Watching your diet is one of the best ways to manage blood sugar levels and get back on a healthy track. Avoiding these common culprits will take much of the guesswork out of what you can and can’t eat.

Breakfast

We’ll start off with the most important meal of the day, which is often the most sugary meal of the day as well. Common breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles are made with a good amount of sugar to begin with, yet we proceed to douse them with ultra-sweet maple syrup, powdered sugar, and candied fruits. Instead of satisfying your sweet tooth first thing in the morning, try basing your breakfast around a protein rich source like egg whites. This will provide steadier energy levels that will last longer into the day.

Fruit Juice

Despite the recent popularity of “juicing” fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juice is essentially a dense concentration of sugar. Guzzling down a glass of OJ will send your blood sugar levels flying. Try flavoring a glass of regular or sparkling water with a bit of lemon or lime juice. It might take some getting used to, but you’d be surprised at how refreshing and enjoyable it can be. Sports drinks are another culprit that are sometimes mistakenly considered a healthier option than sodas.

Candy

This one should go without saying. Most candy is made of almost pure sugar and contains no nutritional value whatsoever. If you need to eat something sweet, make it a natural choice like a fresh piece of fruit.

Starchy Vegetables

Vegetables are normally a very healthy choice, but some are better than others are. Potatoes, yams, and corn are all starchy vegetables that will spike your blood sugar, especially if you eat a large quantity. You’re much better off eating a salad of greens or a crown of broccoli.

White Bread

White bread may not taste overly sweet, but digestion quickly turns it into an abundant source of sugar. Put a small piece of white bread in your mouth and let it dissolve for a while. It will begin to taste sweet just like other sources of sugar. The same is true for white rice and pasta. Choose whole grain bread options and brown rice whenever possible. They’ll still raise your blood sugar, but much more slowly.

“Hidden” Sources

Many sneaky foods don’t seem to have much sugar even though they are full of it. Ketchup and barbeque sauce are loaded with sugar. Even “health” foods like energy bars and low-fat yogurt have much more sugar than you might expect. Think carefully about what you eat and try to read the ingredients on a product whenever possible.

Everybody experiences the dawn phenomenon, usually somewhere between 4 am and 8 am. At this time, the body produces an assortment of hormones, including growth hormone, cortisol, catecholamines, glucagon, and epinephrine. They cause the liver to release a surge of glucose into the body, presumably to provide the proper amount of energy for a person to wake up from a deep sleep. The body responds by producing insulin to bring blood sugar back down to manageable levels.

For diabetics, however, this is a problem, as they either cannot produce insulin or are desensitized to it. The result can be a potentially dangerous rise in blood glucose levels that must be managed from the outside. In mild cases, a diabetic can calm the effects by eating a proper breakfast upon awakening. More serious cases might call for a dose of insulin in the middle of the night or just before bed. Eating closer to bedtime is sometimes advised as well, as the dawn phenomenon may be lessened if the body hasn’t been fasting as long.

For some, the dawn phenomenon is just another fascinating instance of physiological miracle in the human body. For others, it’s another nagging factor that needs to be closely monitored and compensated for.

GlucoMiracle can help you manage blood sugar levels with its four powerful, pure and potent ingredients.

Let’s start with free radicals, another term that gets thrown around frequently. Free radicals are essentially molecules with an odd number of electrons. Chemistry 101 teaches that these free radicals will inevitable embark on a mission through our bodies to find a balancing electron. The problem with this process is that they damage otherwise healthy cells in the process. Moreover, while they are a natural byproduct of metabolism, other factors including pollution, radiation, and poor diets add an unhealthy dose of free radicals, leaving our bodies struggling to adjust.

This process of that produces harmful free radicals is referred to as oxidation, or oxidative stress. That rusty bicycle in your backyard is a result of oxidation. The rotting food you forgot to take out of the fridge and the fading paint on the outside of your home are also caused by oxidation. In humans, oxidation shows its effects through aging and the development of medical conditions and disease. In some cases, oxidation contributes to unhealthy blood glucose levels and the body’s inability to regulate insulin.

Given this information, the role of antioxidants should make perfect sense. As the name implies, antioxidants are molecules that combat oxidation, preventing the formation of free radicals and the chain reaction of damage they can cause. They support pancreas health, helping the organ produce insulin and properly regulate blood sugar levels. Studies have shown that antioxidants can have these positive effects on individuals regardless of their age, sex, or health.

Curcuminoid, one of the four main ingredients found in GlucoMiracle, is a powerful antioxidant that comes from India. Along with gymnema, bitter melon, and chromium, curcumin can help you manage normal blood sugar levels.