If you have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or have diabetes, controlling your blood sugar levels should be an important goal. If you are able to control your blood glucose levels, you can reduce your risk of developing heart disease, loss of vision and kidney disease that can come from developing diabetes.
Thankfully, you could help control your blood sugar levels through things like medicine, physical exercise, and consuming the right foods.
It is important to know that there is no one drink or food that can reduce your blood sugar levels on its own. Instead, it is more about being on a diet that helps you to control your blood sugar levels while you avoid certain drinks and foods that could lead to spikes in your blood sugar levels.
We talked with Amy Goodson about specific drinks that could help you to control your blood glucose. Her recommendation? Cow’s milk!
“The reality is, a lot of people are sipping down a lot of sugar by drinking sweet tea, soda, sugar-sweetened beverages, fancy coffee drinks, smoothies from the store, and more, which could contribute to spikes and drops in blood sugar levels,” said Goodson. “When it comes to keeping your blood sugar levels more stable, a drink that has the combination of protein and carb is essential.”
“Protein helps to slow down the body’s digestion, so it will help you feel full much faster, stay full even longer, and could also help blunt your blood sugar spikes,” said Goodson. “While water is a great source of hydration, it doesn’t really have an affect on the body’s blood sugar levels.”
The combination of carbohydrate and protein is what makes cow’s milk an excellent drink for helping those who have pre-diabetes or diabetes control their blood sugar levels.
A study released in Diabetes Metabolism Research and Reviews discovered that consuming dairy milk not only helped to control blood sugar levels, but also helped improve their insulin response which is another important component of controlling diabetes.
“With 12 gm of carbohydrate and 8 gm of high-quality protein in every 8-ounce serving, it helps to satisfy your hunger and hydrate you without spiking your blood sugar levels,” said Goodson. “Not to mention milk contains 13 essential nutrients such as calcium, B vitamins, vitamin D, the antioxidant selenium, and much more. So, not only are you able to have balanced blood sugar levels from this drink, you are also getting a lot of nutrients as well!”