Sanjana Mahendru
People with diabetes need to know how to keep their blood sugar levels from going up quickly and how to control their disease. There are approximately 422 million people with diabetes worldwide, and this staggering number is directly responsible for around 1.5 million deaths annually. Is there a way to reduce blood sugar levels naturally and reduce the risk of other serious health problems associated with it? If you want to maintain a healthy body and lifestyle, managing diabetes with diet and exercise is better than using medications to lower your blood sugar levels.
Keep reading to find out the five simple strategies for controlling pre-diabetes and diabetes through changes to your diet, increased physical activity, adequate hydration, and other lifestyle factors.
Keep a Check on Your Daily Carb Intake
When people start searching for a cure for diabetes, they neglect the most basic measures, which include limiting their daily carbohydrate intake and regularly checking their blood sugar levels. Although a person doesn’t feel symptoms of high blood sugar symptoms until it approaches 200 mg/dl, high blood sugar levels are frequently defined as being over 180 mg/dl.
Because of this, you need to keep an eye on your blood sugar levels and eat a low-carb diet to lower your blood sugar. Foods that lower blood sugar are rich in nutrients and dietary fiber and have a low carbohydrate content.
Doing Regular Exercise
Exercise is very important for keeping a healthy weight, managing diabetes, and making insulin work better. An increase in insulin sensitivity will result in better utilization of the sugar that is already present in the bloodstream. Also, exercise allows blood sugar to be used to give energy to muscles, which lowers blood sugar and prevents a sudden rise in blood sugar.
Heavy exercise can temporarily raise blood sugar levels. Light walking, jogging, or yoga are good examples of moderate exercise.
Stay Hydrated
Dehydration in your body means having less than the required amount of water, which leads to a higher concentration of sugar in your blood. Drinking more water will not only reduce your sugar levels but also release excess sugar from the body through urine. Make sure you only drink water and calorie-free drinks. Choosing drinks with added sugar can increase the risk of developing diabetes, boost blood sugar levels, and cause weight gain.
Choosing Foods with a Low Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) determines how quickly the carbs in food are absorbed and how that impacts your blood sugar levels. High GI, medium GI, and low GI are the three categories into which foods fall. They are ranked on a scale from 0 to 100, depending on their glycemic index. Low-glycemic-index foods have the least amount of carbohydrates and a glycemic index of 55 or less. The best foods for diabetes control must have a low glycemic index, high protein, magnesium, vitamins, and other essential nutrients.
Foods that prevent diabetes include green, leafy vegetables, whole grains, sweet potatoes, beans, broccoli, and tomatoes, and they help add more nutrition to your body. You should increase the number of low-glycemic-index nuts in your diet, such as almonds and walnuts.
Having Good Quality Sleep
The development and general well-being of a human body depends on getting enough sleep to a great extent. According to numerous studies, a lack of rest and proper sleep can raise blood sugar levels and reduce insulin sensitivity, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes. Obesity and diabetes increase the risk of heart disease, especially cardiovascular disease; which makes weight management and quality sleep important. According to the study, adults should get between seven and eight hours of good-quality sleep each night.
When diabetes is treated, the chance of getting heart disease, kidney disease, and a number of other serious health problems goes down. This is why it is important to lower one’s blood sugar levels. There are multiple natural ways to lower blood sugar levels instantly and help you reverse type 2 diabetes in the long run. Eating a low-carb diet, getting regular exercise, checking your daily carb intake, getting quality sleep, managing your weight, and many other healthy lifestyle changes will eventually lower your blood sugar levels and keep you healthy in the long run.
