Glucose Intolerance Diet

Glucose Intolerance Diet
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Glucose intolerance is also known as pre-diabetes in the United States. If your fasting blood sugar is above 140 but below 199 mg/dl (the cut-off for the diagnosis of diabetes) then you are likely to have glucose intolerance. However, glucose intolerance is a term that can also be applied to people who are diabetic as well. In either case, what you need is a glucose intolerance diet. There are particular foods that you can eat that can address your glucose intolerance, allowing you to treat, and perhaps reverse your condition, especially in its early stages.

The Diet

Here are some basic guidelines as to which foods are best for a glucose intolerant individual:

  • Go low-glycemic: The glycemic index is a measurement of the capacity of a food to create a rise in one’s blood sugar. Researchers were amazed to find that things like rice and potatoes created rises in blood sugar that were higher than foods like ice cream and chocolate. This is not an excuse to eat unhealthy, however. Rather, eating healthy foods that are low on the glycemic index will allow you to avoid blood sugar spikes, something that is common and threatening to glucose intolerant individuals.

  • Count the calories: Portion control is important for diabetics, so it goes without saying that it’s important to anyone on a glucose intolerance diet that wants to control their blood sugar. Eat how many calories you need and no more. This will keep you slimmer, and hopefully reduce your waistline, which has a lot to do with blood sugar levels and glucose intolerance (the slimmer the waistline the better you can metabolize carbohydrates)

  • Cut the carbs: Cutting down on your carbohydrate intake could be something you do for each individual meal. For example, even with glucose intolerance, some people need ample amounts of carbohydrates in their system for their daily activities. Cutting down carbohydrates for the day may not be the best thing to do. However it may be a good idea to cut down on the number of carbohydrates you eat in one sitting. You body is better able to process it that way.

  • Mix your macro nutrients: Don’t just eat your carbohydrates by themselves. This can cause spikes in blood sugar. Eat foods with other macro-nutrients, such as moderate amounts of healthy fats and proteins. Carbohydrates are digest much more quickly that these latter two macronutrients. Mixing two or more of these macronutrients together will allow your body to process the carbohydrates more slowly, resulting in more modest increases in blood sugar.

  • Put away the pressure cooker: Pressure cooking foods makes them more starchy. It breaks it down into simpler forms of carbohydrates that spike your blood sugar. Nearly all forms of cooking do this because of heat. However, the trick is to not overcook your foods. For example, cooking spaghetti “al dente” style may result in a lower glycemic index than if you were to cook it for a longer time.

With All This Talking, What Has Been Said?

Food can have profound therapeutic effects when it comes to healing the body, and a glucose intolerance diet contains many types of foods that will allow you to live a longer and healthier life. Remember to not only count on what foods you eat in order to treat glucose intolerance. The combination of foods you eat is just as important, as well as the amount, and how you cook these foods.

References

https://diabetes.webmd.com/diabetes-diet-healthy-diet-basics

https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-diet/DA00027

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: Insulin Resistance and Pre-Diabetes