The 10 Best Foods To Control Diabetes And Lower Blood Sugar
If you have diabetes, you know how difficult it can be to manage your diet and control your blood sugar levels. Certain foods cause massive spikes while others actually lower blood sugar, but many people go through years of trial and error before they find out what works for them. Luckily, thanks to years of scientific findings, weve been able to determine what foods are better than others. In this article, well discuss the 10 best foods to control diabetes and lower blood sugar.
To get the most out of your food, consider diabetic meal planning. Planning and preparing meals ahead of time will reduce the likelihood of snacking or unhealthy eating and will help you save time and energy throughout the week.
What Is Blood Sugar Blaster
Blood Sugar Blaster is a dietary product that promotes healthy blood sugar levels. Simply take two capsules of Vitality Nutrition’s Blood Sugar Blaster every day to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels, increase energy generation, and maintain optimum insulin sensitivity, among other things. Blood Sugar Blaster is mainly designed to aid diabetics and per-diabetics who are seeking natural answers to their problems.
The supplement is manufactured by Vitality Nutrition, which primarily targets diabetics and those in the pre-diabetes stage. Blood Sugar Blaster, according to Vitality Nutrition, was inspired by an “ancient Hindu book.” The business claims to have discovered a “5-second daily habit” inside the old document.
Blood Sugar Blaster does not seem to have the same transparency issues as many other supplement firms. The official Blood Sugar Blaster product website has a “components” section that includes a complete list of all active ingredients in the Blood Sugar Blaster composition.
Perhaps more crucially, the website specifies the quantity of each component in the supplement. Some businesses use research papers to support the efficacy of their formulations but provide no data on the actual levels of these substances in their formulae. This makes determining the efficacy of a supplement challenging.
How To Lower High Blood Sugar Naturally
People living with certain health conditions, such as the autoimmune disorder Type 1 diabetes, cant lower their blood sugar naturally.
With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas doesnt make insulin, a hormone that helps regulate your blood sugar levels. After being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, you need insulin injections or insulin pump therapy for the rest of your life in order to stay alive.
But if youre diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes meaning, youre at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes you can try to lower your blood sugar using natural methods.
Here are seven effective strategiesAsterino-McGeean recommends if you fall into the latter category:
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How To Reduce Blood Sugar Immediately
How to lower blood sugar fast in the moment can depend on a variety of factors, but the following strategies are almost always helpful.*
- Go for a walk**
- Drink a large glass of water
- Take rapid acting insulin if directed by your doctor
*Extremely high blood sugar can be a life threatening situation if ketones are also present. Diabetic ketoacidosis can develop when blood sugars reach this level. Discuss your plan of action with your doctor if/when this happens. This includes knowing when itâs ok to stay home and treat your blood sugar and when you need to head to the emergency room.
**Exercise may not be appropriate if blood sugars are > 250mg/dL. Discuss this with your doctor before trying to exercise when your blood sugar is this high.
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Eat Foods With A Low Gi
The glycemic index helps rank foods by how they affect blood sugar. Foods with a low GI release sugar slowly into your system, rather than flooding your blood with sugar all at once.
Aim for foods with a GI of 55 or less .
“Having a healthy diet is a proven way of keeping blood sugar within reasonable limits,” Velikova says. “I recommend eating foods that the body absorbs slowly, with a low and medium glycemic index, such as sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and most fruits, including berries and apples.”
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Healthy Ways To Lower Your Blood Sugar
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.
Read More:Best Foods for Diabetes
How Do Carbs Affect Blood Sugar
Carbs in food make your blood sugar levels go higher after you eat them than when you eat proteins or fats. You can still eat carbs if you have diabetes. The amount you can have and stay in your target blood sugar range depends on your age, weight, activity level, and other factors. Counting carbs in foods and drinks is an important tool for managing blood sugar levels. Make sure to talk to your health care team about the best carb goals for you.
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High Blood Sugar Levels: An Overview
The amount of sugar or glucose in your blood is called blood sugar. If your blood sugar is over 126 mg/dl before eating or over 200 mg/dl two hours after eating, its called high blood sugar or hyperglycemia.
If its not treated promptly and properly, high blood sugar can cause a build-up of glucose content, which increases the risk of diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
You will know that you are suffering from high blood sugar with the following symptoms:
- Frequent urination
- Difficulty in concentration
The ranges for high blood sugar differ for each person, depending on age, how long diabetes has been present, and if other health issues are present. Therefore, keeping blood sugar levels within the range set by your healthcare team is vital.
Take A Shot Of Apple Cider Vinegar
Swigging apple cider vinegar might not sound appealing, but it could help keep your blood sugar in balance if taken before you eat. Some research has found that consuming ACV reduced post-meal blood sugar levels by about half in healthy patients. The theory is that acetic acid, a component of the vinegar, slows down the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar in the bloodstream. Pro tip: Mix a tablespoon or two into a glass of watertaking it straight will burn!
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Multiple Ways To Lower Blood Sugar Levels Naturally
The struggle to lower blood sugar levels is not uncommon. In India alone, an estimated 77 million adults have high blood sugar levels and want to lower blood sugar levels for good health.
This number could be as high as 134 million by 2045. Even more concerning is that 57% of these cases go undetected and undiagnosed. Therefore, if you have high blood sugar levels, you have to make wiser choices to lower blood sugar levels.
- Complex Carbohydrates
How Is It Determined If The Dawn Phenomenon Or Somogyi Effect Is Causing The High Blood Sugar Levels
Your doctor will likely ask you to check your blood sugar levels between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. for several nights in a row. If your blood sugar is consistently low during this time, the Somogyi effect is suspected. If the blood sugar is normal during this time period, the dawn phenomenon is more likely to be the cause.
Some additional clues that the Somogyi effect may be the cause include nightmares, restless sleep and overnight sweating as these are all signs of low blood sugar levels.
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Check Your Blood Glucose Levels
For many people with diabetes, checking their blood glucose level each day is an important way to manage their diabetes. Monitoring your blood glucose level is most important if you take insulin. The results of blood glucose monitoring can help you make decisions about food, physical activity, and medicines.
The most common way to check your blood glucose level at home is with a blood glucose meter. You get a drop of blood by pricking the side of your fingertip with a lancet. Then you apply the blood to a test strip. The meter will show you how much glucose is in your blood at the moment.
Ask your health care team how often you should check your blood glucose levels. Make sure to keep a record of your blood glucose self-checks. You can print copies of this glucose self-check chart. Take these records with you when you visit your health care team.
What Is Diabetic Ketoacidosis
If you think you may have low blood sugar, check it even if you dont have symptoms.
When too many ketones are produced too fast, they can build up in your body and cause diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA. DKA is very serious and can cause a coma or even death. Common symptoms of DKA include:
- Fast, deep breathing.
- Nausea and vomiting.
If you think you may have DKA, test your urine for ketones. Follow the test kit directions, checking the color of the test strip against the color chart in the kit to see your ketone level. If your ketones are high, . DKA requires treatment in a hospital.
DKA happens most in people with type 1 diabetes and is sometimes the first sign of type 1 in people who havent yet been diagnosed. People with type 2 diabetes can also develop DKA, but its less common.
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Take Apple Cider Vinegar
Studies have shown that taking apple cider vinegar before meals or with your meals can lower the after-meal sugar level spike thats very common in people with diabetes. How to lower blood sugar quickly emergency. Apple cider is said to decrease fasting and post-meal blood glucose levels.
Do note that the vinegar can be too potent or bitter when consumed alone and some people have reported getting esophageal irritation when swallowing it.
To make it more palatable, try mixing two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of water and drink it before breakfast or you can just use the mixture as a salad dressing.
Pair Carbohydrate With Protein
Have you ever grabbed a banana for breakfast and taken off? Have you ever packed a big bunch of grapes for a snack? Fruit is a wonderful source of healthy carbohydrate because it is loaded with nutrients like potassium and vitamin C as well as antioxidants that help fight off forms of cancer and keep you looking young. However, these carbs are broken down into sugar fairly quickly and some types of fruit can raise blood glucose rapidly.
This doesnt mean we should avoid fruit! When you hear messages to remove an entire food group, you must question the validity of that statement. Recommendations MUST be backed by science and quality research. There are very few health conditions that require an individual to remove an entire food group and that should only be done under the guidance and supervision of your healthcare practitioner.
BUT, the key to incorporating fruit and other healthy carbohydrate foods into your diet is to pair it with protein or healthy fat. By doing this, it slows the release of glucose into your bloodstream so that you avoid the sugar spikes and lows.
Some examples of pairing carbs with protein and healthy fat include:
SNACKS
- Low fat plain greek yogurt with ½ cup of fresh or frozen berries
- Low-fat cheese stick with 1 serving of whole grain crackers
- 1-2 tablespoons of peanut/almond butter with 1 medium apple
- ¼ cup of guacamole/avocado with 1 serving of whole grain crackers or veggie sticks
**This article has even more snack ideas!!!
MEALS
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A Brief Overview Of The Ketogenic Diet The Real Type 2 Diabetes Diet
For those who dont know, the ketogenic diet restricts daily carbohydrates to around 20-30g of net carbs . Restricting carbohydrates to this degree forces your body to burn fat for fuel a process called ketosis. Once your body is in ketosis, your blood sugar levels will decrease and your A1C levels will drop.
For more information on how to start a ketogenic diet to lower blood sugar read our beginners guide to the ketogenic diet.
Here is a brief list of what you should and should not eat on a ketogenic diet:
Do Not Eat:
- Meats fish, beef, lamb, poultry, eggs, etc.
- Leafy Greens spinach, kale, etc.
- Above ground vegetables broccoli, cauliflower, etc.
- High Fat Dairy hard cheeses, high fat cream, butter, etc.
- Nuts and seeds macadamias, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Avocado and berries raspberries, raspberries, and other low glycemic impact berries
- Sweeteners stevia, erythritol, monk fruit, and other low-carb sweeteners
- Other fats coconut oil, high-fat salad dressing, saturated fats, etc.
If youre new to keto, you can always see our more detailed ketogenic food list >
Before you start, it is important to know that your blood sugar wont drop instantly. Some studies suggest that you may have to stay on a ketogenic diet for 16 weeks before your blood sugar is under control.
However, this doesnt mean that you will have to wait that long. You can lower your blood sugar today especially if you eat the ten foods that lower your blood sugar naturally.
Lose Weight And Exercise
The National Diabetes Prevention Program, designed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is meant to help people lower their blood sugar over time to avoid Type 2 diabetes.
Participants in the program are encouraged to lose 7% of their body weight and exercise for 150 minutes a week. A clinical trial found that people who followed the program reduced their risk for Type 2 diabetes by 58% over three years.
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How To Reduce Your Blood Sugar Level Naturally
Its possible to reduce your blood sugar level naturally without medication. However, you will need to make one or more significant lifestyle changes that promote better overall health and decrease insulin resistance or increase insulin sensitivity. Follow the below steps to lower your blood sugar naturally.
Dr. Raja gives her five tips that can help reduce your blood sugar, The first thing is to eat a low carb diet, low in starchy foods, highly processed foods or concentrated sugars. Second is to regularly exercise, a minimum of 30 minutes five days a week. The third way is to incorporate some form of strength conditioning, simple body weight exercises that help build muscle, since muscle decreases insulin sensitivity. The fourth way is intermittent fasting and the fifth is weight loss, even a few pounds. All these should help patients lower their insulin resistance, and lower their blood sugar naturally.
Ramp Up Your Movement Each Day
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Exercise helps improve blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity and the bodys ability to use glucose as energy, according to the American Diabetes Association. In type 2, exercise helps improve insulin resistance, says James G. Beckerman, MD, a cardiologist in Portland, Oregon. The end result is lower blood sugars.
Crandall Snyder tells patients that exercise is like spring cleaning for the body. It takes the stored form of glucose and uses it for energy so the next time you eat carbohydrates there’s a place to put it, she says.
Because exercise can immediately reduce blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, work with your healthcare team to determine the right amount of activity and timing for you. A study published in September 2017 in Frontiers in Endocrinology found exercising 30 minutes after the start of a meal is usually best for maintaining blood sugar controls.
Learn more about managing your blood sugar in Diabetes Daily’s article “HbA1C: Everything You Need to Know.”
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Causes Of High Blood Sugar
Keeping your blood sugar levels in the optimal range is very important. If your blood sugar levels are too high or too low, they can lead to health problems, like kidney diseases, vision loss, and heart disease.
There are many quick and natural ways to lower your blood sugar levels. However, you’ll have to make some lifestyle changes to ensure your sugar levels don’t go above or below the standard range.
Hyperglycemia or high blood sugar levels can be due to many reasons. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body lacks the ability to use its natural insulin properly. As a result, there will be a high concentration of sugar in your blood since the body’s insulin is not breaking it down at the required rate.
Likewise, if you’re eating too many carbs and your body isn’t producing enough insulin, you may experience hyperglycemia. If you’re not as active as you used to be, that can also be the reason behind high blood sugar levels.
Besides this, physical and emotional stress can also lower your body’s sugar levels. For instance, if you have an infection or the flu, your blood sugar levels may be lower than average. Likewise, emotional stress from personal problems or family conflicts can also impact your blood sugar levels.
Some symptoms of high blood sugar include blurred vision, headaches, frequent urination, and increased hunger or thirst. You may also experience skin infections, weight loss, and tiredness.