Guinea-Panda

If you're like me, you find your blood sugar level very difficult to control, even while eating healthily. While researching the problem, I came across a few ideas to help stabilize blood sugar and gave them a go.


One idea was cinnamon. In a study in Pakistan cinnamon was shown to reduce the overall blood sugar levels, which in turn, prevents the over secretion of insulin that causes problems. It is recommended that pre-diabetic, or type 2 diabetics consume about six grams of cinnamon a day. That is about one and a half teaspoons. That may sound like a lot, but there are many ways to use this spice and shouldn’t result in too much inconvenience. Often the word 'cinnamon' conjures to mind sweet, delicious pastries and apple pies, but there are other ways to use this tasty spice. I always try to eat an apple a day, but recently I've discovered how much more delicious apples are when sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon. Actually I don't sprinkle, I literally coat my slices because it's just so yummy! This works really well with bananas too. I've also started adding cinnamon to my smoothies and yoghurt; vanilla yoghurt is an especially tasty match. If you enjoy honey on toast, sprinkle cinnamon over the top to help prevent a blood sugar peak. This versatile spice is not limited to only sweet creations however, try it sprinkled over boiled, roasted or steamed vegetables, particularly carrot and sweet potato. It is also an important ingredient in many curries, try adding it to your favourite store-bought or home made curry powder or paste for a delicious earthy taste.

Another two studies that caught my eye involved vinegar. Arizona State University conducted a study where they gave subjects 20g of apple cider vinegar before a high carb breakfast. They found that when they took the vinegar before their meal, their blood sugar rose much more slowly than it did when they did not have the vinegar. This shows that apple cider vinegar may help to stabilize the blood sugar and prevent spikes. However, another study at Lund University in Sweden shows that the type of vinegar does not seem to make any difference to the effect. In this study the scientists tested the subjects using gherkins, or dill pickles, which are preserved in vinegar. This study showed the same effect as the Arizona study. This is very promising and I have tried it myself, eating pickles before my meals and I have found it very effective so far. However, one scientist points out that there are commercially available 'vinegar supplements' which purport to contain all the same benefits of vinegar. These so far do not seem to be effective, presumably due to the fact that they do not contain acetic acid, which is theorized to be the active ingredient in preventing blood sugar spikes. Both studies seem to show that the people who get the most benefit from vinegar are pre-diabetic patients, however all test subjects did receive significant benefits.

Vinegar by itself, as you will know, is very strong tasting, and not easy to drink by the spoonful. However there are other ways we can get vinegar into our diet to reap the benefits shown by the above studies. Pickled vegetables are readily available and tasty. Vinaigrettes make a delicious and healthy salad or vegetable dressing and apple cider vinegar can be added to water for a refreshing cool or hot pre-meal drink.
 
Honey mustard vinaigarette:
 
3 tablespoons of olive or rice bran oil
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of wholegrain or dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of liquid honey
1 small clove garlic, crushed
squeeze of lemon juice to taste
dash of salt to taste
 
Put all ingredients in a glass jar with the lid on and shake, shake, shake. You may want to taste it and adjust the seasonings to suit. Serve with all types of salad and chicken. Yum!!
 
xxPandy
 
"Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well." -- Marcus Valerius Martial