When Should I Call For Medical Help
It is great to have regular medical care for your diabetes. There are some instances that you should call your doctor right away.
They include:
- If you experience an abnormally high blood sugar for more than 24 hours
- If you have fruity smelling breath or test positive for ketones in your urine
- If you become severely dehydrated
- If you are unable to eat or take your medications without vomiting
If someone ever loses consciousness, call 911 right away. This could be caused by blood sugar levels that are too high or too low.
Why Is Managing Blood Sugar Important
Keeping blood sugars at target levels helps people with diabetes avoid serious complications from the disease. High blood sugar can cause many ill effects, which can be sudden, such as acid buildup in the bloodstream, or occur gradually over time.
Over time, keeping blood sugar at unhealthful levels can damage small and large blood vessels in several organs and systems, leading to serious consequences, such as:
- vision impairment and blindness
Importance Of Diet In Diabetes
Much of the food you eat is broken down into sugar , which gets released into the bloodstream. When blood sugar increases, the pancreas, an organ responsible for digestion and blood sugar regulation, releases the hormone insulin. Insulin then helps cells absorb the sugar to be used for energy or stored.
In diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin to enable the cells to absorb enough sugar from the blood. Or the body might have enough insulin, but the cells do not respond to it. In both cases, this leads to there being too much sugar in the blood, which, over time can lead to serious health issues, such as vision loss, heart disease, and kidney disease.
Reducing sugar and other simple carbohydrates in your diet plays an important role in keeping blood sugar levels down, which can slow the progression of the disease and stave off such complications.
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Avoid Alcohol The Night Before And Sugar In Anything The Next Morning
Like to enjoy a tipple the night before you go to bed? Its time to cut down or back on that completely. The alcohol dehydrates the body and will mean your blood glucose level will be more saturated. The smaller amounts of glucose will affect you in bigger ways.
But this doesnt help you on a morning, right? Well, look out for drinking anything sugary on a morning. This includes your glass of orange juice. You may even want to avoid plain water!
You want to drink something that is going to keep your sugar levels to a minimum and not spart the release of insulin. That means looking for something that packs plenty of protein. Remember that protein berry smoothie? Consider that as your morning drink/breakfast. You can follow it with a glass of water if youd like.
A green smoothie would be another excellent option. It packs you full of nutrients, and you can add in the protein to get that filling element.
If you really want water, add a slice or two of lemon. You get some sweetness but without the large amounts of sugar hitting your system causing a problem.
Keeping your morning drink routine perfect will also help you reduce the stress hormones. Coffee is a stimulant and will just make your stress levels even worse. Anything with caffeine will do the same and thats usually what youll add sugar to. Opt for lemon water for a refreshing drink and then a smoothie for a no-caffeine, nutrient packed breakfast.
Which Foods Keep Your Sugar Levels In Control
Carbohydrates need to be consistent. You dont want to eat all of your daily carb count in one meal. That will cause your blood sugar to spike, and then drop during the other meals. Giving your body a steady amount of carbohydrates will provide a stable amount of energy. It will also help your body make enough insulin to keep your blood sugar at a healthy number.
The easiest way to make sure that your carb intake is appropriate is to count carbohydrates. It is a simplified way to evaluate foods based on their nutritional value. The best place to start when counting is to aim for 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal and roughly 15 to 30 grams for each snack in between meals. You may have to adjust this based on your individual needs and your blood sugar readings. It is a lot easier to calculate the carbohydrates when you have a food with a label, but many foods do not. Check the serving size on the label to be sure that you are counting correctly. The US Department of Agriculture has a website that allows you to type in any food and it will give you the nutritional values. Check it out at . A few examples of 15 grams of carbs include:
- 1 slice of bread
- ½ cup of oatmeal
- 1 small piece of fresh fruit
It is important that you pay attention to nutrients other than the carbs too. Be sure to have adequate protein and fiber, while keeping lots of fat to a minimum.
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Healthy Ways To Lower Your Blood Sugar
Make these simple lifestyle tweaks to minimize blood sugar swings and control your sugar levels.
Whether you have diabetes or prediabetesor just generally suffer ill effects from crazy blood sugar swingsyou want to know what really works to control your blood sugar levels. It can make all the difference in living well and staying off the blood sugar roller coaster that can drag down your mood and energy and skew your hunger levels. Here are a dozen tips that will help your blood sugar and your overall health.
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Natural Ways To Lower Blood Sugar
Whether you have symptoms of high blood sugar or youve been diagnosed with diabetes, you may be wondering how to lower blood sugar naturally. While blood sugar may be improved with home remedies, people with diabetes should not stop taking their medication or change their dosage without talking to their healthcare provider. But in addition to medication, you can try these natural remedies for lowering your blood sugar. Also consider the opposite, if you do not follow these healthful ways to lower blood sugar, the medication that your physician prescribes may never effectively control your blood sugars.
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How Do You Feel When Your Blood Sugar Is Too High
Whether you are at risk for diabetes mellitus or already have it, its essential to listen to your body for signs of high blood sugar. The following symptoms can indicate that your blood sugar is higher than normal, a condition called hyperglycemia:
- Headache
- Hunger
- Trouble thinking or concentrating
Its important to monitor your blood sugar because severely elevated blood sugar levels can lead to a life-threatening medical emergency and result in coma or other dangerous conditions. Elevated blood sugars over years can cause long-term effects such as poor wound healing, nerve, blood cell, and kidney damage, heart disease, stroke, and vision problems.
Keep in mind that, in many cases, low blood sugar follows an episode of high blood sugar, says M. Kara, MD, the founder of KaraMD. Repeat episodes are sometimes considered a precursor to diabetes.
Those with prediabetes may be prescribed medication to keep blood sugar levels in check. There are also ways to lower your blood sugar naturally. Keeping your blood glucose levels in the healthy range decreases your risk of diabetes complications. Those with Type 1 diabetes will need insulin regardless of their good habits.
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Poor or limited sleep affects body chemistry, and getting more slumber helps with blood sugar control, Weisenberger says. Chronic lack of sleep may contribute to the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a small study published in Diabetologia in February 2015. Healthy volunteers who slept only four hours for three nights in a row had higher levels of fatty acids in their blood, which reduced insulins ability to regulate blood sugar by about 23 percent, the researchers found. Lack of sleep is also linked with other health conditions, including obesity, heart disease, and stroke, according to the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends aiming for seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep per night.
Having sleep troubles? Follow these recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation:
- Sleep in a cool, dark room.
- Avoid consuming alcohol or caffeine in the hours before bed.
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, even on the weekends.
- Dont look at screens for at least a half hour before bedtime, including TV, tablets, cell phones, and computers.
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Stick To Your Medication And Insulin Regimen
Skipping a dose of medication or insulin can be harmful to your body and increase your blood sugar levels.
Its important to stick to your treatment plan and follow your doctors instructions for taking your medication.
Summary
Healthful lifestyle habits can help people manage their blood sugar levels over the long term, such as eating a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, staying hydrated, and getting good sleep.
Try Apple Cider Vinegar
Having some apple cider vinegar daily can help with glycemic control. One study showed that consuming two tablespoons of vinegar twice a day along with meals for three months helped bring down levels of HbA1c. It is important to note that plain vinegar was more effective in lowering the levels of HbA1c whereas a vinegar pill or vinegar in dill pickle did not have this effect.13So just get yourself some plain vinegar and drink up every day! To make it more palatable, stir it into some warm water to dilute. Alternatively, have it drizzled over your salad or proteins.
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Natural Ways To Lower Blood Sugar Levels
1. Apple Cider Vinegar.Although it may take several hours to kick in, apple cider vinegar has been repetitively shown to be able to reduce blood sugar levels. It is more of a proactive natural way to lower blood sugars, so adding this item to your daily routine might be part of your treatment plan. Youll want to find some form of extract to take this supplement. If you drink two tablespoons of it straight, outside of the flavor of it there is also the potential of hurting your teeth due to the acidity of the vinegar.
2. Chromium.The effects of this supplement can happen in just 60 minutes and have been proven over the course of multiple clinical studies. It acts to increase the efficiency of your liver, which means youll end up causing liver damage if you use too much of it every day. Its more of a mineral than an herb or a vitamin, but its effects simply cannot be denied. It helps your body interact with insulin so that it tolerates glucose a lot better. It also seems to add in the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. A little bit of this natural alternative will lower blood sugar levels and help you feel better very soon.
Manage Your Stress Levels
When stressed, your body prepares itself with extra glucose for emergency use. It does this by changing hormones to decrease insulin sensitivity and increase glucose release from cells. This causes blood sugar to increase. By managing your stress levels, you are also helping your body regulate blood sugar.
Finding ways to relieve stress is vital to regulating blood sugar. Everyone has different ways of managing stress. If you dont know where to start, you can try these simple steps to start at home yoga. Studies show yoga practice may improve blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetes outcomes.
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High Blood Sugar Levels: Causes In Patients With Diabetes
- The insulin or oral diabetes medication dose you are taking is not adequate per your needs.
- Your body isnt using your natural insulin effectively
- The number of carbohydrates you are eating or drinking is not in sync with the amount of insulin your body is making or the amount of insulin you inject.
- Lack of physical activity
- It can also be due to physical stress from illness, a cold, the flu, an infection, etc.
- Emotional stress
- Steroids you are taking for another condition.
- The dawn phenomenon is a surge of hormones the body produces every morning.
Drink Water And Stay Hydrated
Drinking enough water could help you keep your blood sugar levels within healthy ranges.
In addition to preventing dehydration, it helps your kidneys flush out any excess sugar through urine.
One review of observational studies showed that those who drank more water had a lower risk of developing high blood sugar levels (
34 ).
You can do so at home using a portable blood glucose meter, which is known as a glucometer. You can discuss this option with your doctor.
Keeping track allows you to determine whether you need to adjust your meals or medications. It also helps you learn how your body reacts to certain foods .
Try measuring your levels regularly every day and keeping track of the numbers in a log. Also, it may be more helpful to track your blood sugar in pairs for example, before and after exercise or before and 2 hours after a meal.
This can show you whether you need to make small changes to a meal if it spikes your blood sugar, rather than avoiding your favorite meals altogether. Some adjustments include swapping a starchy side for non-starchy veggies or limiting them to a handful.
Summary
Checking your blood glucose and maintaining a daily log enables you to adjust foods and medications when necessary to better manage your blood sugar levels.
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General Tips On How To Keep You Blood Sugar Levels In Control
- Foods to eat
You should eat foods that are high in protein, fiber, and lower in carbohydrates. You should aim at having around 45 to 60 carbs for each meal. Consistency throughout the day is key to keeping blood sugar levels in control. Foods low in fat and high in nutrients should be picked to maximize your nutrition.
Vegetables and fruits are great as well as eggs, fish, beans, and oatmeal. There is also research that shows cinnamon and apple cider vinegar can help lower your sugar.
- Foods to avoid
Avoiding foods like soda, juice, pasta, candy, and other desserts can help keep your sugar from climbing too high. These foods are high in sugars and fat but low in other nutrients.
Avoiding excess alcohol is also better for you. Read the following article that I wrote about drinking alcohol when you have diabetes to learn more about this topic:
- Signs and symptoms
Signs of high blood sugar include: increased thirst and hunger, blurred vision, irritability, dry mouth, tired, and urinating a lot.
- Look for patterns
Patterns can be great because they help you figure out what is causing undesirable blood sugar values. A good way to track of it is to keep a journal of all of the food you eat, activities you do and your blood sugar levels for 1 week. During this week, check your sugar before and after you eat, as well as in between meals. Also document any insulin that you give yourself.
- Test sugar levels regularly
Eat Smaller More Frequent Meals
It’s recommended that people with diabetes eat 4-5 small meals per day rather than larger meals.
A simple way to control portions is to use the Diabetes Plate Method. Start with a 9-inch plate or similar size. Make half the plate non-starchy vegetables, one quarter lean protein, and the rest whole grains or starchy vegetables. For snacks, try to buy individually packed snacks or pre-portion your own, such as a cup of yogurt, cheese sticks, or a small apple. For a more decadent treat that’s still nutritionally balanced, try this sunflower butter strawberry toast.
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Diabetes: Here Are 4 Drinks That You Can Include In Your Diet To Manage Blood Sugar Levels Better:
1. Karela Juice
Karela juice is said to be great for diabetics. It helps regulate the blood sugar levels in your body. According to Nutritionist Dr. Anju Sood, Karela juice tends to make your insulin active the sugar would be used adequately and not get converted into fat, which could also help in losing weight. Moreover, karela juice contains active substance known as charantin that is known as blood-glucose lowering agent. A glassful of karela juice in the morning could help regulate and manage blood sugar levels effectively.
2. Methi Water
One of the most effective natural remedies is methi dana. A study found that a daily dose of 10 grams of fenugreek seeds soaked in hot water may help control type-2 diabetes. Methi dana water has the ability to lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. It contains fibre and helps in slowing down digestion process, further regulating the absorption of carbohydrates and sugar. The fenugreek water also helps in improving the way your body uses sugar.
Diabetes: It helps regulate the blood sugar levels in your body
3. Barley Water
Barley or jau water is high in insoluble fibre, which makes it good for diabetics. It is recommended for diabetics as it helps stabilise blood glucose levels. Make sure you drink unsweetened barley water to get effective results. The antioxidant properties of barley water also helps keep many diseases at bay.
4. Green Tea