According to World Health Organization, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, a number which is likely to more than double in the next 20 years. Indians and Asians are genetically more all of our diets contain high sugar, high sodium and more processed foods such as refined flour, preservatives and additives. Hence, this form of diabetes that is acquired through our lifestyle choices is called type 2 diabetes.

 The good news is type 2 diabetes can be controlled if you manage your diet and exercise smartly. So, here are some ways by which you can easily control your blood sugar levels.Read to know more about healthy blood sugar level.

1. Walk after each meal 

Walking helps in managing and preventing diabetes. When you exercise, you manage your body’s ability to control sugar levels. So along with regular exercise schedule, don’t miss light walk after each meal.

 2. Eat veggies and protein before you start with carbs  

Starting meal with veggies/salads and protein and finishing it with carbs keeps you fuller so that you don’t end up overeating. When diabetics follow this rule, their blood sugars came out to be much lower compared to when they ate carbohydrate first.

3. Say “NO” to Refined flour (Maida)

Refined flour is a processed food with negligible nutritional value. It contains high glycemic index that causes a more rapid rise in blood glucose levels. So, refined flour doesn’t taste sweet but still raises your blood sugar level same as sugar do. Most of the food products such as pizza, naan, bread, noodles, pasta, batura are made up of refined flour. Instead of this, choose wheat flour(atta) based food products.

4. Eliminate obvious sugar from the diet 

Desserts, packaged juices, cookies, chocolates, sweets and the sugar you add in your tea/milk are the obvious sugar which should get eliminated from diet. Excess sugar is really bad for your health. All health complications like weight gain, diabetes, cholesterol problem, imbalance of hormones and much more might rise if intake of excess sugar is not controlled. One tip to replace sugar craving is to drink lots of water and secondly carry some healthy snack like almonds with you. These 2 tips will surely stop your sugar cravings.Get more information on health benefits of nuts and seeds.

 5. Pick a healthy snack 

When you are hungry, avoid the temptation of junk food and choose healthy snack like almonds. Almonds are good source of vitamin E, fiber and contain healthy fat. And, they keep you full for long duration. Above all it has antioxidant rich properties which manages your sugar level and cholesterol. This means that munching on some almonds a day will help in controlling diabetes and heart related medical conditions.