10 Tips to Lower Blood Sugar Naturally

This content originally appeared in everyday health. It was reissued with permission.

By Moira Roller

Medically reviewed by Casey Church, Maryland

It’s the holy grail for people with diabetes: checking your blood sugar level and looking at the numbers side by side. Will lifestyle changes be helpful? Yes, the author with Jill Weisenberger of RDN, a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Nutrition, says 21 Things You Need to Know About Diabetes and Your Mind.

If you have diabetes, lowering your blood sugar levels is not just a short-term goal. It helps prevent or delay complications of diabetes, including heart, kidneys, eyes and neurological diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It can completely change the course of the disease.

“It’s 100% important for people with type 2 diabetes to try their dietary approach first,” says Jessica Crandall of CDCES, owner of Vital RD, a Denver-based health coaching and nutrition planning company. “For some people, it’s not only preventative, but it also helps to reverse the actual illness.”

Crandall says that making some important lifestyle changes can eliminate the need for medication. “It’s not funny to thrust yourself with insulin,” she says. “Diabetes is a progressive disease and you really have to find a way to take control.”

Here are 10 ways to do it, but no prescription is required.

1. Be careful about your carbohydrate intake

Jude Infannini/onsplash

Paying attention to carbohydrates is important for people with type 2 diabetes. “Carbohydrates are the potential source of fluctuations in blood sugar,” says Crandall.

How many carbohydrates are ideal for each meal? “It’s tailored to each individual,” Weisenberger says. According to the CDC, how much exercise, weight, age, and age can affect how long you stay in your system. A typical starting point for diabetics is to limit carbohydrate intake and adjust according to blood sugar readings or as recommended by a nutritionist, says Crandhall.

Also, keep in mind that carbohydrates are not found only by regular perpetrators such as bread, potatoes, and pasta. They are also found in fruits, vegetables, sweets and dairy products, so all of them should be taken into consideration, says Crandhall.

2. Avoid large amounts of food

One way to keep your carbohydrates in control is to eat moderately. “I always tell patients to spread food all day,” says Weisenberger. “Don’t eat small meals to save up for a big dinner,” according to Crandal, feeding the body throughout the day regulates blood sugar levels and prevents highs and lows.

Both Weisenberger and Crandall tell them to monitor carbs, even in snacks. “Classically, under 15 grams (g) of carbohydrates per snack are the standard approach,” says Crandhall. It was found in 1 cup of fruit, she says.

3. Fill in the fiber

Louis Hansel/Uncrash

Fiber is another nutrient and something you’d like to pay attention to for blood sugar control, but in this case it’s even better! It could help stabilize your blood sugar, says Crandhall. Also, according to a review published in 2017, weight management can play a role, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Fiber also plays a preventive role. A 2018 survey found that a high-fiber diet can reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes by 15-19%..

According to Mayo Clinic, plant foods such as raspberries, peas and whole grains have fiber. Beans are another good source of fiber. According to a 2012 study, people who ate at least one legume plant (beans, chickpeas, lentils) every day each month had lower blood sugar levels, as measured by the A1c test.. According to the National Institutes of Health, beans are a great source of folic acid and are associated with a low risk of cardiovascular disease, a complication of diabetes.

According to Mayo Clinic, men aim to get 30-38 g of fiber per day, while women should consume 21-25 g of fiber per day.

4. Get a higher quality shuteye

Deprived or limited sleep can affect the chemical effects of the body, and getting more sleep can help control blood sugar, says Weisenberger. A small study published in 2015 shows that chronic sleep deficiency can contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes. Healthy volunteers who only slept for 4 hours for three consecutive nights reduced the ability of insulin to regulate blood glucose levels by about 23%. Sleep lack is also linked to other health conditions, including obesity, heart disease and stroke, according to the Harvard Medical School’s Department of Sleep Medicine.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that you aim for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.

Do you have any sleep problems? Follow these recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation.

• Sleep in a cool, dark room.
• Do not consume alcohol or caffeine in the next few hours before bedtime.
• Even on weekends, I wake up sleeping at the same time every day.
• Do not look at the screen at least 30 minutes before bed, such as on TVs, tablets, mobile phones, computers.

5. Lose a little weight

According to National Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, it is one of the main causes of insulin resistance, so that blood glucose-lowering hormones function properly.

Your weight loss goal doesn’t have to be big either. Some of Weisenberger’s patients have improved blood sugar readings with just a five-pound loss, she says. A study published in 2011 also found that losing 5-10% of body weight improved insulin sensitivity and improved glucose tolerance. “Small steps in the right direction can have great consequences for improvement or prevention,” says Crandall.

6. I’ll drink more water

Engin Akyurt/Endpash

Maintaining hydration is a simple way to control blood sugar levels. One study The more water participants poured in, the less likely they were to develop hyperglycemia. More specifically, the study found that people who drink less than ½ liter of water per day were at a higher risk of developing blood glucose problems.

The idea is that water helps flush glucose out of the body. “Having a glass of water is essentially a great help in diluting blood sugar levels and lowering blood sugar levels in a healthy way,” says Crandhall.

7. Handle stress

When you’re stressed, your blood sugar tends to rise, says Crandhall. According to the University of California San Francisco, stress can lower levels of insulin, raise certain hormones, and release more glucose from the liver from the liver, causing up to 8 hours of confusion.

How can I burn tension? Yoga and meditation help people lower their blood sugar levels, Weisenberger says. A 2014 study involving 27 nursing students found that a combination of yoga and meditation practiced once a week for an hour reduced stress levels and blood glucose levels after 12 weeks.

Crandhall also suggests taking deep breaths, going for a walk, playing with your pet for a few minutes, and listening to some fun songs. Essentially, “anything you can do by simply distracting you for a few minutes and slowing your breathing rate,” she says. In fact, the CDC points out that the lower the water in the body, the higher the blood glucose level.

8. Don’t eat breakfast

We all hear that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is especially true for people with diabetes. “I think eating breakfast is important, especially with a potential risk of hypoglycemia and it helps you avoid potential highs associated with fasting for long periods of time,” says Crandhall.

MISSORI — A high protein breakfast is better than a high-carb breakfast, according to a study from Columbia University. In this study, women aged 18-55 years consumed diets with similar calorie, fat and fiber content, but that amount of protein differs. Researchers monitored the amount of glucose and insulin in participants’ blood for 4 hours after eating breakfast. The best breakfast contained 39 g of protein, which lowered glucose spikes after measurements than a low protein diet.

What’s more, eating breakfast may help overweight people with type 2 diabetes to shed the extra pounds. Of participants in the National Weight Management Registry who maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for at least a year, 78% said they would eat breakfast every day.

9. Add resistant starch to the plate

Shelley Pauls/Unsplash

According to Johns Hopkins’ medicine, resistant starch found in some potatoes and beans bypass the small intestine and fermentation in the large intestine. And the effect continues throughout your next meal, Weisenberger says. “It’s called the ‘second meal effect’,” she says.

Interestingly, resistant starch can change with heat, and some foods like rice are higher and warmer with resistant starch when cooked and cooled.

Also resistant starch:

• Plantain and immature banana
• Beans, peas, lentils
• Whole grains containing oats and barley

Keep carbohydrate count in mind when incorporating foods with resistant starch into your diet.

10. Increase your movements every day

According to the American Diabetes Association, exercise can help improve blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes by increasing the body’s ability to use insulin sensitivity and glucose as energy. “In Type 2, exercise helps improve insulin resistance,” says James G. Beckerman, MD, cardiologist at Providence Heart Clinic in Portland, Oregon. “The final result is hypoglycemia.”

Crandhall tells patients that exercise is like a spring cleaning of the body. “We take stored form of glucose and use it for energy, so there’s a place to put it the next time we eat carbohydrates,” she says.

Exercise can quickly reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, so we work with our medical team to determine the right amount of activity and timing. A study published in 2017 found that exercise 30 minutes after the start of a meal is usually the best way to maintain blood sugar control.