Type 2 diabetes: One food you should have for breakfast to lower blood sugar

Type 2 diabetes can cause symptoms such as tiredness, excessive thirst, and needing to pee a lot. If it’s left untreated, serious problems with the eyes, heart, kidneys and nerves can occur. So what can you to manage your blood sugar level to both prevent and control the condition? While simple diet changes such as eating plenty fruit and vegetables and cutting down on sugar, fat and salt are just some of the ways you can do this, certain foods in particular have been found to have blood sugar-lowering properties.

A 2015 review which looked at 16 studies found oats have a beneficial effect on glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes

A 2015 review which looked at 16 studies found oats have a beneficial effect on glucose control in people with type 2 diabetes.

Experts says oats have this effect because of their low GI score, making them less likely to cause spikes and dips in blood sugar levels.

Oats, including oatmeal and oat bran, also contain B-glucans, which can reduce glucose and insulin responses after meals.

But doctors recommend people with diabetes don’t eat too many oats because one cups contains roughly 28g of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are known to raise blood sugar levels.

But oats aren’t the only food you can eat for breakfast to lower blood sugar.

Eggs are another popular breakfast choice, and evidence suggests they also hold blood sugar-lowering properties. 

In one study, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed two eggs daily as part of a high-protein diet showed improvements in blood sugar levels. 

The NHS states eggs are a good choice as part of a healthy, balanced diet, which is recommended for type 2 diabetes.

As well as being a source of protein, eggs also contain vitamins and minerals.

The health body adds: “There is no recommended limit on how many eggs people should eat.

“Eggs can be enjoyed as part of a healthy, balanced diet, but it’s best to cook them without adding salt or fat.

“For example, boiled or poached, without added salt, scrambled without butter and using low-fat milk instead of cream.

“Frying eggs can increase their fat content by around 50 per cent.”

One popular breakfast food which may have a negative impact on blood sugar are bagels.

Speaking to Prevention, Matthew Freeby, MD, director of the Gonda Diabetes Center at UCLA Health, said: “Many of my patients with diabetes think about sugar as being the worst thing that’s impacting their blood sugar, but it’s really about carbohydrates.

“I tell them to look at nutrition labels for the total carbohydrate content, not just the sugar content.

“Donuts and bagels made with refined and processed grains are major sources of blood-sugar-spiking carbs.”

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