Quick Tweaks That Lower Blood Sugar Naturally and Ward Off Diabetes (and Covid-19!)
Cut your risk of COVID-19 complications by up to 65 percent.
Keeping blood sugar steady isn’t just key to preventing diabetes. New research in The Lancet reports it cuts risk of COVID-19 complications by 65 percent! That’s because great blood-glucose control energizes immune cells, shoring up defenses against invading germs. Here’s help:
Toss some lil’ sacks
Just a few minutes a day playing cornhole (or croquet or bocce ball) could cut your risk of blood-sugar troubles by 45 percent, suggests research in the journal PLOS ONE. Study co-author Ken Terui, M.D., explains that’s because the combination of childlike fun with a little movement drastically reduces your production of cortisol. This stress hormone sabotages blood-sugar control by stopping muscles from soaking up and burning blood glucose for fuel. So easy, so fun!
These picnic sides
Carbs from cool potato salad and pasta cooked ‘al dente’ (that is, still a little firm when bitten) are absorbed so slowly, Australian researchers say these picnic staples can prevent blood-sugar surges as effectively as 100 percent whole grains!
Munch on a peach
Juicy peaches are at their peak of flavor right now, and enjoying one daily could cut your risk of blood-sugar ups and downs by 40 percent. The reason? According to researchers at Texas A&M University, peach compounds (beta-carotene and caffeic acid) heighten your pancreas’ ability to produce insulin and keep blood sugar steady.
Snap pics of flowers
Up to 77 percent of us are spending more time in our gardens, taking photos of our beautiful flowers. Having midday photo sessions could heighten your blood-sugar control by 33 percent.
Boston University researchers say the vitamin D-3 skin produces when exposed to sunshine switches on sugar-controlling genes in every cell of your body.
Drink tea
Sipping 6 oz. of iced tea after each meal could cut your risk of blood-sugar troubles by 48 percent, suggests new research. Explains study co-author Peter Clifton, M.D., polyphenols in tea help prevent blood-glucose spikes by slowing the body’s absorption of carbohydrates.
This story originally appeared in our print magazine.
