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What Can I Do To Help Keep My Blood Sugar Under Control?

We had a great question pop up in our membership support group (Banana Bariatrics) the other week by one of our members. I’ve included the question and answer below in case you’re struggling with the same issue:

Question:

“I have always had problems with hypoglycemia. It used to be as long as I stayed away from sugar it did not bother me. Lately, it has started bothering me for no reason. NOW, I have noticed that my blood sugar is running high all the time!!! I am feeling miserable. Is there anything I can do??”

My Answer:

Are you wearing a continuous glucose monitor? How are you checking your sugar?

Aside from medications, stress, poor sleep (which can exacerbate sugar levels and make them rise), here’s what I’d do from the food standpoint:

1) Keep a food journal so you can see when you ate or drank something, what it was you had, and what your glucose response was.

2) When you wake up and eat, make sure the first thing you have is protein with a plant based fat. Include fiber as much as possible to slow the time it takes food to empty your stomach (and into your bloodstream).

3) Avoid anything with sugar by itself. This includes fruit, carbs, refined / processed carbs (ie: bagels, bread, chips, crackers, juice, granola, etc.). If you’re going to have a piece of fruit, keep it small and have it with a little bit of nut butter or a source of protein / fat to blunt a sugar spike.

4) Keep your servings of fruit to < 2 servings / day. 1 serving is a small apple or 1/2 a banana. But depending on your restriction, you could even do a smaller portion.

5) If you’re going to have vegetables, choose non-starchy vegetables (like cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini) instead of starchy vegetables (like potatoes or yams). Make sure you buffer these veggies with a protein source. If you’re going to have a starchy vegetable, do less than 2 servings / day and ideally have them at a meal and not alone and by themselves.

6) Avoid sugar-sweetened beverages!! No sweet tea, soda, juice, gatorade, lemonade, smoothies, etc. They are packed with sugar and are empty calories! I would also avoid sugar-free beverages as well. The artificial sweeteners and ingredients can instigate inflammation in your body and can have you craving more things that are sweet. Drink water instead and squeeze in some lemon or lime for a flavor kick.

Hopefully this is a good start!

Did you find the answer to our Banana member’s question helpful?

One of the perks of being an active member inside Banana Bariatrics (our membership support group), is that you’ll have direct access to a team of certified Bariatric Dietitians eager to answer your most pressing questions!

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Responses

  1. I have noticed that sugar free foods raise my blood sugar worse than some full sugar foods!!! be very careful of them!! Just because they are sugar free does not mean that they won’t raise your blood sugar. Another one to watch is caffeine. When I drink coffee that has a high caffeine content, it raises my blood sugar rapidly.

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