Are you looking to control your sugar levels and yet have delicious or fun drinks?
From fresh juices to some fun smoothies, here's what nutritionist Kavita Devgan recommends.
Bitter Gourd and Amla Juice
You can have bitter gourd and amla juice in the morning.
Just mix 1 tablespoon (tbsp) of amla juice with 1 cup of bitter gourd juice and drink it.
It has two-fold benefits:
Bitter gourd or karela contains a hypoglycemic or insulin-like principle, also known as plant insulin, which helps lower the blood and urine sugar levels.
Amla has high vitamin C content and is known to help stimulate the islets of Langerhans, an isolated group of cells that secrete the hormone insulin in the pancreas, and keep the blood sugar levels stable.
Flaxseed Breakfast Smoothie
Flaxseeds contain alpha-linolenic acid, omega-3 fatty acid, and phytoestrogens called lignans – all ingredients important in reducing inflammation in the body.
Add a liberal tbsp of flaxseed to your breakfast smoothie, made with probiotic curd – for some good bacteria – to score a double dose of bug-fighting weapons.
After all, a big chunk of our immune system is in our gastro-intestinal system.
Daily probiotics can help restore the natural state of health that a diet of excess sugar, meat, processed foods, and prescription drugs destroy.
Spinach Smoothie
Make a smoothie or green juice from tender spinach leaves and sip it in the evening.
Spinach packs a punch of vanadium – a trace mineral that helps boost or inhibit the action of enzymes – in the body, selectively helping keep the blood sugar levels stable.
Jamun Sherbet
Alternatively, you can choose to have Jamun sherbet.
There is a good amount of vitamin C and other antioxidants in this underrated fruit, which can help stimulate the production of white blood cells and boost our immune system. So have a glass of this every day when the fruit is in season.
Green Tea
Other than spinach smoothie and jamun sherbet, you may also go in for a cup of green tea.
Green tea is packed full of anti-oxidants as well as flavonoids which fight off harmful bacteria. Tea is also an excellent relaxation tool and relaxing is one of the best ways to fight off a cold.
The Indian Home Remedy: Haldi Doodh at Night
Is there anything this golden drink cannot do? Seems not.
So just warm up some milk, add some powered pure haldi to it, and a pinch of pepper. Or just boil some milk with the shavings of kacchi (raw) haldi root, sprinkle some pepper, and drink at night before going to sleep.
If milk does not work for you, just add some raw haldi to your morning cup of tea with ginger and pepper (both potent infection busters) and begin your day fighting fit.
Have turmeric and black pepper warm milk at night. Here's why it works:
Turmeric is a strong cold and flu-fighter, and has both antiviral and antioxidant properties which help the body to ward off any viral infections.
It helps keep inflammation down, thus your sugar numbers remain in check.
Additionally, black pepper is a rich source of vanadium.
Milk (in fact, most dairy products, except cheese and butter) also deliver the hard to find vanadium.
(Kavita Devgan is a nutritionist, weight management consultant, and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of The Don't Diet Plan: A no-nonsense guide to weight loss, Fix it with Food, Ultimate Grandmother Hacks, and The Immunity Diet and 500 Recipes: Simple Tricks for Stress Free Cooking.)
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