Type 2 diabetes causes the body to be irresponsive to insulin, a hormone that allows the body to use sugar from carbohydrates. This causes blood glucose levels to become too high and triggers symptoms such as needing to pee more often and excessive thirst. If type 2 diabetes is left untreated, serious long-term health complications can develop including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and nerve damage, so doing what you can to prevent and control high blood sugar levels is very important. One way to do this is eating a healthy, balanced diet.
Specific foods have been found to have blood sugar-lowering qualities, including adzuki beans
Experts say there’s nothing you can’t eat if you have type 2 diabetes, but certain foods should be limited, such as sugar, fat and salt.
But specific foods have been found to have blood sugar-lowering qualities, including adzuki beans.
Adzuki beans, also known as red mung beans, are cultivated throughout Asia and have a uniform red colour.
They’ve been linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes because of their rich fibre content, which helps improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar spikes after meals.
Test tube and animal studies have also reported protein found in adzuki beans may block the action of intestinal alpha-glucosidases.
Alpha-glucosidases are an enzyme the body uses to break down complex carbs into smaller, more easily absorbable sugars.
Therefore, blocking alpha-glucodisases may reduce blood sugar spikes.
But other beans can also be an excellent food option for people with diabetes.
Beans may help people manage blood sugar levels because as complex carbohydrates, the body digests them slower.
Other beans you may want to consider include:
- Kidney beans
- Pinto beans
- Black beans
Beans can be used in a wide range of recipes, but be careful to choose an option with no added salt, particularly with tinned beans.
Drinking a certain green juice has also been found to help lower blood sugar levels.
If you can’t find beans with no added salt, then drain and rinse them to remove any added salt.
Alongside eating a healthy diet, the NHS recommends being active to lower blood sugar levels.
It advises: “Physical exercise helps lower your blood sugar level. You should aim for 2.5 hours of activity a week.
“You can be active anywhere so long as what you’re doing gets you out of breath.
“This could be fast walking, climbing stairs and doing more strenuous housework or gardening.”
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