High Blood Sugar Levels

The cornerstone of diabetes management ? regardless of whether it’s Type I or Type II ? requires the monitoring of blood glucose levels and subsequent steps to lower blood sugar if necessary. Before venturing into medications either orally or through injections, there are a few easy ways that you can try to lower your blood sugar level naturally.

The first is to watch the food you eat, as it will directly affect how much sugar is absorbed by your digestive system into your blood stream. Although there have been various changes to what constitutes the perfect diabetic diet throughout the years, the current consensus is that you should consume a diet that is rich in soluble fibers, and low in saturated fats and sugar, while adhering to the recommended guideline to eat 5 portions of fruit and vegetable a day.

Perhaps as important as what to eat is the time when you should eat. You see, glucose level reaches its peak in your bloodstream an hour or two after your meal, after which it starts to fall depending on your metabolism, your diabetic medication (if any) and your activity. By eating at regular meal times, your digestive juices will be conditioned to be released in a more controlled fashion therefore contributing to a lower blood sugar. Furthermore, if you are taking diabetic medications, it’s important to ingest some long-acting carbohydrates if you find your blood sugar low before you to bed ? this will prevent dangerous hypoglycemia during your sleep.

While difficult for some diabetic patients because of their weight, exercise is one of the proven methods of how to lower blood sugar. It achieves this by burning away the fat (hence reducing weight) and increasing your body’s sensitivity to insulin, meaning that less of this digestive enzyme is required to achieve the same fall in blood sugar. Now exercise in this context should be undertaken in moderation… there’s no need for a 20-mile marathon. Research have shown that a 30-minute medium-pace walk is adequate; sometimes housework and light gardening will fulfill your daily quota.

Most people are not aware that elevated stress levels actually lead to higher blood sugar because of the release of adrenaline (stress hormones) which mobilizes the sugar from your body reserves (very logical: in the days gone by this enables our ancestors to run away from danger). Furthermore, a stressed lifestyle will inevitably disrupt your normal routine which keeps your blood sugar low, like a healthy diet and exercise ritual. Should you be affected by excessive stress, you should take a step back, put things into perspective and start recording your stress level every time you measure your blood sugar level. If you find a correlation, try to restore your blood sugar level by maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine, while obtaining enough sleep and learning useful relaxation techniques.

In a nutshell, the 3 natural ways to lower blood sugar without resorting to medication is diet, exercise and proper stress management. If your blood glucose level remains high after you have tried out these steps for 3 months, fortunately there are some more advanced methods out there that can help.

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There are many ways to prevent blood sugar from creeping up in high levels during the night.

The following are ways to effectively reduce if not prevent the onslaught of blood sugar increase.

Test, test, test

In order to know the levels of one?s blood sugar ? especially those who are suffering from type diabetes ? it is important that blood sugar readings be done at least once a week in order to determine if a pattern of highs and lows exist.

It is especially important that the problems be identified first and that the causes are determined. When these are known, it is then a lot easier to eventually correct all of them. The change to be done should be one at a time. It is important that the blood sugar lows be corrected first and that a nurse or a physician is called immediately. Small problems must be addressed as soon as possible as these could escalate into big problems later on.

Know the cause of low blood sugar

In order to be able to effectively prevent the experience blood sugar lows, it is extremely helpful if one understands the causes of such. The following are possible triggers for low blood sugar. Once you know which are the triggers for your lows, try to immediately decide on the appropriate activity and correction that you should take.

Low blood sugar is usually caused by too much insulin, this could be corrected by a decrease in one?s insulin levels.

Skipping meals also helps lower blood sugar levels. The correction for this is to eat at regular times. Eating light meals and losing weight, as well as being active could also cause blood sugar to decrease. The correction for this is to be able to decrease insulin and to eat more.

It helps a lot to count

It could also prove helpful if you get to count the number of carbohydrates you take in to your meals.

Also, it would be advisable to use the test results acquired to adjust the quantity of insulin in your food. An example would be if low blood sugar usually occur during afternoons. A snack during this time or less of insulin during the morning or during lunch would be of help.

Testing insulin after doing vigorous exercise is also advisable. Periods of exercise that are quite long could actually cause blood sugar to decrease within twenty four to thirty six hours. Any change in physical routine should be taken into consideration. Vacation, travel or losing weight should be appropriately noted and observed.

Use insulin

A lifestyle that is varied yet with insulin doses that are already set could spell disaster. at this point, control is more important especially when giving minor doses of insulin. More importantly, the quantity of these doses should match one?s lifestyle.

Believe it or not, the lowest level of blood sugar occurs at about two in the morning. Currently, it is fortunate that analog insulins are able to reduce these lows. However, one reason for such lows during the night is due to the body being a lot sensitive to insulin anywhere around 12am up to 3am. During this time, the liver begins to increase the production of glucose causing the levels of blood sugar to increase as breakfast time nears.

All in all, prevention is always better than cure. Test blood sugar levels regularly and lead a lifestyle that promotes healthy eating at the appropriate time and in adequate quantities.