Diabetes is a long-term health condition which is affecting a large percentage of people all over the world. It is caused by the lack of insulin in the body and insulin is what controls sugar levels in the blood. This disease has two types: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is when your body is unable to produce insulin anymore. Patients who have this kind of diabetes are supposed to control their glucose level, usually by injecting insulin which controls the sugar levels. Without insulin, a person needs to learn manual blood sugar controls.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body produces insufficient insulin to control the blood glucose in the body, which means that your body is not using the produced insulin correctly. Keeping blood sugar levels balanced is actually easier than you might think because what you need to do are these main things: exercise, avoid stress and check your diet. Here are 5 ways to improve blood sugar control naturally.
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1. Eating food with fiber
Fiber is a carbohydrate, but fortunately, it doesn’t add extra calories to your diet. Foods with fiber have a great impact on blood sugar and are recommended by doctors to be eaten by diabetic patients and also non-diabetics alike.
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This is because they don’t raise blood sugar levels in the body. Foods that have a high concentration of fiber include peas, fruits, vegetables, wheat grain, cereals, and potatoes too.
2. Avoid eating animal products
Animal products include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt. These products contain dietary cholesterol and decrease your total fat intake which can interfere with glucose metabolism. Cutting out dairy will allow you better blood sugar controls.
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Eating foods with a lot of fat can make your body overweight, which makes it difficult to balance blood sugar levels. Adopting a vegan diet is strongly suggested for those with diabetes and it also allows for the transition to a plant-based diet of fresh herbs, spices, and vegetables.
3. Do a lot of exercise
Exercising regularly helps to lower the blood sugar level in your body. Diabetes can be prevented and managed by exercising daily. Exercise also helps insulin to work better in the body, so people with diabetes are recommended by doctors to spend several hours working out.
When a lot of physical exercises are performed it makes the skeletal muscles become sensitive to insulin. It increases the flow of the blood to the body muscles, which results in the availability of glucose to be absorbed by the muscles. Forms of exercise include riding a bicycle, riding a horse, weight lifting, walking and plenty more.
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4. Maintain your body weight
Losing weight can benefit greatly when you want to treat diabetes. If you are overweight, there is extra fat, therefore, increasing insulin resistance in the body. So if weight is reduced, insulin resistance will be less and this will allow it to work better in regulating blood glucose levels.
It’s recommended by medical specialists if you’re diagnosed with diabetes or are overweight to start shedding some pounds. Dietitians help patients start eating healthy meals, do physical exercise and also to keep goals which will help him/her to reduce the weight.
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5. Take supplements
It’s good to consult a doctor before purchasing supplements because he will prescribe the best one to be used by a diabetic patient. For a plant-based diet, supplementing with vitamin B12 is the best option for optimal health due to the amount of energy it supplies.
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Certain supplements can make your body work better to gain insulin again. Other supplements which help to treat diabetes symptoms are cinnamon, chromium, omega-3 garlic, and also magnesium. It is believed that magnesium found in food like green vegetables and whole grains promotes blood sugar levels.
