Blood Sugar: How To Combat it Naturally
Life would have been so much easier if the meaning of blood sugar would have been the sugar in your blood, and to stop that all you had to do was stop eating sugar. Alas, that is definitely not the case. And that is the innumerable diet checks, finger pricks and blood tests come in. Not to mention, the uncountable number of doctor visits.
Story of sugar in our blood
The simple function of sugar in the blood initially was to provide energy. Things got complicated when this sugar that was supposed to reach various parts of the body couldn’t and was left stranded in the bloodstream. You can pin the blame on a tiny molecule of a substance called insulin that just did not do its job anymore. This lead to an increase in complex sugar compounds left in the blood and hence the increased “blood sugar” levels. This incident led to the development of a more complex disease called Diabetes Mellitus.
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that is chronic in nature (develops over a period of time). But do not underestimate this disease, as it is one of the most prevalent health problems in the whole wide world right now with a staggering prevalence rate of about 2.3 percent. This little number is bound to increase and become 4.4 percent in another 10-12 years. To consider the mortality rate, diabetes alone has been the cause of death for about 1.5 million across the globe in 2012.
Why the epidemic?
That is the question modern day society needs to ask itself. How could people fall in the abyss of a disease and get completely drowned in it to such an extent? There are many contributing factors that may be lifestyle, socio-economic positioning or just plain lethargy. How could man, a species so evolved that we can think logically, experiment, innovate and can walk on two legs, become so redundant when such a condition started spreading? Although it is widely understood that diabetes and high blood sugar cannot be cured but it sure can be controlled. Read on to learn how.
How to lower blood sugar levels naturally-
Lifestyle alteration
When diagnosed with high blood sugar levels, the first reflex is to find out how to lower blood sugar fast. Well, the answer to that is that there is no fast process to it. It is a holistic, comprehensive lifestyle change that needs to be brought about. Before altering the diet or even starting to exercise, it is important to give an external stimulus of lifestyle alteration to the body so that it equips itself to start the overall change from within. This, when combined with an active lifestyle, will definitely help you achieve a healthier mind, body and soul. Some of the best pointers to that would be;
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Waking up early
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Including morning activity
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Setting time of daily activities
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Stay active in workplace
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Leisure time and taking regular vacations
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Lose weight doing activities you like
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Inculcate healthier habits
Dietary modifications
There have been innumerable lecture by doctors and beyond about how important a role the right kind of diet plays while lowering blood sugar levels. It's quite possible most of it is true because diet is one of the primary routes to control this problem. What you put inside of your body is how the body would look and react. This needs to be kept in mind while avoiding high sugar and junk food. Fighting hunger pangs, eating healthier food and in general gravitating towards healthier options even when eating out is going to become a way of life if practiced right.
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Frequent meals
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Increase fiber intake
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Drink a lot of water
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Cut down on carbohydrate intake
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Portion control is important
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Choose low glycemic index food
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Including chromium and magnesium in diet
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Early morning food: apple cider vinegar, fenugreek water
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Intake of vitamin B12 in the diet
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Quit alcohol and cigarettes
Exercising
The importance of exercising to combat all the complications of higher blood sugar levels cannot be emphasized enough. Rigorous exercise can bring about a difference like no other in your overall health status. Whether it is the healthy morning walk or jog when the air is the freshest or the hardcore gymnasium strength and endurance training, all are extremely beneficial. Yoga and Pilates are the hot new trend when it comes to mind and body workouts and have many benefits that heal the body from the inside.
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Walking
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Jogging
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Endurance training
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Yoga
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Pilates
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Strength training
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Dance workouts
Blood sugar level monitoring
Whatever steps you are taking to lower blood sugar naturally are only going to be fruitful if you can actually lower high blood sugar quickly. The measure of this has to be the regular at home or in laboratory blood tests to examine the sugar levels. The value of the test then becomes relative to the previous level and the progress can be gauged. The at home sugar testing kit is the simplest way to do so as the value is more often than not accurate. A high blood sugar levels chart can be prepared at home and shared with the practitioner time to time.
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At home testing
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HBA1C monitoring
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Regular fasting and PP lab testing
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Checking for signs for high blood sugar
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Regular visits to a practitioner
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Regular eye and kidney checks
Mental health
People go far and along and never quite understand why they cannot bring their sugar levels down even after doing everything by the book. The main reason to that is the elevated stress levels and lack of appropriate rest to the body. In fact, diabetes and high blood sugar levels are found mostly in people with strenuous jobs. The cut down on the amount of mental stress and giving the body the right amount of sleep are key to the overall treatment in such conditions.
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Stay happy
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Regular breaks from workplace
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Keep toxic people and relationships at bay
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Keep stress at bay
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Meditation
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Sleep
Bringing in these changes are difficult and most people struggle on a daily basis to achieve them. However, once in contact with elevated blood sugar levels and the overall disease of diabetes, it becomes a debt that you have towards your body. This is actually a signal from your body that you need to check your lifestyle and for your own betterment switch it over. It is imperative to check with a medical practitioner before making any sudden or extreme lifestyle changes or trying new supplements though. Taking these small steps with the appropriate medication obviously, you can bring about a positive change in your body and combat high blood sugar levels easily.
Related Article for Reading on Blood Sugar
- Hyperglycemia | Causes and Types of High Blood Sugar Levels | Health.online
High blood sugar is known as hyperglycemia and occurs when the amount of sugar in the blood is elevated. Learn more about causes and types of high blood sugar
© 2018 Olivia Philips