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So how can someone swap out ingredients in a recipe to help lessen blood sugar impact for those of us with hypoglycemia, diabetes, and/or insulin resistance?  There are ways, trust me!  Life without goodies is no life at all, right?

First, why is it so important to eat foods with minimal impact on the blood sugar even if you’re not diabetic, hypoglycemic, or insulin resistant?  Because severe blood sugar swings contribute to adrenal fatigue, one of the major underlying causes of panic attacks, anxiety, depression, and other stuff like that.  Also, it just plain makes you fat!

1.  To reduce sugar in a recipe, I will take the amount called for and half it. Then I add in stevia to kick it up to the sweetness level I want.  1 cup of sugar = 1 teaspoon of stevia.  1 tablespoon of sugar = 1/4 teaspoon of stevia.  1 teaspoon of sugar = a pinch or 1/16 teaspoon of stevia.  A little goes a long way with this stuff!  Too much stevia will give a funky aftertaste.  For example, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar.  I will use 1/2 cup of sugar and supplement with 1/2 teaspoon of stevia.

2.  Use coconut, nut, or bean flour.  When I bake, I especially use recipes that call for almond flour and coconut flour.  You cannot use a traditional recipe and swap out for these. Because they do not contain gluten and are very fibrous – special accomodations need to be made.  Because of food allergy awareness, there have been many books written on these flours that are excellent. I have a few listed in the My Favorite Stuff section.

3.  I do not use rice, soy, corn, or potato flours. One reason is I’m reactive to corn, soy, and potato. As for the rice, it’s very high glycemic. For me, it spikes and crashes my blood sugar too radically. Which stinks because it makes for good gluten-free pasta and cookies!  Boo hoo.

4.  You might be thinking, what about agave?  It’s being touted as a super sweetener that is low glycemic and perfect for people with blood sugar issues.  I used to think that too, until it gave me big problems. I was having severe swings from the 200’s down to 60’s.  Because agave is pure fructose, it is not a friend to our insulin receptors or liver.   If the key words “agave dangers” are searched on the web, much interesting mind fodder can be found.  I miss it dearly and it tastes wonderful.  The day I cut out agave I was in mourning, but all I know is when I cut out the agave and my blood sugars were much more regulated.

5.  Maple syrup and honey?  Maple syrup is relatively low on the glycemic index (low 50’s).  It can be used in recipes in place of sugar, the only problem is it’s strong and distinctive taste!  Honey is over 80 in the glycemic – it’s not too far behind sugar. Lesser amounts can be used instead of sugar because it’s sweeter. But, the best honey is raw and if  it’s heated the health giving enzymes are killed.

6.  There are other sugars that can be used also that I have experimented with. I do not know enough about them to share my experiences. Oh, except yacon syrup. It’s very glow glycemic but it tastes like minerals!  It compares to molasses. If anyone has used this, I’d love to hear from you!  Other sugars you can research are xylitol, sucanat, brown rice syrup, date sugar, chicory sugar, and palm sugar. That will keep you busy for a while!

Experiment and have fun with these suggestions.  Remember, everything in moderation.   Not only will you help anxiety, diabetes, hypoglycemia, and insulin resistance – you’ll just plain feel better when your blood sugar is balanced. Plus if you need to, you might be able to cinch in your belt a few notches!