25% but this doesn’t mean that you should have many drinks because alcohol itself has calories and it delays the sensation of fullness of the stomach.

• Enjoy cooked vegetables- Vegetables are better sugar blockers because they have more fiber and less sugar. But don’t boil the vegetable till they are limp and soggy because they will absorb less sugar and starch. So enjoy crisp vegetables because they take longer to digest and make you feel full longer.

• Include protein in meals- If you want to blunt insulin spikes, you need to secrete insulin sooner than later. Though protein contains no glucose, it triggers a fast insulin response so it keeps the blood sugar rising as high later. It reduces the total amount of insulin needed to handle a meal.

• Add some vinegar- Vinegar slows the breakdown of starch of into sugar. The acetic acid in vinegar deactivates amylase an enzyme, which turns starch into sugar but it has no effect on the absorption of refined sugar. So add vinegar to a salad dressing or sprinkle a couple of tablespoonfuls on meat or vegetables.

• Begin a meal with salad- Soluble fiber from vegetables and fruits swells like a sponge in the intestine and traps starch and sugar. Soluble fiber is dissolvable releasing glucose slowly.

• Take a fatty snack- Take a fatty snack 10 to 30 minutes before a meal. At the outlet of the stomach, there is a muscular ring called pylroric valve which regulates the food passing out of the stomach. Fat triggers a reflex which constricts the pyloric valve and slows the passage of food from the stomach. This will slow down the digestion.