Five Carb Sources That Will Stabilize Blood Sugar

When it comes to managing your diabetes, you must be constantly analyzing your carbohydrate intake. This is to be expected because the single biggest thing driving your blood glucose level is your carbohydrate consumption.

Eat the right carbs and you’ll find that your blood glucose levels will stabilize consistently. Eat the wrong carbs and you’ll be in for a roller coaster ride.

One of the primary things you need to remember in all this, however, is that you don’t have to go on a low-carb diet to control your diabetes. Carbohydrates can and should be permitted in your plan. You just need to eat them in moderation and pay attention to the type of carbohydrate that you’re consuming.

If you do this, you’ll be all set for success.

So which carb sources are ideal for keeping your blood glucose levels on track? Let’s walk through a few that you may be overlooking. Most people tend to find a couple of carb sources that work and then just continue to gravitate to those sources over and over again. While there’s nothing really wrong with doing this, you do need to keep in mind that this can lead to nutritional deficiency (due to not getting enough variety in your meal plan) as well as plain boredom.

Here are the carb sources to consider instead.

Beans

First up on the list are beans. This forgotten-about carbohydrate source is loaded with good nutrition and comes with a balanced macro profile as it contains complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, as well as protein. It simply can’t be beat.

Beans are slightly more calorie dense, however, so do eat them in moderation. You should be eating around ½ cup per meal, with a maximum amount of ¾ cup. Unless you just finished being very active or are headed into a workout session, if you eat any more than this you may find you struggle due to the glycemic load.

Remember that even foods that are very low on the GI scale can still impact blood glucose levels if you eat enough of them.

Barley

Moving along, we come to barley. Barley is a terrific carbohydrate source because it packs in the fiber. Most people think of barley as only being used in things like beef barley soup, but really it can be so much more than that.

Barley is terrific for those who are looking for a long-lasting source of energy and something that provides a comfort food feel as well. Known for its slightly nuttier taste, it’s an excellent addition to any meal plan.

Try having barley as a side dish rather than incorporated into soups or salads.

Eggplant

Now let’s move on to a vegetable. Eggplant is delicious when prepared correctly. Most people simply don’t know how to cook with eggplant, thus they never even try and eat it.

It’s time to change that. Eggplant is a rich source of dietary fiber, vitamin B, copper, manganese, vitamin B6, niacin, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. It’s also loaded with phytonutrients, which will help protect your body from free radicals and help slow down the aging process.

One cup of cubed eggplant only contains 20 calories, so you can really load up on this veggie. Even two or three cups will hardly yield very many calories but will pack in 5 to 7.5 grams of dietary fiber. This will definitely help keep your blood glucose levels stabilized.

Squash

Not a fan of eggplant no matter how you cook it? Not to worry. There are other alternatives. Try squash. Squash comes in a few different varieties–butternut squash, spaghetti squash, and acorn squash, so you can mix and match depending on your mood.

Squash is lower in total carbs than pasta or potatoes but higher than most vegetables. So, you get that middle ground where they will still provide energy to your body but won’t give you so many calories that weight control becomes challenging.

Squash is excellent baked with a little olive oil and garlic or try going for a sweeter taste and make some maple cinnamon roasted squash with some sugar-free maple syrup instead.

There are plenty of ways to cook this food, so you definitely won’t have a shortage of options.

Low-Sugar Rye Bread

Finally, the last often overlooked carb source I want to tell you about is low-sugar rye bread. This bread is a far superior source of carbs than regular bread for those who can’t do without their sandwiches.

It’ll pack more fiber, more B-vitamins, and more zinc, magnesium, and phosphorus as well. Just do be sure that you check the label on the rye bread you’re purchasing as these can vary in how much total sugar they contain.

So, there you have some great carb sources that you can feel good about including in your diet plan. Are you missing out on any of these? Could you find ways to work them into your diet?