6 Ways To Maintain a Healthy Blood Sugar Level Naturally
Alright, my friends, let’s talk abouuuuut…. [drum roll plzzzzz]…. blood sugar!
As a nurse, blood sugar (or “blood glucose”) is something I am VERY familiar with for my patients, but I understand that it’s not exactly the most commonly-known or ~popular~ topic for those of us who don’t work in medicine or don’t have/know someone with diabetes.
…. Which is a bummer, because blood sugar IS so important in our health (whether we are diabetic or not).
Wait, does everyone need to pay attention to blood sugar?
While blood sugar is more crucial for some people to focus on (diabetics, pre-diabetetics, etc.), blood sugar impacts us ALL on many aspects of our everyday life and health. Some signs of dysregulated bloog sugar can include:
irritability, brain fog, mood swings, etc. (ever feel “hangry” when you go too long without eating? yup. that’s blood sugar.),
it impacts our energy (the infamous “afternoon slump?”. yup. that also can be your blood sugar talking.),
it impacts the foods we crave (ever have that “I need a dessert now” kind of feeling???),
it can impact how we store fat and if we have difficulty managing a healthy weight,
it can impact how well (orrrrrrr how poorly) we sleep,
it can impact our hormones, menstural cycles, PCOS diagnoses, etc.
…. basically, your glucose levels can impact A LOT.
Chances are you’ve heard about blood sugar…. but you may not know exactly what it means and how it affects you. You’re not alone! Chances are, unless you work in medicine or are exposed to diabetes/pre-diabetes, blood sugar probably isn’t in front of your mind.
If blood sugar is something you often hear about (but don’t really understand) or just something you’re curious about, this post is for you!
blood sugar 101:
Simply put— blood sugar, or blood glucose, is the main sugar (carbohydrate) found in your blood. It accumulates at various levels in your blood based on the types of food you eat (carbs, protein, fat, etc.).
Blood sugar is SO IMPORTANT as it serves as your body's main source of energy. We NEED glucose! We NEED carbs!
For a [very] simplified visual aid— you can basically picture your blood is “carrying” little bits of sugar (glucose) around the body and hand-delivering them to cells so that they can utilize that sugar to have energy!
…and while we do need glucose, there IS such a thing as too much of a good thing.
basically— the more carbs you eat (breads, rice, starches, crackers, chips, fruit, sugars, sweets, cookies, granola bars, bananas, noodles, etc.), the higher your blood sugar will be.
and the opposite is true— the less carbs you eat, the lower your blood sugar will be.
Too much (and too little) sugar in our blood can be hazardous to our health so our body works REALLY hard to regulate the level of sugar floating around and keep it in a “normal” range. For all sugar in our body, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin to “process” the sugar. In simple terms, insulin is the “gatekeeper” which allows the glucose (or sugar) to leave your blood and enter your cell (thus, lowering your blood sugar level as the glucose is leaving the blood and going into the cells).
Insulin and glucose are a fiiiiiine-tuned dance. Our body needs glucose, but not too much. Insulin helps regulate that balancing act!
Quick Facts:
A "normal" blood sugar range is between 70 and 140
Clinical hypoglycemia (“Low blood sugar”) occurs when blood sugar drops below 55
Hyperglycemia (“high blood sugar”): Blood sugar is technically elevated at 140 and above. General guidelines suggest 140-199 as pre-diabetic values, and 200+ as a potential diabetic value.
IN A NUTSHELL: Your blood sugar level is the amount of sugar/carbs (or glucose) in your blood at any given moment. Depending on what this value is (low, normal, or elevated) impacts how you feel, your energy levels, cravings, symptoms, etc.
In the short-term, blood sugar peaks/valleys aren’t often a big deal— but sustained dysregulated blood sugar can create problems in the body and have a huge impact on your health— especially when blood sugar is consistently out of range
signs your blood sugar may be out of whack
SIGNS OF IMBALANCED BLOOD SUGAR: Dysregulated blood sugar impacts far beyond just our “nutrition”. When blood sugar is not properly managed you can see side effects like pre-diabetes, diabetes, weight fluctuation, sugar cravings, changes in blood pressure, weight loss or gain, difficulty managing weight, nerve damage, jitters, and nervousness—even if you’re not necessarily “at risk” for these things.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF: Are you having an intense afternoon slump? Do you feel like you NEED sugar or carbs to wake up and have energy? Do you feel irritable and on edge? Have issues with your weight? Brain fog or low energy? Mental health issues? Have PCOS? Have an irregular cycle? Those are all signs that your blood sugar could be out of whack and that it may be time to pay closer attention.
If you’re feeling those symptoms now, it may be worth looking into your blood sugar. What I outlined above could be symptoms of blood sugar that is ricocheting, roller coaster-ing all over the place, and really driving how you feel (even if you may not know it).
You may think these symptoms are your normal or baseline, but (oftentimes) it doesn’t have to be that way.
STEADY blood glucose feels calm. You feel nourished without getting ravenous or having intense cravings. You feel at peace, you’re sleeping well, your mood is stable...these can all be outcomes of a stable, normal-range, healthy blood glucose.
So, today, I wanted to give you some [little known] tips for regulating a healthy blood sugar level.
While of course there are people that really need to focus on their blood sugar and manage it with more intensive treatment, pharmaceuticals, daily tracking, etc., this blog post will include more general “everyday” hacks those with a relatively healthy blood sugar, but just looking to find a bit more stable, regulated blood sugar levels.
These 6 tips are holistic, they’re simple, and they can make a tangible difference in maintaining a stable blood sugar!
okay, well what can I do about it?
While we discussed above, the MAIN way to manage your blood sugar is through healthy eating choices, eating a reaonsable amount of carbs, and a whole food diet
GENERAL (MOST IMPACTFUL) RULES FOR MANAGING BLOOD SUGAR:
Follow a minimally processed diet
Don’t overconsume carbs
Eat more fiber
Eat more protein
Avoid sugary drinks (sweet coffees, soda, juice, etc.)
Switch from simple carbs to complex carbs (ex: instead of a white bread, have a whole grain bread).
these^^ are the foundational places to start, but there *are* some simple (and impactful!) things that you can do as the cherry on top!
While proper nutrition is the BIGGEST way to impact your blood sugar, below are 5 additional holistic habits that have been shown to help regulate healthy blood sugar levels and I’m about to break it down! (all scholarly sources are referenced at the bottom of this post).
1.apple cider vinegar:
Apple Cider Vinegar can impact my blood sugars?? Actually, YES.
Now, hear me out! You may know apple cider vinegar as a classic cooking staple or #wellness trend, but there actually is science backing it up for managing blood sugar.
Well how does this work?
The acetic acid within the vinegar has been correlated with Several mechanisms have delayed gastric emptying, increased utilization of glucose, suppression of production of hepatic glucose, and insulin secretion facilitation.
It is also shown to dampen the blood sugar spike after a high-carbohydrate breakfast when that meal was consumed with vinegar.
Supplementing with apple cider vinegar resulted in a 19%improvement in those with Type 2 diabetes, and up to 34% in an individual with pre-diabetic.
A double-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in patients with type 2 diabetes found that apple cider vinegar significantly reduced the HbA1c (p=0.002) fasting blood glucose (p=0.006) compared to the placebo group who was only taking water without added apple cider vinegar.
Basically, in simple terms, the digestion of starch molecules (AKA carbs) gets interfered by the acetic acid, which subsequently reduces the amount of glucose absorption into the blood stream after the meal.
To implement this, you could put a 1-2 spoonfuls of apple cider vinegar into your water, make a salad dressing with it, take it in a wellness shot, etc.
2. cinnamon:
Yup, that cinnamon. Did you know that simple little spice in your cabinet can have a tangible impact on your blood sugar levels?
And it’s not just that it has a minor impact… in fact, a double-blind randomized control trial showed that cinnamon was correlated with…
A lower glucose level,
A lower blood sugar fasting level,
An improvement in insulin sensitivty
a decrease in A1c (And, In fact, one randomized controlled trial found that cinnamon helped lower A1c by 0.83% on average)
You can incorporate cinnamon into what you are eating/drinking, but you can also take it as a supplement. The studies I am referring to used cinnamon in 500 mg/capsules twice a day with meals (but, of course, check with your doctor!). I recommend ceylon cinnamon specifically (better for the body/liver than cassia cinnamon)
3. timing your exercise
Exercise is HUUUUUUUGE for managing blood sugar. If you are having regular movement in your day-to-day life, great! You are already supporting your body & its relationship with glucose :)
But, while regular ol’ exercise is great, you can optimize your exercise to better support your blood sugar! Research over several decades now has shown that blood glucose levels are sensitive to various exercise conditions: timing, intensity, duration, etc. For the science-y peeps, how does exercise impact blood glucose? increased glucose consumption due to enhanced muscle glycogenolysis as well as glucose uptake in the muscle. Further, post-meal exercise include suppresses production of hepatic glucose output and fatty acid oxidation.
By timing mild exercise after a meal, it helps your body better utilize the glucose and tamper off the infamous “blood sugar spike”. (If you are doing more intense work outs, you may want to do it before the meal to better optimize).
By strategically timing your exercise around a meal helps blood sugar because the glucose is being shuttled in and being used by cells right away and not just hanging out in the blood.
Here’s what the data says:
Decades of studies have shown that a moderate intensity exercise (it doesn’t matter the type! aerobic, resistance or combined all work) that begin within 30-40 min after the start of the meal have a significant reduction in blood sugar peak post meal.
Light to moderate exercise premeal raised post-meal glucose, but a similar walk post-meal lowered glucose levels. On the other hand an hour-long, energy-intensive interval exercise gave the opposite results: it was the premeal exercise that improved glycemia. (Takeaway– if you’re doing mild/moderate exercise, do it after the meal. If it’s an intense work out, it may be valuable to do it before!)
A 2013 review showed that exercise timed to start at 30 min after the first bite into the meal showed the most effective blunting of the glucose surge
A cross-over study showed a significant decrease in blood glucose following post-meal exercise moreso than just general exercise that wasn’t timed around a meal.
Post-meal exercise seems to be most impactful to blood sugar levels after the evening meal, when predominantly carbohydrates seem to be consumed.
It doesn’t have to be super intense! A randomized crossover study by showed that even slow post-meal walking reduced glucose rise.
While all exercise is good, post-meal exercise is extra beneficial to keeping blood sugar in a reasonable range. And, please note– this doesn’t have to be a full-blown workout: even a 15 minute walk, a simple 10-minute youtube exercise work out video, or an easy workout can help!
To optimize, start some light exercise 20-45 minutes after a meal (a short walk, air squats, etc.) So whether it’s a daily workout or just doing a minute of movement after every meal, it can greatly impact your blood sugar.
4. track your sugars:
While tracking the exact numbers of your blood glucose may not be necessary (you CAN learn a lot just by just watching how different foods make you feel).
……But if you’re like me and want something a liiiiiiitle bit more concrete and REALLY digging into the numbers, you could also use a continuous blood glucose monitor to tangibly look at what your blood sugar is doing 24/7. While more in-depth than the other “hacks” on this list, this is probably the most game-changing, and a phenommmmenal way to concretely see where your sugars are at and how they impact your health.
Using a continuous glucose monitor!
What is a CGM? It is a small device that provides provides real-time data on what your blood sugar actually is– it allows you to instantly see the current glucose level, glucose trends, and the direction of glucose.
DATA ON CONTINOUS GLUCOSE MONITOR:
Use of CGM is generally associated with an improvement in A1c level, reduction of hyperglycemia, and hypoglycemia events
Over 100 type II diabetics were divided into groups that utilized a CGM or groups that checked sugars manually for 12 weeks. After the intervention, the CGM group had a decrease in A1c of 1.0% (vs. 0.5% in the manual sugars group) and these difference in group results were sustained at 40 week follow up.
We are all different and metabolize foods differently! The use of CGM may be helpful for showing how your body responds and help to make personalized therapy decisions desired in the era of precision medicine
In the previous study^^, medication was not utilized, suggesting that one of the benefits of utilizing a continuous glucose monitor and improving A1c is behavior and lifestyle modification.
Another study found that continuous glucose montiors were motivating to patients as they could visualize their glycemic goals.
This is a peak of my personal tracking through nutrisense! So the “sensor” sends data to my phone app so I can see 24/7 what my levels are :) You enter your food, work outs, how you feel, etc. and your dietician will correlate that with what your blood sugar is doing and provide tips! (get $25 off nutrisense and 1-on-1 dietician here!)
How to get (and understand) a continuous glucose
Historically, blood glucose monitors have been mainly for diabetics to check their blood sugar and use insulin to bring their blood glucose level to a healthy range. Blood sugar monitors have been GAME CHANGING for diabetics everywhere and I am so grateful for the technology!
(I don’t mean to be insensitive to diabetics/pre-diabetics AT ALL when I talk about tracking our blood sugar as I know it is far more important to you and not a “choice” like I am talking about in this blog post.)
But, I also, truly believe MANY of us could benefit from tracking and learning our blood sugar because blood sugar impacts all of us—not just people who are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Having a stable blood sugar can help with weight management, energy, sleep, nutrition quality, mood, sleep quality…. it IS so impactful.
Personally, I’ve used a continuous blood glucose monitor in my own life so that I could get ALLLL the data and learn comprehensively on how to best manage my sugars, nourishment, weight, hormones, etc.
Because I am a crazy person about doing my research before purchasing,I looked at a few options for a continuous glucose monitor, and finally picked NutriSense because you get 24/7 insight on your blood sugar while AND personalized feedback and 1-on-1 support from a registered dietitian at no additional cost (yes, really).
Basically, I wore a little device for 2 weeks & my blood sugar was tracked 24/7. From there, my data uploaded directly into an app where the I could review where my blood sugar was at, a dietician looked at my daily data and sent me feedback, encouraged healthy things I was doing, offered optimizing hacks, advice on my food choices, etc. My dietician looked at my fasting glucose, my after-meal glucose, my glycemic variability (which is swings in glucose), and gave me tangible things I could do to improve in those areas.
Even though I feel quite knowledgable about blood sugar in general, I still gained a tooooon of insights on my specific body and how it responds to the foods I eat. For me, I treated this like a little science experiment where I could track, see the data, and optimize my nourishment! It was really, really interesting.
The truth is that blood sugar is a bit complicated (especially if you’re new to it). Having a registered dietician explain your numbers and how you can improve them is SO valuable. If you’ve been around the blog for awhile you know I’m super passionate about having licensed, credentialed professionals give health advice (...and not some random person on the internet who Googled an article).
The free 1-on-1 registered dietician support is something I didn’t see with any other blood glucose trackers, and why I picked Nutri-sense for a continuous glucose monitor! I’ve used them 3 times (just when I feel I need a little “reset” with nutrition, feel in a funk, etc), and I’ve LOVED it each time.
This post is NOT sponsored— just my honest opinions, but they were kind enough to share a referral coupon :) So you can save $25 on a blood glucose monitor with the code KATE25).
LONG STORY SHORT: Knowing your blood sugar, truly learning it, utilizing a continuous blood glucoe monitor, and seeing trends can be eye-opening and SOOOOO impactful for health.
5. no “naked” carbs:
It’s important to know that carbs aren’t off-limits! We need carbs! But when you do eat them, you can optimize how the carbs will be absorbed. One simple rule is to not eat naked carbs!
And here’s what a mean–
A naked carb is what I call a carb eaten on it’s own– plain crackers, chips, plain noodles, plain bread, apple, etc. Basically, a carb eaten without any other macronutrient. And while there isn’t anything overtly wrong about naked carbs– there is a better way of eating carbs to support your blood sugar! And it’s easy!
All you have to do is make sure to balance the carbs with sources of protein, fiber, and healthy fat. For example, throw some all-natural cheese on those crackers, dip the chips in hummus, pair some chicken with those noodles, top that bread with avocado, put some peanut butter with that apple, etc.
By “pairing” your carbs with a protein or healthy fat, it stabilizes the blood sugar by slowing the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream, making it more constant and avoiding those peaks and valleys (and, subsequently, keeping you much more satisfied and full). if you were going to have an apple— instead of an apple with peanut butter. the protein and healthy fat will create a more “complete” snack that gradually releases the sugar from the apple instead of a blood sugar spike!)
in a nutshell…
Blood sugar is something that is relevant to your body twenty-four hours a day, 7 days a week… but yet, we often don’t even pay it a second thought.
However, LEARNING your blood sugar and seeing how it impacts your mood, energy, cravings, weight, sleep quality, hormones can be GAME CHANGING.
It’s important to note that no single holistic hack, supplement, or workout session is going to be the “cure all” for healthy blood sugar. To truly have a healthy blood sugar you need to CONSISTENTLY nourish your body with minimally processed diet is full of complex carbs, fiber, protein, and healthy fats, live an active life style, manage stress, be mindful of meal composition, and do the small things with intention!
Proper blood sugar is one thing that impacts soooo much. I had such a great experience learning, tracking & doing the “small things” to support my blood sugar, and I highly recommend paying more attention to this area of your health to upgrade your overall well-being! Blood sugar is one things that impacts EVERYTHING else in your bod!
SOURCES:
Carlson, A. L., Mullen, D. M., & Bergenstal, R. M. (2017). Clinical use of continuous glucose monitoring in adults with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes technology & therapeutics, 19(S2), S-4.
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Chacko, E. (2017). A time for exercise: the exercise window. Journal of Applied Physiology.
Church TS, Blair SN, Cocreham S, Johannsen N, Johnson W, Kramer K, et al. Effects of aerobic and resistance training on hemoglobin A1c levels in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2010;304:2253–62.
Crawford, Paul, et al. “Assessment of the effect of lifestyle intervention plus water-soluble cinnamon extract on lowering blood glucose in pre-diabetics, a randomized, double-blind, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.” Trials, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2016, p. 9.
Crawford, Paul. “Effectiveness of cinnamon for lowering hemoglobin A1C in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, controlled trial.” Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 5, 2009, pp. 507-12.
Danne, T., Nimri, R., Battelino, T., Bergenstal, R. M., Close, K. L., DeVries, J. H., ... & Phillip, M. (2017). International consensus on use of continuous glucose monitoring. Diabetes care, 40(12), 1631-1640.
DiPietro L, Gribok A, Stevens MS, Hamm LF, Rumpler W. Three 15-min bouts of moderate postmeal walking significantly improves 24-h glycemic control in older people at risk for impaired glucose tolerance. Diabetes Care. 2013;36:3262–8.
Kausar, S., Humayun, A., Ahmed, Z., Abbas, M. A., & Tahir, A. (2019). Effect of apple cider vinegar on glycemic control, hyperlipidemia and control on body weight in type 2 diabetes patients. Health Sciences, 8(5), 59-74.
Maddox, Pauline J. “Cinnamon in the Treatment of Type II Diabetes.” 2016.
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Pahra, D., Sharma, N., Ghai, S., Hajela, A., Bhansali, S., & Bhansali, A. (2017). Impact of post-meal and one-time daily exercise in patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized crossover study. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, 9(1), 1-7.
Reynolds AN, Mann JI, Williams S, Venn BJ. Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing: a randomised crossover study. Diabetologia. 2016;59:2572–8.
Rodbard, D. (2016). Continuous glucose monitoring: a review of successes, challenges, and opportunities. Diabetes technology & therapeutics, 18(S2), S2-3.