How To Lower Blood Sugar Numbers

What Is Hemoglobin A1c

Hemoglobin A1C is a lab test. It indicates an average blood glucose reading for the last 90 days. It is done when you find out you have diabetes, and every 3 months after that at clinic visits. A person without diabetes has a Hemoglobin A1C of less than 5.6%.

The chart below shows the Hemoglobin A1C result compared with the blood glucose number.

What Are Normal Blood Sugar Levels

Normal blood sugar levels vary based on when you last ate. For example, if you just ate a meal, your blood sugar levels will be higher than if you haven’t eaten in a while.

The normal blood glucose range is 70-99 mg/dL before meals, and less than 140 mg/dL two hours after eating. If you are fasting , your blood sugar should be below 95 mg/dL.

Causes Of High Blood Sugar

Common causes of high blood sugar in people with diabetes include:

• being unwell
• eating too much sugary or starchy food
• being less active than usual
• missing doses of diabetes medicine

You can also get high blood sugar if your diabetes medicine is not working well, you’re taking certain medicines or you recently had an operation.

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Add Probiotics To Your Diet

Probiotics have significant effects on reduction of glucose, HbA1c, insulin levels and insulin resistance in diabetics, according to research. Probiotics encourage a healthy gut microbiome, which improves glucose metabolism. This positively benefits lipid profile, glycemic control, inflammation and blood pressure in diabetes type 2 patients.

Add More Resistant Starch To Your Plate

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Resistant starch found in some potatoes and beans bypasses the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine, which means it doesnt raise glucose levels and promotes the growth of good bacteria in the body, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Its a fiber-filled starch and helps with glycemic control, says Joelle Malinowski, RD, a certified diabetes care and education specialist with Ellis Medicine in Schenectady, New York. And the effect will last through your next meal, Weisenberger says. Its called the second-meal effect, she says.

Interestingly, resistant starch can change with heat, and some foods, like rice, are higher in resistant starch when cooked and cooled than when cooked and served warm, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Resistant starches are also found in:

• Plantains and unripe bananas
• Beans, peas, and lentils
• Whole grains, including oats and barley

Just be sure to keep carb count in mind when incorporating foods with resistant starch into your diet.

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Correcting High Blood Sugar Levels With Insulin

If you take insulin, one way to reduce blood sugar is to inject insulin.

However, be careful as insulin can take 4 hours or longer to be fully absorbed, so you need to make sure you take into account how much insulin you may already have in your body that is yet to be absorbed by the blood. Insulin that is yet to be absorbed by the blood is called active insulin.

If you decide to correct with insulin, watch you dont over correct as this can lead to hypoglycemia and can be dangerous, particularly so before bed.

High Blood Glucose: Diabetic Ketoacidosis

If your insulin level is too low, your blood glucose could become so high that it is unsafe. You might develop a serious problem called diabetic ketoacidosis . This usually happens in people with Type 1 diabetes and those with glucose levels over 500.

If you have DKA, chemicals called ketones start to make a lot of acid in your body. The acid and high blood glucose can make you very sick. You might also become dehydrated . You can prevent DKA by carefully giving yourself the correct insulin dose every day.

If you have any of the following symptoms of DKA, get to your local emergency department right away. You need to be treated with insulin and fluids that are given to you through an IV :

• Blurry vision
• Dry mouth, eyes or skin
• Fast breathing
• Feeling very weak or tired
• Fruity-smelling breath
• Stomach pain, nausea or vomiting

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Manage Your Stress Better

Stress, whether physical, mental or emotional, has been proven to contribute towards changes in blood sugar levels. Dont let work stress follow you home. Similarly, dont let a stressful relationship worsen your diabetes symptoms. One of the best ways to manage stress is to practice yoga and meditation regularly.

Talk To Your Doctor Or Nurse

If you use insulin and your blood sugar is frequently or consistently low, ask your doctor or nurse if you:

• Are injecting your insulin the right way
• Need a different type of needle
• Should change how much insulin you take
• Should change the kind of insulin you take

DO NOT make any changes without talking to your doctor or nurse first.

Sometimes hypoglycemia can be due to taking the wrong medicines. Check your medicines with your pharmacist.

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Foods That Wont Spike Your Blood Sugar Levels

When making food choices while managing blood sugar levels, it is important to select ones that wont cause your blood sugar to increase quickly and significantly. Look for whether foods have complex or simple carbohydrates and opt for complex carbohydrates when possible.

Below are 10 foods that wont spike your blood sugar levels and some ideas for incorporating them into your meals.

What Should I Do After I Check My Blood Glucose

Write the blood glucose number in a log book or on a log sheet , and:

• Include all of your blood glucose numbers.
• Write a comment if there is a reason the blood glucose is above or below target.

• Take your blood glucose meter with you when you are away from home.
• Know your blood glucose numbers when you call the clinic or the doctor.
• Bring your blood glucose meter and blood glucose records to all your appointments.
• Bring a list of any questions that you may have.

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What Else Can I Do To Help Manage My Blood Sugar Levels

Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular physical activity can all help. Other tips include:

• Keep track of your blood sugar levels to see what makes them go up or down.
• Eat at regular times, and dont skip meals.
• Choose foods lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.
• Track your food, drink, and physical activity.
• Drink water instead of juice or soda.
• Limit alcoholic drinks.
• For a sweet treat, choose fruit.
• Control your food portions .

Get Trendy With Apple Cider Vinegar

If you do a quick Google search, youll see that apple cider vinegar is good for pretty much everything. You can use it to tone your skin, clean your pipes, and possibly lower your blood sugar!

A clinical review found that taking ACV daily could reduce blood glucose levels. Unfortunately, most of the trials were very small and some had mixed results.

But since youve probably got it in your house anyway, try taking a swig or two before meals, testing yourself, and seeing if a little ACV shot works for you .

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Women: How Controlling Blood Sugar Benefits Your Heart

Controlling your blood sugar is one of the best things for womens heart health, along with maintaining healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

In many patients with diabetes who have no symptoms, diabetes, particularly when poorly controlled, is already harming their blood vessels and leading to hardening of the arteries, a precursor to heart disease. People may not even realize that they have diabetes until the disease progresses to the point where they have a heart attack.

Thats why its important to be aware of your blood glucose numbers, along with monitoring your overall weight and body fat.

What Happens If My Blood Glucose Level Becomes Too Low

Sometimes blood glucose levels drop below where they should be, which is called hypoglycemia. For most people with diabetes, the blood glucose level is too low when it is below 70 mg/dL.

Hypoglycemia can be life threatening and needs to be treated right away. Learn more about how to recognize and treat hypoglycemia.

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Avoid Eating Large Meals

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One way to keep carbs under control is by eating in moderation. I always tell my patients to spread their food out over the day, Weisenberger says. Dont eat small meals to save up for a big dinner. Feeding your body throughout the day helps regulate your blood sugar levels and prevents highs and lows, Crandall Snyder says.

Both Weisenberger and Crandall Snyder say to keep an eye on carbs, even while snacking. Classically, less than 15 g of carbs per snack is a good standard approach, Crandall Snyder says. Thats about whats found in 1 cup of fruit, she says.

How To Lower Morning Blood Sugar

Matthew Garza

Trying to learn how to lower morning blood sugar? Heres why your glucose levels rise in the morning and a few things you can try to keep them in range.

Waking up with high glucose levels may feel like it doesn’t make sense. You spend several hours asleep, not consuming any carbs, and yet somehow your glucose levels are still high when you wake up in the morning.

Why does this happen? What can you do to make sure your glucose levels are safely in range in the morning? Learn more about some tips on avoiding high morning blood sugar levels so you can start your day off right.

• Techniques to manage your blood sugar in the morning

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What Impacts On Your Health Does High Blood Sugar Have

Having extra sugar in your bloodstream can be very harmful to the vessels in your body, as well as some major organs. Complications of diabetes include and are not limited to:

• Problems with your eyes which could lead to loss of vision
• Neuropathy
• Poor wound healing which could lead to an amputation
• Increased risk of heart disease and stroke

These complications are not caused by a spike in the blood sugar. They are caused by an increased number of high blood sugar events over a period of time. Do not think that one or two high blood sugars are going to cause you to go blind. However, it is important to know what caused those high sugars so that you can prevent it from happening again. Hemoglobin A1C levels are checked to see what the average blood sugar has been over the past 120 days. Your doctor will check this to see if how your blood sugar levels have been trending.

I suggest the following articles:

The rest of this article explains these in further detail.

Always talk to your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise regimen.

Check your blood sugar levels!

There are critical times that you should check your blood sugar.

They include:

There are times when our health is well out of our control. Checking your blood sugar is one way that you can stay in control. Take this control and use it to better your health and your life.

According to the NIDDK, when checking your blood sugar levels, consider the following tips:

Problems Caused By High Blood Sugar

It’s not usually a serious problem if your blood sugar is sometimes slightly high for a short time.

But high blood sugar can cause serious problems if it stays high for a long time or gets to a very high level.

It can lead to:

• life-threatening conditions such as diabetic ketoacidosis

If you have high blood sugar, your doctor or care team may ask you to test your blood or pee to check for ketones. A high level of ketones is a sign of diabetic ketoacidosis.

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Techniques To Manage Your Blood Sugar In The Morning

Based on your glucose levels and trends, there are a few things you can do to manage your glucose levels so they dont run high in the morning. Some of these strategies focus on adjusting medications to better suit your needs. Other strategies include adjusting your exercise routine, as well as what and when you are eating before bed.

What Is A Normal Blood Sugar Level For Diabetics

A normal blood sugar level for diabetics is more difficult to define because it can vary greatly from person to person and is measured differently per age.

What’s important is that you work with your doctor to set goals that are achievable for you and that you maintain good blood sugar control as much as possible.

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Cut Back On Carbohydrates

A diet high in processed carbs adds to the sugar load in your diet. This is because all carbs get broken down into sugars upon digestion. This leads to increased blood sugar and weight gain. Avoid all carbs with a high glycemic index. We recommend a Low Carb-High Fat or LCHF diet to reverse diabetes. Ideally, only 10% of your daily caloric intake should come from carbs. The right carbs for any diabetic are fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and millets are some whole grains that work.

Urgent Advice: Call Your Care Team Immediately Or Get Help From Nhs 111 If:

You think you have high blood sugar and:

• you’re feeling sick, being sick or have stomach pain
• you’re breathing more quickly than usual or your heart is beating faster than usual
• you feel drowsy or are struggling to stay awake
• your breath has a fruity smell
• you feel confused or have difficulty concentrating
• you have a high level of ketones in your blood or pee

These could be signs you’re becoming seriously unwell.

You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.

Page last reviewed: 26 May 2022 Next review due: 26 May 2025

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The Blood Sugar Level Regulation Mechanism

When you eat rice, bread, or any other typical food high in carbohydrates, it is digested by the stomach and small intestine, where it is absorbed into the blood as glucose. Figure 1 shows how it is absorbed into the body.

When glucose enters the bloodstream, insulin facilitates its uptake into the body’s cells. When an excess of glucose is ingested, insulin over secretion occurs. Insulin increases the biosynthesis of fat and suppresses its breakdown. Thus, it becomes easier for fat to accumulate in body tissues.

Blood sugar level will not drop if the sugar in the blood is not properly processed due to, for example, too little insulin being secreted, or resistance to the action of insulin. If blood sugar levels have not decreased several hours after eating on a regular basis, this indicates a susceptibility to diabetes. To avoid this and stay healthy, we should eat types of foods that will not cause a sudden, extreme rise in blood sugar levels.

What is BMI?

What is a healthy blood sugar level

• Fasting blood sugar level 99mg/dL
• Postprandial blood sugar level 7.8mmol/L

Diabetes: 10 Foods And Drinks To Help Manage Blood Sugar

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Diabetes friendly food options are as close as your kitchen.

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5 MIN. READ

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When you have prediabetes or diabetes, a healthy diabetes meal plan is key to managing your blood sugar. Sometimes it can be tricky to know which foods and drinks are good choices, but these 10 picks can help keep your numbers in check.

1. Beans

Whether they’re lentils, kidney, pinto, black or garbanzo, beans are a low-glycemic index food. That means their carbohydrates are gradually released so they’re less likely to cause blood sugar spikes. They’re so beneficial that one study found that eating a daily cup of beans for three months as part of a low-glycemic index diet lowered HbA1c by half a percentage point.

Try it! Swap in beans for half the meat in tacos or your favorite chili recipe.

2. Apples

You might think that there’s no room in a diabetic meal plan for fruit, but apples are also low glycemic. Aiming for foods like apples that are low or medium on the glycemic index is one way to manage blood sugar levels. And eating an apple a day has its benefits they are high in fiber, vitamin C as well as fat-free! Not to mention a portable and easy snack option.

Try it!Toss an apple in your lunch bag or grab one between meals. Bake them and add cinnamon for warm treat.

3. Almonds

Try it! For healthy snacking on-the-go, pack one-ounce portions of almonds into single-serve containers.

4. Spinach

5. Chia Seeds

6. Glucerna® Shakes and Bars

7. Blueberries

8. Oatmeal

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