You probably already know that controlling your blood sugar response
from the foods that you eat is a VERY important factor for controlling
your ability to burn fat, balance your hormones, and also prevent
diabetes.
Studies show that these 3 substances below help to
control blood sugar response and/or insulin sensitivity when you take
them with meals:
Blood-sugar controlling substance #1: Cocoa
It
might sound surprising, but pure cocoa powder contains flavanols which
are powerful antioxidants that can help improve insulin sensitivity and
blood sugar control.
I recommend organic cocoa powder (pure, NOT
with any added sugar), which you can add to smoothies or in other ways
to help your body improve blood sugar control. I like to add a heaping
spoonful of organic cocoa powder to smoothies made with frozen berries
and my favorite protein powder for a delicious blood-sugar controlling treat!
You
can also make your own healthy hot cocoa drink at home by blending a
couple spoonfuls of org cocoa powder with your milk of choice and some
stevia to sweeten. Then just heat on the stove by slowly stirring and
in a few minutes you have a delicious healthy hot cocoa, low in sugar,
high in fiber from the cocoa, and also high in antioxidants that can
improve your insulin sensitivity.
Blood-sugar controlling substance #2: Green Tea
According
to one study I've reviewed, animals given the green-tea based
antioxidant, EGCG, had a 50% lower blood sugar after eating starch than
the animals that didn't get the EGCG but ate the same amount of starch.
This
aligns with other studies we've seen over the years that green tea and
oolong tea can help to control the blood sugar response from a meal due
to their unique antioxidants.
So if you're eating a meal that
contains carbohydrates, you can protect yourself from the blood sugar
spike with a cup or two of green tea along with the meal.
Make sure to read this article also where I show you a tea combination that boosts the antioxidant power in your tea dramatically!
Blood-sugar controlling substance #3: Apple Cider Vinegar
It's
been found that taking apple cider vinegar with a meal can slow the
digestion of carbohydrates in that meal and slow the rate of absorption
of sugar into the blood.
However, mixing apple cider vinegar into
water isn't an enjoyable drink in my opinion, so what I personally like
to do is have apple cider vinegar mixed with olive oil on my daily
salad each night with dinner.
Keep in mind that my good friend
Tim Ferriss did tons of blood sugar experiments and found that white
vinegar and balsamic vinegar didn't have any blood sugar controlling
benefits in his tests. This article below explains about the vinegar
tests, but also shows you 2 other substances that Tim's tests shows DID
control blood sugar response:
These 2 other substances DID control blood sugar response from meals (not talked about above)
5 Powerful herbal ingredients that also control blood sugar:
This
is a supplement that I personally take which is a mixture of 5 powerful
herbal ingredients that all have loads of scientific studies showing
that they control blood sugar and/or increase insulin sensitivity,
thereby helping to balance your hormones (keep a healthy blood sugar and
insulin balance) when you eat carbohydrates:
IC5 - a mix of 5 powerful blood-sugar controlling herbal ingredients
I'll be back soon with more Lean-Body Secrets.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer