I used to think that when on holiday in some lovely hot place, that having a bowl of melon for breakfast was healthy. I have since learned that this gives me a neat injection of glucose and I have come to wonder whether the Italian’s learning to love Parma ham with melon came about through evolution and survival of the fittest! So our expert nutritionist, Eleanor Strang tells us what we should be doing.

All food provides energy, but it is the type of food we choose that can influence whether blood glucose remains in balance, sustaining energy levels for longer. Some foods cause blood glucose to fluctuate with peaks and troughs, inducing early hunger pangs, moodiness, irritability and difficulty concentrating. Learning to choose healthy foods that digest slowly, which are rated ‘low glycemic’, will sustain your energy levels for longer, better manage your blood glucose if you have diabetes, and certainly reduce your risk of developing it. The typical western diet now has many starchy carbohydrate foods that digest very quickly and result in a spike of blood glucose. We have become reliant on refined, processed carbohydrates like white bread, cakes and biscuits made from flour processed to remove much of the grain’s fibre. These foods digest very quickly so have a high glycemic score. In contrast, whole-grain starches especially if eaten with some protein take much longer to digest, before their carbohydrates can be converted to glucose and released into the blood stream, meaning these foods are healthier for us and have a lower glycemic score.

I call it the 3 ‘S’s; 1) Sugar, 2) Stress and 3) Stimulants (caffeine)

If you have already made changes to your diet and wonder why your blood glucose remains stubbornly high, consider that blood glucose can peak via 3 different routes: I call it the 3 ‘S’s; 1) Sugar, 2) Stress and 3) Stimulants (caffeine), as all three will affect blood glucose causing an elevation which then triggers the release of insulin, a hormone designed to move glucose out of the blood into the liver for storage and into muscles as a fuel for energy. Remember, if muscles are unexercised, excess glucose gets converted to fat and stored in fat cells.

Tips for lowering glycemic load and managing blood glucose

Slow digestion by keeping fibrous vegetables slightly under-cooked

1.Swap refined starch/carbohydrates (white) for unrefined (brown); choose wild and whole-grain rice, quinoa, whole-wheat pasta, rye breads and Rough Oatcakes

2.Reduce the portion size of the starch in your evening meal – replacing with extra non-starchy vegetables, like broccoli, cabbage, courgettes, peas, and beans. So when making a pasta dish, serve enough vegetables and protein so that the pasta component is less than 50% the overall volume of the dish. The same with rice and potatoes, reduce your normal portion size and replace with vegetables.

3.Slow digestion by keeping fibrous vegetables slightly under-cooked. Avoid mashing potatoes, or over-cooking green vegetables, which reduces nutrients.

4.Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast; low energy levels during the morning will induce sugar cravings for sweet snacks that will create blood sugar instability for the whole day.

5.Include protein with each meal, it slows the digestion of any carbohydrates, so glucose enters the blood stream gradually, sustaining your energy levels for longer. Breakfast should sustain you till lunch, if it doesn’t, add some protein and/or fats like nuts.

6.Plan nutritious snacks to deter the impulse-purchase of high sugar confectionary; add a few nuts and seeds to a fresh fruit snack, the protein and healthy fats will slow digestion.

7.Activity and exercise improves muscle tone and will lead to an increase in your metabolic rate, meaning more of the calories you eat will be burned rather than storing as fat.

8.A dash of lemon or vinegar added to a meal can favourably moderate its glycemic load, slowing digestion and therefore stabilising blood sugar levels.

9.Avoid fizzy, sweet drinks; only consume ‘sports drinks’ when a rapid delivery of glucose is necessary post exercise, for recovering muscles after high intensity or endurance sport.

10.Moderate alcohol intake and always avoid consuming on an empty stomach; alcohol has a high glycemic rating, metabolising quickly to produce a peak of glucose.

Other benefits of choosing low glycemic foods:

• They have a calming effect by boosting the feel-good chemical serotonin, which can lower stress.

• Many low-glycemic foods naturally contain super-nutrients like vitamin E, selenium, zinc and magnesium and antioxidants that combat the aging process and reduce the DNA damaging effects of free radicals.

• Low-glycemic eating will lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Be aware that there are 1 million people in the UK with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes!

• The biochemical environment created by low-glycemic eating actually encourages fat cells to release their contents to be used for energy, resulting in weight loss.

The sweets and chocolate bars are there, positioned by the checkout to tempt us as we wait to pay, but try and resist. Research is showing that chronic over-use of any substance leads to desensitisation, meaning we need more – and more – to get the same hit. Sugar provides a hit and is now being recognised as a substance with addictive characteristics. Fast food (which contains hidden added sugar), fizzy sodas, sweets, cakes and biscuits not only replace and remove your appetite for good, nutritious foods; these products also play havoc with your blood sugar and insulin levels. Many people in the west are deficient in protective vitamins and minerals because the empty calories of junk food – which do not contain these vital nutrients – are replacing natural, nourishing whole-foods in their diet.

Reference: Wycherley T P, et al., (2010) A High-Protein Diet With Resistance Exercise Training Improves Weight Loss and Body Composition in Overweight and Obese Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes, 33: 969-976.