7 easy ways to steady blood sugar

There are many ways of reducing blood sugar ranging from wild and wonderful-sounding to common sense. If you’re concerned about your health, take a look at the following tips for successful blood sugar management.

Glycemic-load (GL) or how much food will add to blood sugar,  is found in carbs so limit carb portions. Carbohydrate-rich foods, especially grains and starchy vegetables, are the main contributors to high blood sugar. By choosing "slow-acting" or low-GL carbs instead of "fast-acting" or higher-GL carbs, you can help keep blood sugar low and steady. Whatever types of carbs you choose, it’s a good idea to limit your portions and you might as well go for the healthy ones.

Make three of your carb servings whole grains for better blood sugar levels. You're not eating as many carbs, so make those you do eat count by choosing whole grains, which help prevent heart disease and diabetes independently of their effects on blood sugar.

Aim for at least seven to nine small servings of fruit and veg a day. Most fruits and vegetables have little carbohydrate and are packed with vitamins, fibre and health-protective compounds, with few calories. Eating fruits or adding vegetables to carbohydrate-rich dishes helps make your diet blood sugar friendly.

This is an important one as protein lowers the GL of meals, makes you feel fuller and curbs hunger, making weight loss easier.

As with most things in life, there are “good” fats and “bad’ fats. "Bad" saturated fats can interfere with your ability to control blood sugar, but "good" unsaturated fats help your body control it better. Good fats also lower the GL of meals so indulge!

Add acidic foods to your meals. It's an amazingly simple way to blunt the blood sugar effect of a meal.

Make a point of eating smaller portions. We're talking not about just carb-rich foods here but about all foods. Even when you eat a low-GL diet, calories count. Cutting calories can help you fight insulin resistance — and of course, along with exercise, it's still the way to lose weight.

In order to keep on top of blood sugar you need to take care of all aspects of your lifestyle with diet an important art of your plan. These 7 tips will help you tackle your blood sugar with success.