Diabetes Tips to Improve Blood Sugar Control

• Keep Your Eating Habits Consistent: Remember that skipping your meals, especially breakfast could increase your blood sugar levels very quickly. This means that the medications you take could also cause hypoglycemia. Always remember that, when you do not eat food for several hours, your body fuels itself by utilizing the glucose released from your liver. For people suffering from Type 2 diabetes, the liver is not able to sense that the blood already has ample glucose, it therefore, continues to release more glucose. Therefore, consuming something with a little content of carbohydrates can signal the liver to stop releasing the glucose in the blood.
• Opt for healthy sources of carbs: Make sure that your diet contains ample ehalthy sources of carbs to get adequate vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Inadequate carbs in the diet leads to constant hunger pangs and eventual binge eating. Meal planning for people suffering fromdiabetes is quite unlike that of normal people. Therefore, it has to be done with care and under supervision of an expert dietician atleast to start with.
• Make smart choices and keep healthier replacements: Make intelligent food choices when you are suffering from diabetes. Opt for diabetes bars and diabetic milk shakes/juices instead of the regular ones. These come in handy when you feel sudden urges to eat. Keep them handy so that you do not give in to temptation and eat something you should not be eating.
• Always Fill Up on food sources rich in fiber: Always buy foods rich in healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals like nuts, seeds, avocados and more. Try to consume seasonal fruits and veggies. Always opt for salads, soups, and stews as filler meals. Remember that high-fiber foods fill you up quickly and are also rich in antioxidants. They also provides essential nutrients your body requires for optimal health and controlled sugar levels. Therefore, try to aim for 40 grams of fibers daily from your plant-based foods.
• Intake foods with Low Glycemic Index: The glycemic index helps you identify foods that increase your blood sugar rapidly and the foods that stabilize it. Eating foods with high glycemic index increases the blood sugar level over time. Whereas, foods low in the glycemic index reduce blood sugar levels for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients. Foods with high-glycemic index include sugar, white potatoes, refined cereals, and white bread (and these must be ignored). Low-glycemic index foods include food like green leafy vegetables, oats, quinoa, brown rice, fruits like berries, barley, sweet potatoes, beans, lentils, chickpeas, and more.
• Take Vitamin B12 Supplements : You must eat foods that are rich in Vitamin B12. In addition take your physician’s advise whether it is alright to take Vitamin B12 supplements or not. Most doctors advise vitamin B12 for diabetic patients to help maintain their health optimally.

Some important lifestyle tips to keep in mind

If you are suffering fromdiabetes keep the following tips in mind for a healthier lifestyle to manage this disease better:

• Exercise regulary: Exercising on a regular basis helps diabetics loose weight. It enhances their insulin sensitivity as a result of which themuscles are able to utilize the sugar available in the blood in a better manner and convert it to energy.
• Drink ample water: Have at least 2 liters of water everyday to stay hydrated. Having enough water also helps maintain blood sugar level and keeps it from fluctuating too often. It also enables the kidneys to flush out excessive blood sugar via urine.
• Practice portion control: When you regulate the portion size of the dishes you eat, it helps you control your calorie intake and eventually manage weight well. Well-managed weight leads to better blood sugar control.
• Stay away from stressful situations: When one is stressed, the body releases stress hormones cortisol and glucagon. These hormones cause spikes in the blood sugar levels. Therefore, make an effort to distress with meditation and yoga if you are easily stressed.
• Regularly monitor your blood glucose levels: This helps one keep a track of any spikes, accordingly tweak, and adjust one’s diet and lifestyle to bring the numbers down.
• Sleep well and on time: Not being able to maintain a healthy sleep cycle not only reduces the body’s insulin sensitivity but also increases a person’s appetite making him or her binge eat at odd timings. In addition to that, it increases the tendency to get stressed easily and as a result blood sugar control becomes all the more difficult. Therefore, it is important for diabetic to sleep on time everyday.