Blood sugar levels need to be monitored to maintain good health. High blood sugar levels can affect negatively one’s health. Eating healthy is important and having more fiber.
Blood sugar levels do matter as far as people with diabetes are concerned. High blood sugar, referred to as hyperglycemia, does occur when a person’s blood sugar is over 180 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL).
High blood sugar levels indeed can be dangerous if not promptly managed and lead to both short-term as well as long-term problems. Efforts need to be made to lower your blood sugar levels.
One needs to look into lifestyle changes, diet tips, and natural remedies.
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Why is managing blood sugar important?
For those suffering from diabetes, managing blood sugar levels can also help to prevent serious complications.
Keeping blood sugars at target levels does help people with diabetes to avoid serious complications from the disease. High blood sugar can involve several ill effects, which can be sudden, such as acid buildup in the bloodstream, or occur gradually over time. It is important to lower your blood sugar levels.
Over time, keeping blood sugar at unhealthful levels can also damage small and large blood vessels in several organs and systems, leading to serious consequences, such as:
• vision impairment and blindness
• foot ulcers, infections, and amputations
• kidney failure and dialysis
• heart attacks and strokes
• peripheral vascular disease, a condition where blood flow to the limbs is reduced
• damage to the nervous system, leading to pain and weakness
1. Monitor blood sugar levels closely:
A diabetic needs to monitor his or her blood sugar several times a day. Doing so will mean that blood sugar levels never can get high.
A person with diabetes can make use of a home glucose monitor to check blood sugar levels. These can be had online. It is good to lower your blood sugar levels.
Checking glucose levels during the day will indeed vary from person to person. A doctor can make better recommendations regarding blood sugar monitoring to a person faced with diabetes.
2. Reduce carbohydrate intake:
It is advisable to eat a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet as it reduces blood sugar levels.
The body breaks down carbohydrates into sugar that the body makes use as energy. Some carbs are necessary for the diet. However, for people with diabetes, eating too many carbohydrates can cause blood sugar to spike too high.
Thus reducing the amounts of carbohydrates a person consumes does reduce the amount a person’s blood sugar spikes.
3. Eat the right carbohydrates:
The two main kinds of carbohydrates, simple and complex do affect blood sugar levels differently.
Simple carbohydrates are of course mainly made up of the type of sugar. They are found in foods, such as white bread, pasta, and candy. The body does break these carbohydrates down into sugar very quickly, which causes blood sugar levels to rise rapidly. Efforts need to be made to lower your blood sugar levels.
Complex carbohydrates consist of three or more sugars that are linked together. As the chemical makeup of these kinds of carbohydrates is rather complicated, it takes the body longer to break them down.
As a result, sugar is released into the body more gradually, in other words, blood sugar levels do not rapidly rise after consuming them. Complex carbohydrates include whole grain oats and sweet potatoes.
4. Choose low glycemic index foods:
The glycemic index does measure and ranks various foods by how much they cause blood sugar levels to rise. Research does show that following a low glycemic index diet does decrease fasting blood sugar levels.
Low glycemic foods include:
• sweet potatoes
• quinoa
• legumes
• low-fat milk
• leafy greens
• non-starchy vegetables
• nuts and seeds
• meats
• fish
5. Increase dietary fiber intake:
One must have more soluble fiber, including whole grains such as brown rice.
Fiber does play an important role in blood sugar management by slowing down the rate of carbohydrates break down, and at the rate that the body absorbs the resulting sugars.
The two types of fiber are soluble and insoluble fiber. Of the two types, soluble fiber is indeed most helpful in controlling blood sugar.
Soluble fiber is in the following foods:
• vegetables
• legumes
• whole grains