Sweet Foods that Lower Blood Sugar

Hey! Hey! Nice to see you. Wassup? Me? Well pour yourself a rousingly refreshing mug of coffee and snag a virtual treat or two while I bring you up to date. You know I went through a triple bypass in March and have been on the road to recovery since then... getting on for six months now. Went to see my family doctor yesterday and he says I am doing very well...BP is good, cholesterol is down, heart rate is bang on. The only thing is that my blood sugar is up a little. He calls it prediabetes. As they say in England. Marvelous...bloody marvelous! More exercise, watch my diet ad nausuem! Well, coincidentally, here is a recent note I received from my pal Dr Al (Sears) about blood sugar...

Dear Bob,

There are certain sweet foods like blackberries, apples, grapes and even chocolate that lower blood sugar.

That’s not all. These sweet foods also:

• prevent tumors in almost every organ in your body. They even prevent breast tumors 

• fight tissue-attacking free radicals and protect your cells against tumor development and growth. Studies show they can reduce your cancer risk between 30% and 60%

• have the power to lower the risk of both lung cancer  and prostate cancer

• increase your body’s natural protective enzymes to guard against stroke

• help prevent hardening of the arteries

How do they do it? These foods get their blood sugar-lowering and other healing powers from catechins. Catechins act a lot like insulin, helping bring down high blood sugar.

Catechins come from the seeds, skin and certain other parts of sweet fruits like blackberries.

Another creamy-sweet fruit with catechins is the exotic cupuacu that I tasted in Brazil. Even though it has a chocolaty-vanilla sweetness, its catechins keep your blood sugar low.

These special plant nutrients are part of a group of plant compounds called flavonoids. And you don’t need much to get the effect. One study finds low doses of catechins are heart-protective. 

But the “low” doses in the clinical trial are still more than the average person gets every day. Most people don’t consume near enough catechins to get cancer protection and heart benefit. The average daily intake is only 23 milligrams. You need 100 milligrams or more.

The problem is most doctors and nutritionists don’t know which foods have the most catechins.

One doctor who does is my colleague Dr. Victor Marchione. In his Food Doctor newsletter he outlines a strategy that can help you find and consume catechin-rich foods.

Start by adding some green tea to your diet, which has the anti-aging catechin EGCG (epigallocatechin). You can also eat dark chocolate.

Maybe the best fruit for getting enough catechins is the blackberry. Blackberries have about 40 milligrams in 100 grams, the highest of any fruit. One recent animal study showed that blackberry can lower blood sugar by 25%.

Red table wine is an excellent source of catechins, with about 10 milligrams of these compounds in 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces of liquid.

Another powerful healing food with catechins that’s not very well known is the rose hip. These are a great source of vitamin C. But I found a Swedish study that discovered rose hips get most of their antioxidant power to protect and heal from catechins.

Yet catechins are just one of the food compounds you can get in food to avoid heart disease, stroke and cancer. Dr. Marchione has written a very interesting report in which he recommends using foods like those that have catechins as a first line of medical treatment.

As you’ll see in his special report, foods go far beyond just providing basic nutrition. They have active compounds that could help you relieve pain, reduce blood pressure, and fight cancer. And these foods also make you feel more happy, relaxed and energized. For a limited time, you can get a copy of this report FREE. Check it out today.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

We generally have a fridge full of berries...including blackberries. On my cereal in the morning; as an after dinner treat n the evening and, like last night, in a homemade power drink with banana, apple juice and melon. 

See ya, eh!

Bob