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The 18 best tips to naturally lower your blood sugar

If you suffer from pre-diabetes or diabetes then your body is less able or not at all able to produce or absorb insulin. Because your body is less able or not at all able to produce or absorb insulin, you will have problems with your blood sugar level.

Normally, your body regulates the exact amount of insulin it needs to convert the carbohydrates you eat into fuel for your cells.

This is precisely the core of the problem for people with diabetes: because you are taking medication or injecting insulin, you have to try to link the intake of sugar to the correct amount of insulin.

This is very precise and that is why many people with diabetes mainly suffer from enormous fluctuations in the blood sugar level.

It is precisely these fluctuations that are very bad for your body and cause diabetes-related complaints such as a diabetic foot or damage to your eyes. Another consequence of the high and large fluctuations in your blood sugar level are cardiovascular diseases.
It is precisely these fluctuations that are very bad for your body and cause diabetes-related complaints such as a diabetic foot or damage to your eyes. Another consequence of those too high and large fluctuations in your blood sugar level are cardiovascular diseases.

Luckily you can do a lot yourself to stabilize and lower your blood sugar!

1 Reduce your sugar intake

Despite the fact that in the current treatment of diabetes eating sugars is still allowed, these sugars do cause the fluctuations in your blood sugar level. The first step in stabilizing your blood sugar level is to eliminate the fast sugars that you find in sweets and cookies, for example, from your diet.
Despite the fact that in the current treatment of diabetes eating sugars is still allowed, these sugars do cause the fluctuations in your blood sugar level. The first step in stabilizing your blood sugar is to eliminate the fast sugars that you find in sweets and cookies, for example, from your diet.

By far the most sugars can be found in processed food. Fructose syrup is often added to foods. Fructose syrup has even been added to ham. So when you go shopping, be careful not to buy all kinds of products that have those artificial sugars added.
By far the most sugars can be found in processed food. High fructose syrup is often added to foods. Fructose syrup has even been added to ham. So when you go shopping, be careful not to buy all kinds of products that have those artificial sugars added.

Â The current diet contains so much sugar that even if you don't have diabetes you consume more sugars than is healthy for you.

A handy way to avoid all those fast sugars is to buy as many fresh products as possible and avoid all ready-made products as much as possible.

The moment you switch to preparing a meal yourself from fresh ingredients instead of buying meals that have already been prepared for you, you already get most of the fast sugars your diet.

You can also avoid a lot of sugars by not buying soft drinks and fruit juices anymore. This may sound a bit extreme but it is very easy to apply in practice. You can easily switch from soft drinks to mineral water or water from the tap.
You can also avoid a lot of sugars by not buying soft drinks and fruit juices anymore. This may sound a bit extreme but it is very easy to apply in practice. It is very easy to switch from soft drinks to mineral water or water from the tap.

Instead of those juices that have already been prepared for you, it is much better to buy a blender and make your own fruit juices. The advantage of this is that, in addition to the sugars from fruit, you also get a portion of the fiber.

Because of these fibers, the sugar is absorbed more gradually by your body and you need less insulin.

Besides the fact that these fast sugars are not good for your blood sugar because the sugars enter your bloodstream directly, there is another very important reason to ignore these sugars.

These fast sugars in processed food products increase inflammation in your body. Throughout your body you get small inflammations, or inflammation, these inflammations in turn also cause an increase in your blood sugar level.

Sugars in fruit are the only fast sugars that you allow in your diet. But because your goal is to stabilize your blood sugar level, you can also make small adjustments here; not every fruit contains the same amount of sugar.

If you dig a little deeper into the matter, you can also include the amount of fibers in the calculation. This is called the glycemic index, which ranks foods according to how much sugar is in a product and how quickly these sugars are absorbed by your body.

Â Because the longer it takes for all sugars to be absorbed by your body, the less your blood sugar spikes.

For example, an apple may contain quite a lot of sugars at first sight, but because of the dietary fiber in the apple, these sugars are absorbed slowly. So all in all, an apple does not have such a big effect on your blood sugar level. Adjusting your diet based on the glycemic index has been proven to be a good way to lower your blood sugar without the need for additional medications or insulin.

Examples of fruits that score low in terms of the glycemic load (less than 40) on your body are:

2 Replace the simple carbohydrates with complex carbohydrates

Of course it is never wise to take no carbohydrates at all, it would be better for your blood sugar, but chances are that you will compensate for the shortage of carbohydrates with a lot of fats.

This is also exactly how the food industry has everyone on their feet. Do you want low-sugar or sugar-free? Then a load of fat is simply added to a product. Or do you prefer low-fat, which is of course also possible, then the food industry fiddles with the ingredients again and you get a low-fat product that contains a load of sugar.

The solution? Slow or complex carbohydrates

In contrast to the sugar that you put in your tea or that is in processed food, sugars in grains are more difficult to absorb by the body. The sugar is well packed in the seed and your digestive system will first have to decompose the seed before the sugar can be removed. As a result, these sugars are absorbed gradually so that you have an even release of energy.

Not all of the fiber that makes up the seed can be broken down by your digestive system. These fibers remain intact and therefore have a cleaning effect. Your stools will be firmer and your digestive tract will be kept nice and clean.

Now opinions are divided on eating grains. On the one hand, the opinion is that grains and seeds are not part of our natural diet. Humans have been eating grains for 10,000 years, so it is theorized that we humans are not well able to digest seeds from an evolutionary point of view.

This could be one of the reasons why so many people cannot tolerate gluten.

On the other hand, the vast majority of people have no problem eating gluten at all. And not all seeds are the same: you have seeds from grasses such as grain, but rice, buckwheat or quinoa are again not grass seeds and would be better absorbed by the digestion.

Apart from this discussion, you can simply say that it is very difficult to follow a diet that contains no grains.

A good middle ground in that respect is to switch to spelled bread instead of the white bread you are used to. The spelled grain is an ancient grain that has not yet been modified. Spelled has remained the same for as long as it has existed.

In general spelled is therefore better tolerated than grain.

Spelled has all the advantages of a wholemeal bread but with far fewer disadvantages. Spelled bread provides you with a lot of dietary fiber that you need to deal with the spikes in blood sugar.

Beans are also full of the dietary fiber that provides you with energy in the right way. Carbohydrates are part of a balanced diet, in that respect beans are a very good source of energy without causing your blood sugar to rise.

The third healthy alternative to still get carbohydrates. Nuts consist mainly of healthy proteins and unsaturated fats, but nuts also contain the good dietary fibers that stabilize your blood sugar.

The combination of unsaturated fats and proteins not only ensures that your blood sugar level remains stable. Nuts are also important because they help prevent cardiovascular disease.

3 Eat several smaller portions

By eating smaller portions at several times during the day you ensure that you do not have hunger moments. Because the biggest culprit for your blood sugar is hunger.

Most people who have problems with keeping blood sugar levels stable try to limit the intake of sugars as much as possible. In itself that is also a very good way were it not that by eating so few calories you suddenly get so hungry that you quickly run to the candy machine or eat a ready-made sandwich or snack.

By eating several smaller portions a day you avoid getting overwhelmed by hunger pangs. This gives you more control over what you eat and makes it easier to stick to your diet.

4 Keep a food diary

To measure is to know, the old saying goes. This also applies to your blood sugar. But if you don't keep track of what you eat, you also don't know which foods cause your blood sugar to shoot up. Because no matter how serious you are with nutrition, chances are that you still eat food that contains a lot of sugars or saturated fats without realizing it.

With a food diary you can track down and eliminate the culprits.

5 Eat less saturated fats

Various studies have shown that limiting the intake of saturated fats is also very effective on your blood sugar level. This is partly due to the fact that saturated fats quickly lead to obesity.

And being overweight alone has a huge influence on your blood sugar level.

6 Don't eat trans fats

In a previous article I already talked extensively about the negative effects of trans fats on your health. In short, trans fats are artificially manufactured fats that your body cannot absorb.

These trans fats are immediately stored in your fat layer.

But it is not only the risk of overweight that increases drastically due to the consumption of trans fats. You also get inflammation, just like with the artificial sugars. These inflammations in your body have a major influence on your blood sugar level.

So it is best to ignore trans fats.

6 Eat more unsaturated fats

The unsaturated fats have the exact opposite effects on your health compared to trans fats. Unsaturated fats ensure that your cardiovascular system remains healthy and flexible. In addition, unsaturated fats have an anti-inflammatory effect. It is precisely the inflammation that causes high blood sugar and that is exactly what is prevented by eating unsaturated fats.

In addition, these unsaturated fats promote the absorption of vitamins. Getting enough vitamins is also essential in preventing inflammation and stabilizing your blood sugar.

7 Eat more protein

Of all food groups, proteins have the least influence on your blood sugar level. By allowing a larger part of your diet to consist of protein, you will have the energy but not the rise in your blood sugar.

Moreover, proteins are very healthy: they help you repair and make cells. That is very important because high blood sugar levels cause damage to the cell walls.

So proteins partially counteract the negative effects of the sugars.

Besides the aforementioned nuts, you can also get protein from chicken and other lean meats. However, a very good source of proteins that I would like to mention separately is yogurt. Yogurt contains many probiotics in addition to proteins. These probiotics are very important for your gut, especially if you have high blood sugar.

Sugar is the ideal food source for bacteria and fungi that are bad for your digestion. This causes digestive complaints and your body has to work hard to get rid of these harmful fungi. As a result, your blood sugar will go up.

Probiotics is the collective name for the good healthy intestinal flora, the bacteria and fungus that help you digest food. By regularly eating organic yogurt you help to keep your intestinal flora in balance.

And this way you also ensure that your blood sugar level is more stable.

8 Drink less caffeine

Research conducted in 2012 among 24 subjects with type 2 diabetes showed that the H1ac levels decreased significantly by stopping coffee drinking. That means that your blood sugar levels will improve in the long term.

Well just not drinking coffee is not enough to get your blood sugar levels in order, but it does show that getting stable blood sugar levels is a matter of many different small improvements to your diet and lifestyle. that together have a very powerful effect.

9 Drink less alcohol

Besides caffeine, alcohol is also a factor that has a negative influence on your blood sugar level. As you may know, your pancreas is responsible for the production of insulin. This same pancreas is also part of the group of organs charged with removing alcohol from your system. So if you regularly drink alcohol, you unnecessarily burden the pancreas. So be careful with the pancreas and drink in moderation or preferably not at all. Especially if you already have problems getting your blood sugar levels in order.

10 Eat more herbs

Various herbs have already been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect. A very good example of a spice that you can regularly add to your meal to both reduce inflammation and stabilize your blood sugar is cinnamon.

Research has shown that a teaspoon of cinnamon every day can improve your blood sugar levels as your sensitivity to insulin increases. This makes it easier for the cells in your body to use the sugar as energy and the sugar doesn't linger in your bloodstream.

11 Increase your Vitamin D

Research has mainly investigated the link between a lack of vitamin D and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. What seems? People with the highest amounts of vitamin D (> 500IU) were 43% less likely to develop diabetes than those who consumed less than 200IU of vitamin D.

As you know you get a large part of your daily amount of vitamin D through sunlight. The Netherlands is so northern that in the winter months the sunlight is just not strong enough to provide you with the minimum amount of vitamin D.

A good excuse to go on holiday to the South in winter.

But luckily you can get vitamin D supplements at the drugstore without a prescription. I do recommend that you determine whether you have a deficiency at all before you start taking vitamin D supplements.

To get rid of a vitamin D deficiency you need a much higher dose than when supplementing the vitamin D in the winter months. The research I used in this article was based on more than 500IE of vitamin D, in the Netherlands the minimum dose of vitamin D is set at 400IE.

In the summer months, half an hour in the sun every day is enough to produce that 400IE of vitamin D.

12 Take more magnesium

Now you will not get a magnesium deficiency any time soon, but it is not inconceivable. Magnesium is mainly found in grain, dairy and meat. Research has shown that a minimum of 200 mg of magnesium per day significantly improved insulin sensitivity and inflammation compared to subjects who did not consume enough magnesium.

Magnesium had an extra effect, especially in subjects who had to deal with increased inflammatory values, increased blood sugar values and were also moderate drinkers.

This research once again nicely summarizes what you should not do: drink a lot, eat a lot of sugars and fats so that your inflammatory values increase and you also get deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.

13 Try the Mediterranean Diet!

Several studies have shown that the Mediterranean diet is some of the healthiest diet you can have. Regular parts of the Mediterranean diet are: onions, garlic, tomato, olive oil, fish and lots of fresh herbs.

This combination has a positive effect on your cholesterol, your blood pressure and also your blood sugar level.

14 Get more exercise on a regular basis

More exercise decreases insulin resistance and it causes you to burn more calories. You move the excess sugar out of your system. There is a catch, however, you have to exercise consistently more, otherwise your blood sugar will fluctuate because you will and then not burn those extra calories.

But the figures from the study do not lie: if you practice a sport intensively for two hours a week and also do a good workout at home for half an hour a week, you can reduce your blood sugar level in a month by more than 20%.

Imagine a blood sugar level from an unhealthy high 7.5 to a safe 6.0 in four weeks!

15 Grow more muscle

Not only exercise is good for your blood sugar, it also has a stacking effect. By exercising more you get more muscle mass. And muscles are known to use the glucose in your bloodstream as fuel. The more muscle mass you have, the more glucose is burned, even when you sit quietly on the couch.

The more muscle mass, the more glucose the body can process. As a result, the fluctuations in your blood sugar level decrease, your muscle mass absorbs them in part.

16 Lose some fat

Fat mass does the exact opposite of muscle mass. So here too you can expect leverage if you exercise or exercise intensively enough. Fat cells produce hormones that promote insulin resistance.

It's very simple: the fewer fat cells, the less insulin resistance!

17 Get enough sleep

It has been known for much longer that there is a direct link between getting diabetes and having sleep disorders such as insomnia. But research has also shown that simply a lack of sleep makes you more likely to develop diabetes. It doesn't really matter why you don't get enough sleep, whether it's noise or you go to bed late, it doesn't matter.

Insufficient sleep, worsens insulin resistance. This means that if you do not sleep at least 6 to 7 hours without interruption, you will have problems with the sensitivity of the cells to insulin. The study found that no more than four hours of sleep for five nights reduced insulin sensitivity by nearly 25%. And that in a week!

Just consider how important a good night's sleep is for keeping your blood sugar under control.

18 Be under stress

As the last important factor in getting your blood sugar under control, I end up with stress. Stress hormones drive your blood sugar levels up, this is a survival mechanism that works the same for every person on earth. The moment your brain detects a potential emergency, this mechanism switches on. You cannot stop this mechanism.

What you can do is make sure that the emergency is not detected. You can achieve this in various ways. First, you can try to banish as much stress from your life as possible. Do you have people in your environment who only cause you stress without getting anything in return? It sounds harsh, but this is the only way to apply a first filter in terms of stress. Allow as little stress as possible and the chance that your mechanism will engage is much smaller.

You also have the inescapable stress. Illness or work, for example, are simply part of life. We simply cannot collectively pack our bags and sit in that monastery in Thailand for good. You have to deal with this inescapable stress by making your mind resilient.

Okay, there are always situations that are very exciting, but if you have a strong mind and you don't let any situation throw you off balance, the emergency button won't turn on.

The next step towards stress resistance is filtering: can you change something about a situation? If so, you can try to do something about it. If the answer is 'no', then it is no use getting excited, you cannot change it. You must then focus on learning to deal with the consequences.

This way you avoid wasting energy unnecessarily on people who suck energy instead of adding it. You learn to focus on what you can influence instead of getting stuck in something that you have no control over.

Finally:

As you can read there are a lot of small and big improvements to be made in blood sugar levels. Fortunately, most of the tips are quite easy to apply. Leaving all that dextrose, fructose and hardened palm fats standing is just a matter of reading labels and not buying anything that contains those sugars and saturated trans fats.

Adjusting your diet here and there so that you mainly eat unprocessed and Mediterranean style food is not difficult, it is delicious! And just with the adjustments in your diet you will already make a huge step forward!