Type 2 Diabetes occurs when your muscle, liver, and fat cells no longer respond to insulin, resulting in high blood sugar levels.
Pre diabetes and diabetes can be managed naturally without taking any medication. It needs to be a holistic lifestyle change that aims at not only managing blood sugar levels but stopping and hopefully reversing insulin resistance.
1. Weight Loss Improves Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
If you find yourself in the overweight or obese category, now is the time to lose weight. Losing weight when your body is insulin resistant and has high levels of blood sugar is not easy. It will take time and perseverance to shake the pounds.
Weight loss will occur when you have addressed your diet and exercise program. No amount of exercise will counteract the type or amount of food you put into your body. About 90 percent of the battle will be changing your diet.
Keeping stress levels managed and obtaining a full night of quality sleep are key ingredients in weight loss.
2. Move to Manage Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
An important aspect of managing blood sugar and insulin levels in the body is exercise. When we exercise, the glycogen stores within the muscle and liver are depleted, resulting in the uptake of blood sugar from the bloodstream to replenish these stores. This results in less insulin production and therefore less fat storage.
The best exercise to take part in is the one which you enjoy the most. Walking, jogging, running, yoga, Pilates, Zumba, CrossFit, spin classes, and resistance training are all types of exercise which may appeal to you.
In your day to day life, simple changes such as parking further from the shop entrance, to taking the stairs, to taking more frequent breaks from your desk will all add up for the management of blood sugar and insulin levels.
3. Change Your Diet to Manage Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
The biggest step to take is to remove processed foods and foods with added sugar from your diet. Once these foods have been removed and your diet is focussed on lean sources of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, managing blood sugar levels becomes easy.
Eliminating carbohydrates from your diet is not necessary, however, low carbohydrate diets, ketogenic diets, and even intermittent fasting may help as a guideline to manage your diet better. In addition, increasing your fiber intake can help you lower blood sugar and keep you full longer. Therefore you wont eat over indulge.
4. Improved Sleep Improves Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
We spend at least 30 percent of our lives sleeping. Sleep impacts mental health and physical well-being.
Too little sleep or bad quality sleep can result in spikes in blood sugar. The lack of energy the following day can also increase cravings for sugary or carbohydrate filled snacks and meals.
Practice good sleep hygiene. Set up a night-time routine for going to bed. Put away electronic devices, read a book, take a warm bath or shower, brush your teeth and invest in comfortable pajamas, go to bed and wake up at the same time every day of the week. A nightly routine signals the body that it’s time to wind down and relax for the evening.
In the bedroom, make sure you have a comfortable bed and quality bed linens. Consider block out curtains or blinds or an eye mask to block out any potential light pollution that could wake you up. Earplugs or white noise can block out noise pollution.
If changing up your sleep hygiene habits does not drastically improve your sleep, you may need to undertake a sleep study to determine the root cause of your sleeping problem. Especially if you have a partner who complains about snoring.
5. Address Your Stress for Blood Sugar and Insulin Management
We live in a stressful society. If you are diabetic or prediabetic you should know that stress can increase you blood sugar. When we ignore our stress, it can wreak havoc on our blood sugar levels, cause weight gain, enhance our inflammatory response and affect our sleep.
Make a habit of addressing stress through exercise, mindfulness, meditation, reading a good book, or partake in a hobby.
Type 2 Diabetes is a complicated metabolic disease that impacts not only your blood sugar levels but your cardiovascular health, general hormonal balance, nervous system, and even your reproductive system. Being diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes can be daunting. Talk to your doctor about including weight loss, diet, exercise, stress, and sleep management in your diabetes management program.