4 Surprising Hacks To Balance Blood Sugar That Don't Involve Changing Your Diet

Sticking to blood-sugar-balancing foods is way easier than it sounds. As informed as you can be about the imminent glucose spike from your favorite decadent dessert, it's difficult not to indulge from time to time. And why should you? A significant chunk of well-being involves truly savoring the foods you eat (celebrating them, even!), which, for many, does include a rich slice of chocolate cake every once in a while. 

Well, you'll be pleased to know there are other ways to help flatten your glucose curve, ones that don't involve changing your diet at all. Take it from biochemist Jessie Inchauspe, author of Glucose Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar: "You can implement daily habits that help you curb blood sugar spikes without doing something too intense," she says on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast. See below for her go-to tweaks: 

And if you're at a restaurant with bread on the table, Inchauspe recommends waiting until you've had your main course to reach inside the basket. "People [who] eat the bread on an empty stomach create a big glucose spike," she explains. "And so by the time they've finished their main course, they're smack in the middle of a massive glucose crash, and they feel really hungry, and they have cravings." That's not to say you must skip the bread altogether—if you wait to have it alongside your protein, fats, and vegetables, you'll have a much steadier glucose response. 

Again, this doesn't mean you can't have anything sweet. Let's say you're in the mood for a decadent stack of pancakes: Load that stack with nut butter, blueberries, hemp hearts, or even a dollop of plain Greek yogurt—anything that would add some protein, fiber, and healthy fats to the mix. "These are really fun hacks because you're still enjoying the [sweets] that you love, but you don't have all the short-term side effects, cravings, extra hunger, or the sleepiness," says Inchauspe. Win, win. 

Yes, some healthy foods can secretly spike your blood sugar. Specifically, Inchauspe suggests taking a closer look at sweetened yogurts ("Even if a yogurt has fruit purée or fruit concentrate, that's just sugar," she notes), snack bars with lots of dates ("As soon as you denature a piece of fruit, then use it for its sweetness, you're creating a big glucose spike in your body"), and rice cakes. "They're just pure starch," Inchauspe says. "Definitely put some clothes on them—you can add some avocado, maybe some smoked salmon, just to make sure that the starch from the rice cake doesn't create this massive spike in your bloodstream." 

"What happens is that every time a muscle contracts, it needs energy to do so, and the easiest place that your muscles are going to find this necessary energy is in the glucose in your bloodstream," Inchauspe adds. "And we can use this to our advantage." 

And there you have it: the easiest ways to balance your blood sugar without changing any of the foods in your eating plan. When it comes to minimizing glucose spikes, Inchauspe prioritizes integration over restriction, and that's a mantra we can certainly get behind.