Keeping blood glucose levels under control is important for proper type 2 diabetes management. However, many things in everyday life affect your blood glucose, including your diet, stress management, and physical activity.
For example, lack of exercise or physical inactivity, a diet high in carbs and sugar, and stress can all raise your blood sugar levels in an instant. And, Constant high blood glucose leads to type 2 diabetes and many other health complications.
Some of them are vision loss, kidney damage, heart failure, depression, nerve damage, amputations, etc. That’s why blood sugar control is vital for your health and well-being.
To help you maintain healthy blood sugar, and thus avoid many health complications, we present you with ten tips you should follow regularly.
10 Tips to Stabilize Blood Glucose
1. Use More Cinnamon
According to studies, this common spice can increase insulin sensitivity and improve blood sugar levels. What’s more, cinnamon can reduce cholesterol levels and risk factors related to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
So, sprinkle more of this cheap spice to improve your blood sugar control. However, avoid it if you have liver problems.
2. Exercise Regularly
Stop making excuses that you don’t have time to exercise regularly, as you only need 20-30 minutes a day to do so. Choose any physical activity you enjoy, and do it every day.
There are many studies that prove the beneficial effects of regular exercise on blood sugar management.
3. Avoid Sugary Sports Drinks
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts discovered that exercising doesn’t improve insulin sensitivity if you replace your burned energy with sugary sports drinks.
Otherwise, it does improve insulin sensitivity by 40% after losing 500 calories.
4. Alpha Lipoic Acid
Studies show that alpha-lipoic acid helps reduce blood glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity. What’s more, it can help kill free radicals, thus reducing symptoms of peripheral neuropathy. So, consult your doctor about taking alpha-lipoic acid supplements.
5. Snack on Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are full of valuable nutrients, including magnesium, fiber, vitamin K, and protein. Studies suggest that adding pumpkin seed powder or pumpkin juice to your diet helps the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Part of the beneficial effects in people with diabetes is thanks to the high magnesium content which reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. What’s more, they are loaded with dietary fiber, so snacking on them will keep you full for longer.
6. Get a Good Blood Glucose Monitoring Device
Checking your blood glucose level after meals, allows you to see how each type of food and drink affects it. The number shouldn’t be higher than 139 mg/dl and lower than 100 when checking your blood sugar two hours after eating.
7. Eat Little But Often
This way of eating allows the body to function more efficiently during the day. On the other hand, consuming a large meal increases blood sugar levels at first. But after the food is digested, the blood glucose levels drop.
However, this blood sugar crash is not good as it causes sugar cravings.
8. Drink Wisely
Alcohol causes sudden blood sugar spikes, and then a drop after a few hours. Once again, this is not good for your diabetes management, so you should stick to moderate amounts and drink while eating some solid food.
9. Medications
Do regular checkups with your doctor as they may prescribe you a different diabetes medication at a different time.
This means you may take a prescription medication without getting any improvement, in which case that medication is not fit for your current condition, so you have to change it immediately.
10. Control Stress Levels
Stress impacts your blood glucose, so learning how to control it will help you improve your diabetes management. During stress, your body secretes two hormones – cortisol and glucagon. Both of them can spike your blood sugar.
So, practice meditation, exercise, and, yoga to help lower stress and blood sugar levels. In fact, mindfulness-based stress reduction, relaxation methods like yoga, and exercise can also improve insulin production problems in people with chronic diabetes.
