Many women are now turning to natural food therapy to ease the symptoms of unbalanced blood sugar. High blood sugar has been shown to increase your risk for diabetes as well as other serious conditions.
If you’re an older woman, you may want to jump on the bandwagon and try following a blood-sugar-balanced diet. It may take some time to notice a difference in how you feel, but you won’t need to be concerned about risks and side effects of prescription drugs and the looming presence of diabetes, which is now afflicting so many older adults.
One of the most important vitamins when it comes to maintaining balanced blood sugar is zinc. You’ll want to make sure that you are getting enough of this mineral every day.
A study performed at the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, investigated the intake of zinc in relation to the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. The researchers evaluated dietary intakes of zinc in a large cohort of women.
During follow-up, 6,030 cases of type 2 diabetes were reported. After adjustment of lifestyle and dietary risk factors, the research team calculated the relative risks of type 2 diabetes. They compared the highest intakes and lowest intakes for dietary zinc from food sources. They found that a higher zinc intake was associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in the women.
Not only could zinc help prevent diabetes, but it could also help with hormonal imbalances and fibrosis conditions (read the article Boost Your Immune System with Zinc).This is because it plays an important role in hormone production. Zinc helps to increase progesterone levels and lower estrogen.
As you age (if you’re a woman), you may undergo dietary or hormonal changes that could affect your zinc status. For example, excess estrogen can lower serum zinc levels and women who are estrogen dominant or using estrogen replacement therapy should check to be sure their zinc intake is adequate.
The best food sources of zinc are: Brazil nuts; pumpkin seeds; chickpeas; almonds; free- range eggs; chicken; turkey; beef; lamb; wheat germ;, shellfish; and oysters.