How To Get Blood Sugar Up

The Best Foods To Eat To Help Avoid Or Lower Your High Blood Sugar

3 Ways To Treat Low Blood Sugar | She’s Diabetic

While theres no such thing as a hyperglycemia diet per se, your eating choices still play an important role in regulating your blood sugar levels.

First, know you cant just cut all carbs or avoid foods with sugar to prevent blood sugar spikes. After all, healthy foods such as fruits and veggies also contain carbs and sugar. The value of carbs differs according to their complexity, and sugar in food is different from blood sugar.

White bread, pasta, and rice
Packaged and processed snacks, such as chips, pretzels, cookies, and candy
Soda or juice
Foods high in saturated fat, such as hot dogs, bacon, and sausage
Foods high in trans fats, like margarine and certain packaged baked goods
Foods that can raise your cholesterol, like liver, red meat, and full-fat dairy

Tracking your carb intake, especially if you have diabetes, is also critical for avoiding blood sugar spikes.

Diabetes Spectrum

Wait Why Is Your Blood Sugar Up In The Morning

Why is it that your blood sugar levels will rise overnight? You dont eat anything, so how can you possibly add any glucose to your system?

Well, those who suffer from type II diabetes will find this is most problematic. The body still creates glucose throughout the night. It needs to, whether youve eaten something or not. This natural process is called gluconeogenesis, and there is nothing you can do to stop it nor would you want to. In a healthy person, this process doesnt cause a major problem.

Those with diabetes will find the gluconeogenesis process is increased. That means your body produces more glucose naturally than it would if you were healthy.

Lets not forget that the stress hormone cortisol also plays a part. This increases slowly on a morning until it reaches a peak early in the morning. The cortisol will elevate the blood sugar levels, so you end up with naturally higher levels on a morning.

To keep your blood sugar levels down, you need to keep your cortisol and gluconeogenesis levels down. Theres no need for extra medication when you follow the seven tips that will follow.

Morning Rituals Proven To Lower Morning Blood Sugar Naturally

If youre a diabetic, you may find that your blood sugar levels are at their peak in the morning. This is due to the fasting period overnight. Its common for blood sugar tests to require a period of fasting beforehand to get the best natural levels.

You need to get your blood sugar levels down right away. The good news is you dont necessarily need to rely on medication. While you will want to take medication in the way that your doctor has prescribed, you will still want to follow these seven-morning rituals. It is possible to reverse type II diabetes and focus on a healthier and more natural lifestyle.

Even if youre not a diabetic, you will want to keep your morning blood sugar levels down. Here are the seven must-follow morning rituals that have proven to lower the blood sugar levels on a morning completely naturally.

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When Should I Check My Blood Sugar

How often you check your blood sugar depends on the type of diabetes you have and if you take any diabetes medicines.

Typical times to check your blood sugar include:

When you first wake up, before you eat or drink anything.
Before a meal.
Two hours after a meal.
At bedtime.

If you have type 1 diabetes, have type 2 diabetes and take insulin, or often have low blood sugar, your doctor may want you to check your blood sugar more often, such as before and after youre physically active.

Blood Sugar Levels During Pregnancy

The NIDDK states that gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that occurs during pregnancy if you were not diabetic before getting pregnant. Healthy blood sugar during pregnancy can help lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later. It can also lower the risk of your baby being born prematurely, at a high birth weight, and having respiratory problems.

Blood sugar and insulin levels during the first trimester of pregnancy tend to be lower than usual, but they rise during the late second and early third trimesters. You can be diagnosed with an oral glucose tolerance test .

These are the steps for the 2-step strategy.

Drink a solution with 50 grams of glucose about the amount in 1 16-oz. bottle of a soft drink
Get your blood drawn after 1 hour. IF the value is high, retest
Fast overnight
Drink a solution with 100 grams of glucose about the amount in 12 peanut butter cups
Get your blood drawn immediately and after 1, 2, and 3 hours

Or, your doctor might use the 1-step strategy with a 2-hour OGTT:

Fast overnight
Drink a solution with 75 grams of glucose
Get your blood drawn immediately and after 1 and 2 hours

These are some values to know from NIDKK related to gestational diabetes and healthy blood sugar in pregnancy.

Time or Situation
Baseline: at least 105 mg/dl1 hour: at least 190 mg/dl2 hours: at least 165 mg/dl3 hours: at least 145 mg/dl

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Choose A High Protein Breakfast

One thing that above should have taught you is that protein on a morning is good for you. That is certainly the case for your diabetes.

Choose a high protein breakfast to lowerthe amount of sugars you add to your system. If you have a carb filled breakfast especially simple carbs youll just add to the glucose that is already in your system!

Look out for high protein ingredients that you can add to your food, even if it is as well as the carbs. For example, you could opt for peanut butter on your toast instead of jam! You get away from the sugars and focus more on the healthy fats and high protein toppings that will balance out some of the carbs that you eat on the toast.

All-protein breakfasts that have no carbs at all will be better, though. Think about vegetable omelets or protein berry smoothies to start your morning just right. Youll find that your blood sugar levels start to drop as your body gets the energy that it needs.

How Often Should I Check My Blood Sugar

The number of times that you check your blood sugar will depend on the type of diabetes that you have and the type of medicine you take to treat your diabetes. For example, people who take insulin may need to check more often than people who do not take insulin. Talk with your health care team about how often to check your blood sugar.

The common times for checking your blood sugar are when you first wake up , before a meal, 2 hours after a meal, and at bedtime. Talk with your health care team about what times are best for you to check your blood sugar.

Its Strange That Blood Sugar In A Diabetic Can Rise Despite Not Having Eaten Anything Since Typically Eating Causes Blood Sugar To Go Up

But its no uncommon occurrence that in diabetes, glucose or blood sugar levels can actually rise in the absence of eating.

When we dont take food into our body for energy, our liver will try to help us by releasing glucose into our blood so we have the energy we need to stay alive, says Lucille Hughes, RN, CDE, director of diabetes education at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY.

For people with diabetes, the liver may release too much glucose, causing blood sugar to go up.

This is why its so important for diabetics to regularly take blood sugar readings, even if they feel fine.

The liver has hundreds of jobs. One of those jobs is to release glucose into the bloodstream for energy because the body requires energy to function, even when at rest.

Basic bodily functions require energy and glucose provides that energy.

In diabetes, things are out of whack in the body. The liver in the diabetic may sometimes overestimate how much sugar to release into the bloodstream.

Or, to put it another way, the liver over-corrects the problem.

The only way that a diabetic can stay ahead of this curve is to monitor their glucose levels on a regular basis throughout the day to make sure that the sugar level doesnt sneak its way into getting into a dangerously high range.

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How To Lower Morning Blood Sugar

How to Bring Fasting Blood Sugar DOWN FAST!

Whether a morning high is caused by the dawn phenomenon or something else, here are a few things you can try to lower your blood sugar levels:

Physical activity when you wake up can help bring your glucose level down. Even going for a walk can be helpful.
To learn about exercise guidelines and glucose management strategies, click here.
Read Adam Browns take on walking the most underrated diabetes exercise strategy.

Eating a light breakfast can help keep a morning high from increasing even more. Taking your mealtime insulin will help lower your blood sugar.

Adam Brown suggests eating a breakfast that is low in carbs, and notes that sometimes mealtime insulin has to be adjusted in the morning. One of his favorite breakfasts is chia pudding, since it has little impact on glucose levels see what else he eats for breakfast here.

Catherine Newman has six popular, low-carb, delicious recipes in The Morning Meal.

Intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding approaches to meal timing can also help people keep morning blood sugar levels in range. Read Justine Szafrans Intermittent Fasting: Stabilizing My Morning Blood Sugars to learn more.

For additional ways to navigate mornings, read seven strategies from Adam Brown in A Home Run Breakfast with Diabetes.

This article is part of a series on time in range.

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Are You At Risk For High Blood Sugar How To Know

Eat too many processed or fast foods
Dont exercise regularly
Eat large meals, or engage in binge eating
Are under a lot of stress on a regular basis, either from work, dating, or another factor
Have recurring illnesses

When To Call A Doctor

When you have prediabetes, its important to watch for symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Call your doctor if you notice that you are:

Feeling very thirsty a lot of the time.
Urinating more often than usual.
Feeling very hungry a lot of the time.
Having blurred vision.

You may want to talk to your doctor about testing for prediabetes if you are:

Overweight and get little or no exercise.
Interested in reducing your risk for getting type 2 diabetes.

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Checking For Low Blood Sugar Levels

The warning signs of hypoglycemia are the body’s natural response to low blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels fall too low, the body releases the hormone adrenaline, which helps get stored glucose into the bloodstream quickly. This can make someone:

pale
start shaking
have an increased heart rate

If the hypoglycemia isn’t treated, more serious symptoms may happen, such as drowsiness, confusion, seizures, and loss of consciousness.

The only way to know for sure if you’re having a low blood sugar level is to test. Blood sugar levels can be tested with a . This computerized device measures and displays the amount of glucose in a blood sample. But if you can’t quickly check your blood sugar level, it’s important to treat yourself for hypoglycemia immediately to prevent symptoms from getting worse.

Sometimes a person with diabetes may have symptoms of low blood sugar levels, but blood sugar levels are not actually low. This is a called a false reaction. The hormone adrenaline is not just released when blood sugar drops too low it’s also released when blood sugar levels fall quickly when they’re too high. If you’re having a false reaction, you might actually have blood sugar levels in a healthy range but feel as if you have low blood sugar. Testing blood sugar levels before treating yourself for hypoglycemia can help you figure out if you’re having a false reaction.

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Low Blood Sugar Levels

Blood sugar that is too low can cause symptoms such as:

shaking and sweating

headache
tiredness

As with low blood sugar, high blood sugar may cause loss of consciousness or seizures if people leave them untreated. Persistent high levels can increase the risk of serious complications that doctors relate to diabetes, such as cardiovascular disease.

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How Can I Treat Low Blood Sugar

If youve had low blood sugar without feeling or noticing symptoms , you may need to check your blood sugar more often to see if its low and treat it. Driving with low blood sugar can be dangerous, so be sure to check your blood sugar before you get behind the wheel.

Carry supplies for treating low blood sugar with you. If you feel shaky, sweaty, or very hungry or have other symptoms, check your blood sugar. Even if you dont have symptoms but think you may have low blood sugar, check it. If your blood sugar is lower than 70 mg/dL, do one of the following immediately:

Take four glucose tablets.
Drink four ounces of fruit juice.
Drink four ounces of regular soda, not diet soda.
Eat four pieces of hard candy.

Wait for 15 minutes and then check your blood sugar again. Do one of the above treatments again until your blood sugar is 70 mg/dL or above and eat a snack if your next meal is an hour or more away. If you have problems with low blood sugar, ask your doctor if your treatment plan needs to be changed.

Symptoms Treatments And Prevention

Hyperglycemia means high glucose in the blood . Your body needs glucose to properly function. Your cells rely on glucose for energy. Hyperglycemia is a defining characteristic of diabeteswhen the blood glucose level is too high because the body isnt properly using or doesnt make the hormone insulin.

Eating too many processed foods may cause your blood sugar to rise.

High Calorie Foods May Or May Not Cause The Blood Sugar Level To Rise

Many people think that all high-calorie foods raise blood sugar level, but this is not always the case.

In general, foods that cause blood sugar level to rise the most are those that are high in carbohydrates, which are quickly converted into energy, such as rice, bread, fruits and sugar. Next are foods high in protein, such as meats, fish eggs, milk and dairy products, and oily foods. However, even though carbohydrates affect blood sugar levels, if you don’t eat them your diet will be unbalanced and you won’t feel satisfied after your meal, which can lead to excessive consumption of foods rich in protein and fat.

Food containing three major nutrients

Carbohydrates

Glucose Tablets: A Quick Fix

How to Lower Your Blood Sugar

If your blood sugar has dropped too low, a quick-acting carbohydrate is needed to bring blood sugar levels back up, says OConnor. Glucose tablets are tailor-made to help. This inexpensive fix for low blood sugar is widely available at pharmacies and large chain stores like Walmart and Target.

Usually, three to four glucose tablets are needed to bring levels back up. We recommend that patients who are prone to hypoglycemia carry glucose tablets with them and put them in several locations in their home and car, says OConnor. Glucose is also sold in gel form in small packets, and as a beverage.

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The Fattest People On Earth

The Pimas of Arizona are among the fattest groups of people in the world. The only populations more obese are people living on some isolated Pacific Islands. On the Gila River reservation in Arizona, children as young as six and seven are so obese they cannot run. They lumber across baseball fields, out of breath before they get to first base.

What Are Some Tips To Prevent Nighttime Blood Sugar Level Dips

Check your level before bed. According to Sulay Shah, M.D., a board certified endocrinologist, the only way to know if you are at risk is to monitor your blood glucose levelsas there arent always telltale signs.If you check and you notice that your levels are close to 70 mg/dL at bedtime, then you know you might be at risk, Dr. Shah says. In this case, he recommends eating some complex carbohydrates, like a peanut butter sandwich, an apple with peanut butter or one slice of multigrain toast with some avocado.

Dont skip dinner. If you arent eating dinner, Dr. Shah advises skipping your rapid-acting insulin or medicine, like glipizide or glimepiride, that can decrease your blood sugar levels. The goal here is to match your meal and medication, he says.

Monitor your alcohol intake. If you notice that your blood sugar is dropping after having a few beers or vodka sodas, then Dr. Shah warns that you may need to try to eat complex carbohydrates with the alcohol. Dr. Shah notes that blood sugar tends to drop 3 to 4 hours after drinking alcohol. When you regularly drink alcohol, you are decreasing the amount of stored glucose in the liver which helps to maintain a blood sugar in normal range, he explains.

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