Tips to avoid the blood sugar rollercoaster
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The blood-sugar rollercoaster is where you experience extreme highs and lows in energy during the day. It can seriously impact your energy, mood and productivity and despite its name, it’s no fun at all.
Here are some tips for how to avoid the blood sugar rollercoaster.
1 |
Monitor how you eat when you’re feeling stressed. This is the time you’re more likely to crave simple carbohydrates and stimulants to give you a lift (and save time on eating!). |
2 |
Always eat breakfast. Your body has been fasting for ten to twelve hours and needs glucose, otherwise it stimulates the stress response. If you can’t face anything first thing, try to have something by 10.00am. |
3 |
Plan your meals in advance and use left-overs from the previous evening’s meal for lunch, rather than buying a sandwich. |
4 |
Make time to eat and don’t get hungry! You need to eat regularly to balance your blood sugar. Eat three meals a day and have a small snack in the morning and afternoon. |
5 |
Avoid adding sugar to your food or drink – sugar provides empty calories. If you add sugar to your tea or coffee, gradually reduce it each week until you have none. |
6 |
Reduce the amount of fruit juice and fruit smoothies you drink (apple, orange, pineapple, even freshly squeezed orange juice). Smoothies are worse than natural fruit because they have had the fibre removed so the sugar is quickly absorbed. |
7 |
Avoid cola which contains caffeine and sugar: a double whammy. Energy drinks often contain caffeine to give a boost but seriously affect blood sugar balance. |
8 |
Check labels. When you buy ready-made food products, check the label for sugar content. Avoid foods with anything over 5g of sugar per 100gm of food. Five grams is equivalent to one teaspoon. |
9 |
Avoid artificial sweeteners found in low calories drinks. Products such as saccharin and aspartame offer no real sweetness, so your body will look somewhere else to get a sweet fix. |
10 |
If you’re still craving sugar. See a nutritionist. It could be a sign of a yeast/candida infection in the gut or low levels of serotonin, a chemical in the brain. |
Learn more about nutrition in my best-selling book ‘How to Prevent Burnout’ and my latest book, ‘Life Force. The revolutionary 7-step plan for optimum energy’.