Munch on nuts, drink coffee to Improve Blood Sugar

Posted by Lakshmi Gopal on Mon, Sep 12, 2011  
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A wholesome breakfast of a handful of mixed nuts every morning, and a moderate cup of coffee can help control your blood sugar.


In a small study conducted recently of people with type 2 diabetes, it was found that eating just 2 ounces of nuts daily - as a replacement for carbohydrates - helped improve blood sugar control.


Most diabetics suffer from Type-2 diabetes which is characterized by either a decreased ability to secrete insulin or a decrease in insulin sensitivity. 

For 3 months, the test subjects ate their usual diets but were given either a daily morning dose of nuts, a mix of nuts and muffins, or only muffins as a snack. Each kind of breakfast had the same calorie count. The muffins were "healthy" - made with whole-wheat flour and sweetened with apple juice concentrate.

 

It was found that the group that ate the nuts - a mix of raw almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, cashews, and macadamias - experienced the best improvement in blood sugar control.


Also, the group that snacked on nuts experienced a drop in their LDL (or "bad") cholesterol. The group that snacked on half portions of nuts and half portions of muffins, did not report as big a drop in their cholesterol count.


It was therefore concluded by researchers that the combination of unsaturated fat and low carbohydrates in nuts may have a positive impact on diabetes. More studies have revealed that snacking on nuts can help people lose weight and reduce their risk of heart disease too.

 

Coffee drinking has been touted as helping to improve blood sugar levels by another study published in the Nutrition Journal. The report says that coffee being a rich source of antioxidants,  promotes insulin sensitivity. It may moderately reduce blood sugar levels in type-2 diabetics.

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