Managing Blood Sugar Levels Day To Day
If you’ve been diagnosed with diabetes, finding ways to keep your blood sugar levels stable on a day to day basis is extremely important. In addition to helping to manage any symptoms you may have already experienced, it’ll also help you to reduce the risk of developing many of the other health conditions to which people with diabetes are more prone.
Everyone is different, so it might take a bit of experimenting to find a routine that works well for you, so here are some of the most effective, research-backed ways to maintain blood sugar levels.
How To Manage Blood Sugar Levels Day To Day: Diet and Hydration
As diabetes really does affect everyone differently, there’s no one-size-fits-all diet that’ll automatically work for everyone. However, there are some tips and tricks that you can follow that’ll help you make healthy food choices to support the management of your blood sugar levels.
Choose Healthy Carbs
Any carbohydrates can have an impact on blood glucose levels, so it’s important to limit portions and choose options that have other health benefits. For example, swapping out white rice and bread for wholegrain options will offer extra fibre that’s beneficial for heart health and reducing the risk of developing several types of cancer.
Minimise Salt
Consuming too much salt can elevate the risk of developing high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Taking active steps to prevent this is important, as people with diabetes already have an increased risk of these serious health conditions. Diabetes UK suggests that adults should be consuming no more than 6g of salt per day.
Create Balanced Plates
Combining carbohydrates with healthy fats, fibre and lean protein is important, as this will help to prevent spikes in blood sugar by slowing down sugar absorption. For example, consuming toast on its own can cause blood sugar to rise rapidly, but adding fat in the form of butter or margarine, an egg for protein and spinach for fibre makes it a much more balanced meal.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated throughout the day is vital for maintaining kidney health, but it’ll also help your kidneys to better filter and get rid of excess sugar in the body.
How To Manage Blood Sugar Levels Day To Day: Movement and Exercise
Physical activity helps insulin to work more effectively, making regular movement extremely beneficial for people with diabetes. Movement can help you to improve your HbA1c, enable you to keep your blood sugars within your target range, and may even reduce your insulin resistance, which might make it possible to reduce the amount of insulin you need to take.
Everybody is different, so there’s no set movement and exercise routine that’ll suit everyone with diabetes. But here are some of our top tips to keep in mind.
The 10-10-10 Rule
Walking for 10 minutes soon after finishing your morning, midday and evening meals can help you to keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day. Walking shortly after eating means that the large muscles in the legs need to contract, which basically draws out sugar from the blood to give you energy.
A light-to-moderate walk between 15 and 30 minutes after finishing a meal is all that’s needed, so there’s no need to jog or run as this won’t provide any added benefits. If you can’t get outside for a walk, there are other options that can be as effective, including walking inside, light squats and chair exercises.
Stand Up Regularly Throughout The Day
Long periods of lying down and sitting can be bad for your blood sugar levels, so it’s a good idea to break up periods of inactivity during the day. Standing up and walking around for a short time every hour can be really effective, as standing uses significantly more energy than sitting. Everything from on-the-spot walking to walking up and down the stairs and stretching your arms and legs can make a difference here.
How To Manage Blood Sugar Levels Day To Day: Glucose Monitoring and Medication
Understanding what makes your blood sugar levels increase and decrease is incredibly helpful, so using a glucose monitor can provide you with lots of useful information and guidance.
It’s also important to stick to the medication routine prescribed by your medical team, as this will have been specifically designed to keep your time-in-range consistent. Having back-up plans in place if you become unwell or start experiencing more symptoms is also a good idea and is worth discussing with your team if you haven’t already.
When To Check Your Blood Sugar Levels
How frequently you check your blood sugars will depend on the type of diabetes you’ve been diagnosed with and whether you take medication. Generally, the best times to monitor your levels are before eating or drinking anything, first thing in the morning, before you eat, a few hours after eating, and before you go to sleep.
FAQs
How important is exercise in managing blood sugar levels?
Exercise is extremely important for effective blood sugar management. During and after physical movement, muscles use available sugar for energy, which reduces levels in your bloodstream.
What is free sugar and how do I reduce it?
Free sugar is a term for any sugar that’s added to food and drinks, as well as sugars that can be found naturally in syrups, honey and unsweetened juices. They’re more easily absorbed by the body, so taking steps to reduce these in your diet is important. There are a number of swaps you can make, including zero-calorie sweeteners over sugar, and water or milk instead of sugary drinks.
