The blood sugar level is directly influenced by what we eat and drink. Some foods spike up the blood sugar levels, while others lower blood sugar naturally. Diabetics and pre-diabetics have limited food choices, because they need to intake low glycemic index foods mostly.
Luckily, there are some natural spices that add flavor to your low GI meals and keep your blood sugar low at the same time. Used for millennia, these 3 spices that lower blood sugar naturally have been valued for their medicinal, aphrodisiac and nutritive properties. But most importantly they help regulate the blood sugar levels and the glucose in the body.
Read further to discover the 3 amazing spices that help you reduce glycemic levels naturally! Are you ready?
How to Lower Blood Sugar Naturally
1. Keep Your Blood Sugar Low with Cinnamon
Used from ancient times, cinnamon is not only famous for its original, slightly spicy aroma but also for balancing the glucose in the blood stream. Responsible for this beneficial action is the active ingredient in the cinnamon called cinnamaldehyde. According to a study published in 2008, it is this ingredient promotes the release of insulin, enhances insulin resistance and increases the body’s availability to this hormone.
By regulating the glucose in the blood and improving the body’s insulin sensitivity, cinnamon helps you maintain a normal body weight, reducing the risk for cardiovascular disease. If you want to cut out or reduce the sugar intake for good, cinnamon can be of great help for you. This is because it accelerates the sugar metabolism, thus reducing hunger and mostly, the sweet tooth.
- In order to benefit from these amazing effects, it’s enough to have 1 tsp of cinnamon per day. You can add it to your morning coffee, cereal yogurt or smoothies.
2. Fenugreek, the Spice that Lowers Blood Sugar
While it has been mostly used as animal feed, fenugreek has regained its long-lost glory in the recent decades. The origins of fenugreek are lost in legends and myths. It is said that the Egyptian goddess Isis brought this miraculous herb to the humans, this being the reason why it has been considered a valuable spice amongst the nobility at the pharaohs’ court. The fenugreek seeds are widely used in Indian cuisine. Thanks to their high fiber content, fenugreek seeds are known for aiding carbs absorption in the body, making them a great aid in lowering blood sugar and regulating glucose.
- In case you’re suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes or type 1 diabetes, it is recommended that you have 2-3 cups of fenugreek infusion per day. In case of type 2 diabetes, it’s recommended a 4-tsp. powdered fenugreek intake per day, in 6 month-long cures.
It’s mandatory that you do this remedy while continuing to check your blood glucose regularly and under close medical surveillance.
3. Regulate Your Blood Sugar Naturally with Garlic
While not a spice per se, garlic could not have missed from our list, given its amazing property to reduce the glucose levels in the blood. A study from 2006 on lab rats and a more recent one from 2012 have proven that garlic helps lower blood sugar naturally. Moreover, the researchers showed that garlic extracts help increase the insulin levels in patients diagnosed with diabetes.
Last but not least, a study published in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry showed that garlic protects the heart from diabetic cardiomyopathy. Considered a heart friendly food due to its allicin compound and the other Sulphur derivate, garlic is regulating cholesterol and lowers high blood pressure too. So, if you’re looking to lower blood sugar naturally, you should include garlic, garlic tinctures or extracts in your everyday diet.
Before you start a natural cure with one of this glucose regulating spices it is important that you pay attention at the interaction of these foods and the prescript drugs that have the same action or the consumption of foods with the same effect. Among the blood sugar lowering foods it’s worth mentioning apples, prunes, onion, quinoa, oranges, ginseng, psyllium etc.
Via: NaturallySavvy | LiveStrong
