How Lifestyle Changes Can Help You Achieve a Lower Blood Sugar Level

It's not unusual for people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, or other blood sugar-related conditions to feel like they've crossed over a line and are headed towards a point of no return. Many people with these conditions feel they need an increasing amount of medication to control their blood sugar levels.

But it doesn't have to be like that. With professional guidance, it's possible to put together a plan of action that includes changes in how and what you eat, how you move, and even how you sleep.

How You Eat Affects Normal Blood Sugar Levels

Blood sugar is what our bodies use for energy. It's also called blood glucose and it comes from carbohydrates. Our cells absorb blood sugar with the help of the hormone insulin.

Each time you eat unhealthy foods that are high in carbs and sugar, your blood sugar level spikes. Over time, these "spikes" can reduce your body's sensitivity to insulin. Without the help of insulin, you can end up with abnormally high blood sugar levels.

The Best Diet for Healthy Blood Sugar

One way of managing how much sugar we get from our food is by following a low glycemic load diet. Low glycemic load foods take longer for your body to break down. High glycemic load foods, in contrast, are quickly broken down, moving swiftly into your bloodstream causing blood sugar levels to spike.

Foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables have lower glycemic loads than foods like potatoes or heavily processed foods like white bread.

You can make low glycemic eating go even further by adding fiber to your foods, which also helps normalize blood sugar levels.

Supplementation can help you gain even more control. Specific nutrients and botanicals/herbs like alpha lipoic acid, chromium, and fenugreek have been shown to make a difference in managing blood sugar metabolism.

How You Move Toward a Normal Blood Sugar Level

Exercise is more than just a way to lose weight. Study after study has shown that when you exercise, your body responds better to insulin and takes up more blood sugar.  It just makes sense. When you exercise, you send a message to your body that you need more fuel in your muscle cells. Your body is forced to respond, react to insulin, and consequently take in more fuel.

But the idea of slogging it out in the gym keeps many of us glued to the couch. "How much exercise do I need to undo this?" you may think, as you look at your thighs.

Not as much as you think. To get the benefits of exercise, you really don't need to put in long hours or produce a pool of sweat. It's more important to exercise regularly. Just 30 minutes a day of moderate aerobic exercise-like brisk walking-can make a big difference if you do it 5 days a week.

How You Sleep to Support a Normal Blood Sugar Level

More and more research is linking too little sleep to too much blood sugar. In effect, it seems our body becomes less sensitive to insulin when we don't get enough sleep. A study that followed just under 9,000 people over 10 years found that people who got an average of 5 hours of sleep a night were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than people who got 7 hours of shuteye. And this was after adjusting for variables such as physical activity, obesity, ethnicity, age, alcohol consumption, and several other factors.

It seems that short-shifting yourself on sleep increases the activity of your body's sympathetic nervous system, your body's main stress communications network. This may cause you to produce more cortisol, which inhibits insulin's effect on your cells and leads to cravings for more carbohydrates.

As a result, not only do you build up belly flab, you build up insulin resistance. This makes it harder on your body to keep blood sugar levels in a normal range.

You can indeed make small changes that put you on track for the more "normal" blood sugar levels you're aiming for.All you have to do is eat, move, and sleep . . . the basics of everyday life. Simply tweak these activities a bit and you'll get the healthier results you're looking for.