Morning is the best time to fuel your body the right way. For people with diabetes, it’s especially important to have foods that promote satiety, lead to a slow release of glucose, and those that provide sustained energy throughout the day without causing sugar spikes. Eating a balanced diet with the right proportion of protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, fiber and no starches can give your body the perfect start. The morning is also when people with diabetes may experience an increase in blood sugar levels, as our liver produces extra glucose to fuel the body for the day. This can cause hyperglycemia in some. If you are thirsty, urinate excessively, or have blurry vision in the morning, your blood sugar level is high. This is especially common in people with type 1 diabetes because they are at increased risk for blood sugar fluctuations. (Also read: H3N2 flu can be deadly for diabetics; prevention tips they should follow)
“People with type 2 diabetes should periodically monitor fasting blood glucose levels taken on an empty stomach upon waking in the morning and a post-prandial sugar that is taken two hours after a large meal such as lunch or dinner. It is important to keep a tab on these two readings because some people have high fasting sugar or some people have high sugar after prandial, the fasting state being normal,” says clinical nutritionist Avantii Deshpaande.
Avantii says that raising sugar levels is the body’s way of ensuring it has enough energy to get up and start the day.
“In diabetes, your body may not have enough insulin to counter these hormones and so there may be an increase in blood sugar in the morning. The opposite scenario may also be true when there is hypoglycemia in the morning. and that blood sugar levels are below the threshold. The foods you eat first thing in the morning often depend on these levels, “says the nutritionist.
Based on these blood sugar readings, Avantii suggests the following foods to manage blood sugar in the morning.
1. Ghee and turmeric powder
If you have normal blood sugar, you can trust this powerful combination to work wonders on your blood sugar. Taking 1 teaspoon of cow ghee with turmeric powder is the best thing to consume in the morning if your sugar readings are normal.
People with diabetes have sugar cravings and ghee helps them achieve better satiety and helps control sugar cravings throughout the day. Turmeric, on the other hand, helps reduce inflammation which is commonly seen in diabetes.
2. Alkalizing drinks
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or 30ml amla juice or lemon juice with 100ml water, has an alkalizing effect on the body and one can choose to have it too to keep the body alkaline, which helps to heal the body better.
3. Infused water
Cinnamon is a spice that is known to mimic the effects of insulin in lowering blood sugar. You can make herbal tea infused with cinnamon powder to help manage your blood sugar throughout the day.
4. Fenugreek water
This is another remedy that will help you reduce carbohydrate absorption throughout the day. So, soaking 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds overnight and consuming this water along with chewing the seeds can help control diabetes.
5. Protein snack
In case of hypoglycemia or hypoglycemia during the day, you can choose to consume a small protein snack first thing in the morning such as soaked almonds, walnuts or then fruits with nut butter. Having tea or coffee might not be a good idea in the morning on an empty stomach, but have a puffed millet chivda or a protein snack like moong khakra or moong jor garam and soaked sprouts with it.
