Diet and lifestyle

Eat regular meals including breakfast, lunch and dinner and have foods on hand to snack on if required. Skipping meals will cause a drop in blood sugar initially and then a subsequent forced rise as the body mobilises itself to regain balance.

Eat dark green leafy vegetables every day or better still have a fresh juice of them, that way you get more.

All of these foods have a low glycemic index (GI) which produce a slow, steady rise in blood sugar after eating them and keep the appetite satisfied for longer

• vegetables (non starchy)
• whole grains
• nuts
• lean meat
• unsweetened dairy products
• seeds and spouted seeds
• seaweeds

Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

Use snacks like rice cakes, apple, banana, carrot sticks or nut and seed mixes (include aniseed for its strong antioxidant properties and its blood sugar reducing capabilities).

Fibre is very well regarded for its ability to maintain healthy blood sugar balance. Eat plenty of vegetables in the form of soups, salads or as side dishes with a meal to provide plenty of fibre.

Fruits such as cherries and other berries (unprocessed) are lower in sugar than dried fruits or sweet fruits such as mango. Apples are very good for blood sugar balancing.

Eat whole grains with their fibre still intact with each meal and avoid white flour products which cause rapid and dramatic blood sugar rises. Start the day with a good homemade muesli or dark rye bread toast for instance. Use brown rice products and seek out the more unusual grains like spelt, millet and quinoa.

Vegetables such as globe artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, chicory root, asparagus, leeks, onions and garlic contain the starch inulin. Inulin is a form of polysaccharide like fibre that doesn't act on the blood sugar pathways so is a good form of starch for those with high blood sugar and diabetes. It passes through the digestive system untouched until reaching the colon/large intestine where it acts as a prebiotic, encouraging the growth of helpful bacteria there.

Baked potatoes or potatoes cooked in their skins and other starchy veg such as sweet potato and squashes are good carbohydrate sources.

Use buckwheat as a grain, as a flour or add to soups. Barley also has a good effect on the blood sugar levels, use as a grain or as a flour for baking.

Garlic and onions have a blood sugar balancing action as do peas, spinach, lettuce, olives, sweet potato, cabbage, artichoke, papaya and turnips so include plenty in your diet.

Make sure you get plenty of healthy fat in the diet from sources such as organic animal products and meat, butter, eggs, avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil and similar.

Avoid refined and processed (hydrogenated) fats and oils and all foods containing them. Limit your intake of polyunsaturated oils too (even the 'healthy' ones) these appear to be quite toxic to the pancreas and can make blood sugar problems far worse in the long term. Avoid oil supplements as they are prone to oxidation and rancidity.

Use butter (grass fed organic if you can) instead of margarine (which is not really a food!).

Be careful with coffee as it seems to raise blood sugar in most people, especially diabetics. Read this interesting article on personal experimentation with coffee and blood sugar levels.

Many diabetics achieve good success with their blood sugar balance by adopting a vegetarian diet.

This is really interesting look at diet and blood sugar, an eye opening read and not at all what you might expect, a must read, and don't forget to check the many references at the bottom for further detailed info and research papers.