Stay balanced : how to keep your blood sugar on the level

A focus on nourishing food is a core part of Revive – we’re passionate about freshly prepared food, free from additives and nonsense. Nutritionist, Mary Cotter will be joining our next Revive Days, to share her tips on how to eat for balanced energy.

What is Mary’s fundamental starting point re eating for energy?

My approach means learning to master your blood sugar balance. Simply balancing out hormones, so you don’t get fluctuations in your energy and concentration.  Sweet, fluffy and white foods (AKA simple carbohydrates) are going to give you a high burn. That means your blood sugar is going to rise and very steeply fall. At that fall, you are going to get hungry, which people try to ‘fix’ by having more refined sugary foods or stimulants (coffee). It is the opposite of balancing blood sugar and can lead to a rollercoaster of mood swings, tiredness, dizziness, grumpiness and headaches.

So….. focus on protein to avoid reaching for the sugar.

It’s much better to feed your body ‘complex’ carbohydrates with protein. Thick, fibrous and protein rich foods release their energy much more steadily: like coal on a fire instead of paper on a fire. It takes our bodies longer to break down these complex foods and this delivers energy more steadily into the bloodstream so you stay fuller for longer, your blood sugar is balanced and you’re not getting energy dips and crashes post lunchtime. This also helps to support a healthy weight.

Mary’s five tips on how to balance blood sugar and drip feed your energy are:

• Eat at regular times throughout the day.
• Combine quality protein (e.g. eggs, lean meat, fresh fish, tofu, quinoa, lentils) with complex, nutrient- rich fibrous foods (e.g. vegetables, brown rice, sweet potato, quinoa or beans) at each meal.
• Increase fibre intake: flaxseeds, hemp seeds, legumes, fruit and vegetables
• Add protein to breakfast. This could be nuts, hemp seeds, avocado, eggs, plain yoghurt. For example, chopped walnuts and banana to porridge.
• If you snack, swap the diet cereal bars for a protein snack such as a handful of cashews. Cereal bars contain processed and refined carbohydrate plus sugar and will zap you of your energy leaving you feeling, unsatisfied and craving something else. Always carry your own healthier treats such as homemade energy balls, oatcakes or fresh fruit paired with nuts or seeds.

So we’ll keep on making the addictive seeded crackers we serve with Revive brunch – as well as yummy raw energy balls and raw cakes for afternoon tea.

Here’s a very quick recipe crammed with only good things:

4 tbsp. crunchy unsweetened peanut butter

2 tbsp. hemp seeds

2 tbsp. chia seeds

2 tbsp. goji berries (soaked first in warm water for 5 minutes)

2 tbsp. desiccated coconut

1 tbsp. honey or agave nectar (if vegan)

Talk to Mary at our Revive Days on 2nd and 3rd June.

And we’ll also bring you her specialist advice on Eating for Performance.

@stellar_health_mary