Ask whether you need to check your blood sugar maintining often. Monitoring your Strategies for maintaining glucose balance glucose level is most important if you take insulin. Whenever you can, stay away from things that cause stress for you. This effect was seen in a study in 50 healthy adults.

Strategies for maintaining glucose balance -

In her spare time, you can find her enjoying all that Vermont has to offer with her family and her dog, Winston. Your blood sugar levels hinge on the habits you adhere to on a regular basis. For instance, when you exercise regularly, eat meals that contain a good mix of protein and healthy fat, stay hydrated, manage your stress levels and get quality sleep, you should experience balanced blood sugar levels.

However, when you sit for most of the day, skip breakfast and frequently eat processed foods high in saturated fat, refined carbohydrates and added sugar, you may see your blood sugar levels rise.

But there is one habit that many people living with diabetes and prediabetes may not realize they're doing—one that, instead of helping them with their condition, is actually hindering their ability to control their blood sugar levels.

Ready for the answer? It's eating too few fiber-rich carbohydrates. Why does this matter? Because the fiber in healthy carbs like whole grains, beans, fruits and veggies helps balance your blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption and release of sugar glucose into your bloodstream.

And most Americans aren't getting nearly enough of this nutrient. What we do eat a lot of are overly processed carbs that have been stripped of their fiber—which can lead to elevated blood sugar levels and even food cravings. As a result, there's a common misconception that most, if not all, carbohydrates are bad.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , a low-carbohydrate diet is one of the most common types of diets followed by U. adults, and low carb diets have doubled in popularity in recent years compared to a decade prior.

Low-carb diets often cut out certain fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains that are excellent sources of dietary fiber in an attempt to control their blood sugar.

And that's not the smartest move. Here's the deal: There are three different types of carbs found in food—sugar, starch and fiber. And they each have varying effects on blood sugar levels. Each of these carbs can be classified as simple or complex depending on their structure and how quickly they are absorbed into the bloodstream.

Simple carbs—found in sweeteners like table sugar and juices—are made up of one or two sugar molecules that can be easily broken down, utilized as an immediate source of energy and cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.

On the other hand, certain types of starch like slowly digestible starch and resistant starch found in vegetables, legumes and whole grains are complex carbohydrates with long chains of sugar molecules that take longer to digest—which means they cause blood sugar levels to rise more slowly.

While simple carbs and starch both break down into sugar molecules, fiber is a unique complex carbohydrate found in plant foods that cannot be digested. On the other quarter, place healthy carbohydrates such as fruits and whole grains. Be mindful of portion sizes. Learn what portion size is right for each type of food.

Everyday objects can help you remember. For example, one serving of meat or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards. A serving of cheese is about the size of six grapes. And a serving of cooked pasta or rice is about the size of a fist.

You also can use measuring cups or a scale to help make sure you get the right portion sizes. Balance your meals and medicines. If you take diabetes medicine, it's important to balance what you eat and drink with your medicine. Too little food in proportion to your diabetes medicine — especially insulin — can lead to dangerously low blood sugar.

This is called hypoglycemia. Too much food may cause your blood sugar level to climb too high. This is called hyperglycemia. Talk to your diabetes health care team about how to best coordinate meal and medicine schedules.

Limit sugary drinks. Sugar-sweetened drinks tend to be high in calories and low in nutrition. They also cause blood sugar to rise quickly. So it's best to limit these types of drinks if you have diabetes.

The exception is if you have a low blood sugar level. Sugary drinks can be used to quickly raise blood sugar that is too low.

These drinks include regular soda, juice and sports drinks. Exercise is another important part of managing diabetes.

When you move and get active, your muscles use blood sugar for energy. Regular physical activity also helps your body use insulin better.

These factors work together to lower your blood sugar level. The more strenuous your workout, the longer the effect lasts. But even light activities can improve your blood sugar level. Light activities include housework, gardening and walking. Talk to your healthcare professional about an exercise plan.

Ask your healthcare professional what type of exercise is right for you. In general, most adults should get at least minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity. That includes activities that get the heart pumping, such as walking, biking and swimming.

Aim for about 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a day on most days of the week. Most adults also should aim to do strength-building exercise 2 to 3 times a week. If you haven't been active for a long time, your healthcare professional may want to check your overall health first.

Then the right balance of aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercise can be recommended. Keep an exercise schedule. Ask your healthcare professional about the best time of day for you to exercise.

That way, your workout routine is aligned with your meal and medicine schedules. Know your numbers. Talk with your healthcare professional about what blood sugar levels are right for you before you start exercise.

Check your blood sugar level. Also talk with your healthcare professional about your blood sugar testing needs. If you don't take insulin or other diabetes medicines, you likely won't need to check your blood sugar before or during exercise.

But if you take insulin or other diabetes medicines, testing is important. Check your blood sugar before, during and after exercise. Many diabetes medicines lower blood sugar.

So does exercise, and its effects can last up to a day later. The risk of low blood sugar is greater if the activity is new to you.

The risk also is greater if you start to exercise at a more intense level. Be aware of symptoms of low blood sugar. These include feeling shaky, weak, tired, hungry, lightheaded, irritable, anxious or confused.

See if you need a snack. Have a small snack before you exercise if you use insulin and your blood sugar level is low. The snack you have before exercise should contain about 15 to 30 grams of carbs.

Or you could take 10 to 20 grams of glucose products. This helps prevent a low blood sugar level. Stay hydrated.

Drink plenty of water or other fluids while exercising. Dehydration can affect blood sugar levels. Be prepared. Always have a small snack, glucose tablets or glucose gel with you during exercise. You'll need a quick way to boost your blood sugar if it drops too low. Carry medical identification too.

In case of an emergency, medical identification can show others that you have diabetes. It also can show whether you take diabetes medicine such as insulin. Medical IDs come in forms such as cards, bracelets and necklaces.

Adjust your diabetes treatment plan as needed. If you take insulin, you may need to lower your insulin dose before you exercise. You also may need to watch your blood sugar level closely for several hours after intense activity.

That's because low blood sugar can happen later on. Your healthcare professional can advise you how to correctly make changes to your medicine. You also may need to adjust your treatment if you've increased how often or how hard you exercise. Insulin and other diabetes medicines are designed to lower blood sugar levels when diet and exercise alone don't help enough.

How well these medicines work depends on the timing and size of the dose. Medicines you take for conditions other than diabetes also can affect your blood sugar levels.

Store insulin properly. Insulin that is not stored properly or is past its expiration date may not work. Keep insulin away from extreme heat or cold. Don't store it in the freezer or in direct sunlight.

Tell your healthcare professional about any medicine problems. If your diabetes medicines cause your blood sugar level to drop too low, the dosage or timing may need to be changed. Your healthcare professional also might adjust your medicine if your blood sugar stays too high.

Be cautious with new medicines. Talk with your healthcare team or pharmacist before you try new medicines. That includes medicines sold without a prescription and those prescribed for other medical conditions.

Ask how the new medicine might affect your blood sugar levels and any diabetes medicines you take. Sometimes a different medicine may be used to prevent dangerous side effects. Or a different medicine might be used to prevent your current medicine from mixing poorly with a new one.

With diabetes, it's important to be prepared for times of illness. When you're sick, your body makes stress-related hormones that help fight the illness. But those hormones also can raise your blood sugar.

Changes in your appetite and usual activity also may affect your blood sugar level. Plan ahead. Work with your healthcare team to make a plan for sick days. Include instructions on what medicines to take and how to adjust your medicines if needed. Also note how often to measure your blood sugar.

Ask your healthcare professional if you need to measure levels of acids in the urine called ketones. Your plan also should include what foods and drinks to have, and what cold or flu medicines you can take.

Know when to call your healthcare professional too. For example, it's important to call if you run a fever over degrees Fahrenheit Keep taking your diabetes medicine. But call your healthcare professional if you can't eat because of an upset stomach or vomiting.

In these situations, you may need to change your insulin dose. If you take rapid-acting or short-acting insulin or other diabetes medicine, you may need to lower the dose or stop taking it for a time.

These medicines need to be carefully balanced with food to prevent low blood sugar. But if you use long-acting insulin, do not stop taking it. During times of illness, it's also important to check your blood sugar often. Stick to your diabetes meal plan if you can.

Eating as usual helps you control your blood sugar. Keep a supply of foods that are easy on your stomach. These include gelatin, crackers, soups, instant pudding and applesauce.

Portion sizes are important to think about whether you have type 1 or type 2. If you feel overwhelmed about your feelings about food and diabetes , we have plenty of information to help you. Download our top tips PDF. Choose the healthier foods that contain carbs and be aware of your portion sizes.

Eating lots of salt can increase your risk of high blood pressure , which in turn increases risk of heart diseases and stroke. Try to limit yourself to a maximum of 6g one teaspoonful of salt a day.

Lots of pre-packaged foods already contain salt so remember to check food labels and choose those with less salt. You can also get creative and swap out salt for different types of herbs and spices to add that extra flavour. These all have links with heart problems and cancers. Most of us know that fish is good for us, but oily fish like salmon and mackerel are even better.

These are rich in something called omega-3 oil, which helps protect your heart. Try and aim to eat two portions of oily fish a week. We know eating fruit and veg is good for you. This can help you get the vitamins, minerals and fibre your body needs every day to help keep you healthy. The answer is no.

This is different to the added sugar also known as free sugars that are in things like chocolate, biscuits and cakes. Products like fruit juices also count as added sugar, so go for whole fruit instead.

This can be fresh, frozen, dried or tinned in juice, not in syrup. We all need fat in our diet because it gives us energy. But different types of fat affect our health in different ways.

Keeping our glucose levels stable is bslance to our whole health and Performance-enhancing foods. We Straregies our glucose levels balancce stay Strategiees Strategies for maintaining glucose balance healthy Strategies for maintaining glucose balance for energy production, organ function and overall Immune-boosting essential oils balance. Keep reading for helpful information on the important role glucose plays in our bodies and our brains, along with five simple tips to help you regulate your glucose levels. We want you to stay healthy and energized so you can live life to the fullest. The word glucose comes from the Greek word for "sweet. As it travels through your bloodstream to your cells, it's called blood glucose or blood sugar. Most of the cells in our bodies use glucose, amino acids and fats for energy.

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How to Balance Your Blood Sugar with Food

Strategies for maintaining glucose balance -

Importantly, glucose is also the main source of brain fuel. Nerve cells and chemical messengers in our brains need glucose to help them process information. There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. Insulin is needed to help regulate your glucose levels between meals, and fast-acting insulin to regulate it after meals. Type 2 diabetes is not an autoimmune disease; it develops slowly over time. Type 2 diabetes accounts for most people on the diabetes spectrum and it means your body is insulin resistant.

In other words, your pancreas still makes insulin, but your cells no longer respond the way they should. Your pancreas increases insulin production as it tries to force your cells to work.

Without enough insulin , glucose can't move into the cells and your blood glucose level stays high. Too much glucose in your bloodstream for a long period of time can damage the vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood to your organs. Because diabetic patients must take insulin to keep their blood glucose levels from staying too high, they also run the risk of hypoglycemia , a common side effect for people living with diabetes.

A severe hypoglycemic event involves the person not being able to function, an altered mental state and the need for assistance from someone else. Medical attention is a must with severe hypoglycemia.

It can happen from going to long without eating or following a period of exertion. While rarer, some people have hypoglycemia as a medical condition that disrupts their quality of life and it can be dangerous to their health.

Reactive hypoglycemia happens following eating — your glucose level spikes and then plummets from the release of too much insulin. Whereas diabetes is the result of not enough insulin or insulin resistance, this type of hypoglycemia occurs from too much insulin in the body.

The treatment for hypoglycemia can be as simple as eating sugary foods or drinks, such as fruit juice, candy, or regular soda, taking glucose tablets or gels, or eating a small snack such as crackers or a granola bar can quickly raise blood sugar levels.

Eating a healthy diet is key to keeping your glucose levels balanced. You might have heard of the Glycemic Index GI , a measure of how fast a food raises your blood sugar. High glycemic foods tend to raise blood sugar quickly while low glycemic index foods raise blood sugar very slowly, or sometimes not at all.

How fast or slow a food changes your blood sugar depends on how quickly your body can break it down and move it from your digestive tract into the blood stream.

Foods or beverages that are mostly sugar, such as juice or soda, are high glycemic foods. These are digested very quickly and move almost immediately into the blood stream, resulting in a rapid increase in blood sugar.

In contrast, some foods take longer to digest and raise the blood sugar very slowly. These are referred to as low glycemic index foods. A whole apple, for example, is much higher in fiber than apple juice. It takes a while for you to chew the apple and for your body to break it down and move the natural sugars into your blood stream.

Physical activity is a good blood glucose balancer. The American Diabetes Association recommends doing cardio exercises at moderate intensity for 30 minutes a day, working up to five times a week, to significantly benefit insulin regulation and blood glucose levels.

Brisk walking, running, biking, strength training and swimming are good choices — and even dancing, gardening or playing your favorite sport. Anything that keeps you moving is a good choice. With CGM technology, you can have the most accurate blood sugar numbers and patterns whenever you need them.

A continuous glucose monitor uses a sensor on your body to measure your blood sugar in real time. Fingerstick tests also wear on your fingers over time. You might still need to do some fingerstick tests with a CGM, but not as many.

The sensor has a small needle. A transmitter sends the data directly to your phone or a monitor. Some CGMs even allow for you to have the data sent to a family member or caregiver in case of an emergency. Chronic stress can lead to higher or lower than normal glucose levels.

Getting plenty of sleep and incorporating stress-relieving techniques — like stretching, meditation, exercise and talk therapy — are ideas for keeping your stress in check. On the flip side, be sure to avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as overeating the wrong foods and drinking alcohol, which can negatively impact your glucose levels.

People with diabetes have a higher risk of both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia. The human brain needs a constant supply of glucose. Severely low glucose can have the following effects:. Less commonly, the person may experience seizures or lose consciousness. Among people with diabetes, severe hypoglycemia can be fatal.

If the kidneys and liver do not work correctly, breaking down and excreting medication from the body becomes harder.

Excessive insulin production or supplementation can lead to hypoglycemia. Some tumors can cause low blood sugar , as they produce chemicals similar to insulin. A tumor may also consume so much glucose that it does not leave enough for the rest of the body.

People who undergo gastric bypass surgery might also experience hypoglycemia, as they will be able to take in less food than they were able to before surgery. Nesidioblastosis, a rare condition involving the enlargement of beta cells, often results in an overproduction of insulin.

Beta cells produce insulin in the pancreas. Glucose is another product of carbohydrate breakdown. It is a simple sugar that cells in the body can easily convert to energy. Sugars, such as glucose, and complex carbohydrates make up the principal dietary carbohydrates.

Other sugars can include fructose, lactose, and maltose, along with sucrose table sugar. Complex carbohydrates can include starches and types of dietary fiber. The sugar goes straight from the digestive system into the bloodstream after an individual consumes and digests food. However, glucose can only enter cells if enough insulin is also circulating in the bloodstream.

Insulin is a protein that makes cells ready to receive glucose. The cells would starve without enough insulin or if they become too resistant to its effects.

After people eat, blood sugar concentrations increase. The pancreas releases insulin automatically to move glucose from the blood to the cells. The liver and muscles store excess glucose as glycogen. Glycogen plays an important role in achieving homeostasis, a balanced state in the body.

It helps the body function during states of starvation. If a person does not eat for a short period, blood glucose concentrations will fall. The pancreas releases another hormone called glucagon.

Glucagon triggers the breakdown of glycogen into glucose, which pushes levels in the blood back up to normal. People with diabetes need to maintain steady blood glucose levels. However, those without diabetes should also avoid increasing their risk of developing the condition.

The glycemic index GI can help people choose foods that will not disrupt their blood sugar levels. The index gives a value to each food.

Foods that will cause blood glucose levels to spike dramatically, such as candy and sweet desserts, are high in the glycemic index. Measured against glucose, which is in the index, foods such as soft drinks, white bread, potatoes, and white rice have a high glycemic score.

Foods such as whole grain oats and some fruits and plants have a lower glycemic score. The glycemic load GL is based on the GI. It provides a picture of the total impact a serving of food will have on energy levels. It is an essential part of effective diabetes control.

Many people with diabetes must check several times each day to plan for activities and meals, as well as scheduling doses of medication or insulin. A person can test their blood glucose levels with a glucometer.

They usually come with lancets, or tiny needles, as well as test strips and a logbook to record results. People with type 2 diabetes normally need to test blood sugar concentrations at least once each day.

Those who need to take insulin, which includes all people with type 1 diabetes and some people with type 2, have to test their blood several times a day. Continuous glucose monitoring CGM can be an alternative method for glucose monitoring for people with diabetes. Eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, maintaining a moderate weight, and getting at least minutes of moderate-to-intense exercise each week can help.

Any person who experiences symptoms of low or high blood sugar should see a doctor, whether or not they have a diagnosis of diabetes. Irregular or extreme blood sugar levels can lead to diabetes and other harmful complications.

Both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia can lead to the more severe complications of diabetes. So, eating mainly low-GI foods and exercising regularly can help keep blood glucose balanced.

Is low-sugar chocolate really better for my blood glucose? ow-sugar chocolate may be two different things. One is chocolate sweetened with a sugar alternative, such as sugar alcohols. Examples include mannitol, xylitol, or isomalt. While they are usually lower in sugar, they still have carbohydrates and can affect blood glucose.

They also have a slight laxative effect. Chocolate sweetened with stevia may be a better choice for a low glycemic treat. Dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate, especially dark chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 70 percent. Typically, dark chocolate has a reasonably low glycemic index of 42 and a glycemic load of 9.

As with all dietary matters, moderation is key,so keep an eye on portion size and read nutrition labels. Low blood sugar symptoms range in severity and some cases can be life-threatening. Both diabetes and non-diabetes related hypoglycemia decrease blood….

Measuring fasting blood sugar levels can help people with diabetes stay healthy. Learn about blood sugar testing, healthy blood sugar levels, and….

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