Living with type 2 diabetes can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. With a few simple lifestyle adjustments, you can improve your symptoms and bring your blood sugar levels down. Here are 10 ways to do it without a prescription.When it comes to managing type 2 diabetes, paying attention to carbohydrates is key. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends limiting carbohydrate intake to 200 to 245 grams (g) per day, which equates to about half of the daily calories that come from carbohydrates.
Make adjustments based on your blood glucose readings or as recommended by a dietitian. Even when snacking, watch your carbs - about what you find in 1 cup of fruit.Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet for people with type 2 diabetes. You'll find fiber in plant foods such as raspberries, peas and whole grains, according to the Mayo Clinic. Beans are another good source of fiber - a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people with type 2 diabetes who ate at least one cup of legumes (beans, chickpeas and lentils) a day for three months had lower blood glucose levels, as measured by the A1C test.Men should consume 30 to 38 g of fiber per day and women should eat 21 to 25 g per day, according to the Mayo Clinic.A protein-rich breakfast has an advantage over high-carb breakfasts, according to research from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
The best breakfasts contained 39 g of protein and caused lower glucose spikes after meals than meals with less protein.Eating breakfast can also help people with overweight and type 2 diabetes to lose extra pounds. Of the participants in the National Weight Control Registry who maintained a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for at least a year, 78 percent said they ate breakfast every day.Exercise helps improve blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity and the body's ability to use glucose for energy, according to the American Diabetes Association.When your blood sugar levels are high, your body will try to get rid of excess sugar from your blood through your urine. As a result, your body will need more fluids to rehydrate. Drinking water can help your body remove some of the glucose from your blood.If your insulin level is falling, a walk or other type of exercise after dinner can help keep your blood sugar level low overnight.
But be careful when exercising before bed - the blood sugar-reducing effects of exercise can last for hours, so if you exercise before bed, you run the risk of dropping it overnight.Being overweight is one of the main causes of insulin resistance because it prevents the hormone that lowers blood sugar from working properly, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.If you have diabetes, you may not produce enough insulin or you may be too resistant to insulin to counteract increased blood sugar. Blood sugar spikes occur in people with diabetes because their bodies can't use insulin effectively.Because exercise can immediately lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes, work with your health care team to determine the amount of activity and time that is right for you.Lowering your blood sugar isn't just a short-term goal if you have diabetes - it helps prevent or delay diabetes complications, including heart, kidney, eye and nerve diseases.If routine glucose monitoring shows a pattern of frequent increases in the morning, control your blood sugar levels at bedtime, midnight, and first thing after waking up to better understand your glucose patterns.A higher dose of insulin will bring morning high levels back to normal, but it could cause blood sugar to drop too big after going to sleep for the first time. Some sources suggest that drinking water or eating a protein-rich snack can quickly lower blood sugar levels, although there isn't enough research to support this claim.It can take time to find the best strategy to keep your blood sugar level at the right level in the morning and avoid hypoglycemia during the night. If you take medications that can cause low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), it's highly recommended to check your blood sugar levels before trying to lower them.Healthy volunteers who slept just four hours for three nights in a row had higher levels of fatty acids in their blood, reducing insulin's ability to regulate blood sugar by about 23 percent.
Exercising when you have ketones in your urine increases the risk of complications due to high blood sugar.
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