Post Time: 2025-07-18
Maintaining a healthy blood sugar range is crucial for optimal health, and understanding what this range looks like can be just as important. The ideal blood sugar range varies depending on several factors such as age, sex, weight, and physical activity level. Generally speaking, the American Diabetes Association recommends that adults have their blood glucose levels below 100 mg/dL after an overnight fast.
When it comes to monitoring your blood sugar range, there are various techniques you can use at home with a glucometer or continuous glucose monitor (CGM). These tools help measure blood glucose levels and track fluctuations throughout the day. Regularly checking your blood sugar is essential for managing diabetes and prediabetes but also for those without these conditions to stay on top of their health.
Balancing Diet and Blood Sugar: The Key to Stabilization
A balanced diet plays a significant role in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Certain foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy products help regulate blood glucose by providing fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients essential for insulin function.
On the other hand, consuming high-glycemic index (GI) foods like white bread and sugary drinks can cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. Conversely, incorporating more plant-based meals into your diet has been shown to improve glycemic control by increasing fiber intake and promoting satiety.
Staying Ahead of Blood Sugar Fluctuations: Tips for Effective Management
Monitoring your blood glucose is just the first step; managing fluctuations requires a comprehensive approach that incorporates lifestyle adjustments. Regular physical activity, such as brisk walking or weight training, has been consistently linked to improved glycemic control in both diabetics and non-diabetics.
This association may be due in part to increased insulin sensitivity following exercise sessions but also because of other mechanisms like improved gut health and enhanced muscle glucose uptake. Another critical aspect of managing blood sugar is getting sufficient sleep each night, which can help stabilize glucose levels by optimizing hormone secretion patterns related to appetite regulation.
Understanding the Science Behind Blood Sugar Regulation
At its core, maintaining healthy blood sugar levels involves a delicate interplay between several key physiological processes: insulin sensitivity, glycogen synthesis and breakdown, lipolysis, gluconeogenesis, ketone body metabolism. When these mechanisms are working in harmony with diet and exercise interventions they help keep our glucose levels stable.
Stress is another factor that can disrupt this balance by triggering the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which can increase blood sugar levels by mobilizing energy stores throughout the body. This underscores why managing mental health through practices like meditation or yoga alongside a healthy lifestyle may be particularly important for those with diabetes or prediabetes.
Why Monitoring Your Blood Sugar Range Matters
While maintaining optimal blood glucose control is essential, tracking fluctuations is equally vital to prevent episodes of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Over time these spikes in either direction can lead to complications like nerve damage neuropathy or cardiovascular disease.
To mitigate this risk effectively you should consider monitoring your HbA1C levels every three months. This indicator provides an average of the glucose values obtained during a particular period, giving insight into long-term glycemic control and helping guide therapeutic adjustments when needed.
The Role of Fiber in Regulating Blood Sugar
An essential component for maintaining healthy blood sugar ranges is dietary fiber intake from food sources such as fruits vegetables whole grains beans lentils nuts seeds or supplement form. This can range between 25-30 grams per day, with an increased dose during periods of acute glycemic stress.
Increasing fiber can lead to a substantial reduction in postprandial glucose peaks by slowing gastric emptying and promoting the uptake of sugars through more efficient utilization pathways related to carbohydrate digestion absorption and insulin release regulation
Episode #154 In this Fasting Q&A episode, hosted by Coach Lisa Chance, Dr. Jason Fung answers questions from the TFM Community: 1. If someone is glucose sensitive, not insulin resistant, with an A1C of under 5.0, would they still have a dawn effect happen? If they did, what would the dawn effect bump in glucose possibly be? [02:12] 2. I have a smart scale. In addition to weight, it has metabolic rate, body fat %, etc. I am interested in knowing if the relative changes (as opposed to the absolute number) would be useful to know. Similarly, I am interested in best time to check blood sugar for hypoglycemia reducing visceral fat. If that number goes down by 10%, might that be a helpful indicator about the direction that things are going in and whether what I am doing is working? [05:56] 3. What’s your take on kombucha? [09:35] 4. I read a book named “The One Minute Cure: The Secret to Healing Virtually All Diseases.” It is a therapy with H2O2 in Food Grade of 35% or 3% (diluted in Distilled Water). I have tried this therapy and every time I test my blood sugar after 30 minutes of taking it, it lowers my blood sugar by more than 17 mg/dL. I was wondering if you have studied this therapy and what you think about it? [11:32] 5. I find it easier to fast during work. However, I have a stressful job with long hours. Could cortisol/high stress be negating the benefits of the fast? Would I be better off using TRE and save fasting for my off days? [13:08] 6. This month’s TFM Group Challenge is ‘Giving Up Your Vices’. Megan’s first video discussed A2 dairy. What is your take on this and what is the appropriate amount of A2 dairy each day? I know Coach Nadia says ‘sparingly’, but it’s not clear what that means when it comes to sheep/goat/A2 dairy. Does it matter what kind of dairy it is if it’s still all insulinogenic? [15:13] 7. I’ve tried many different forms of salt and even tried making my own salt capsules, yet, without fail, I end up feeling nauseous shortly after taking it. Is there anything else I can do to quell the nausea? Do some people just not need salt or have a medical reason why salt makes them nauseous? Is there anything else I 3 months blood sugar test name can try? [19:06] 8. How high should a [blood sugar] spike be after meals, and when should your blood sugar levels return to the pre-meal range? [21:46] 9. How do I know when I’m fat-adapted?[23:37] 10. If someone has high triglycerides, is it a pretty good guess that they also have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease? [26:07] 11. Do you have any tips on how I can do intermittent fasting without osing weight? My goal is to lower my A1C and be less dependent on medication while improving my health. [28:02] 12. I am a lifetime vegetarian and have always eaten very clean, whole foods. I have been fasting since 1979 and I easily fast for weeks, change up the fasting protocol, etc, but the pounds just will not budge. How can I use fasting to drop this weight? [30:39] Please note that you need to be a member of the TFM Community to submit questions to the Q&A webinars with Dr. Fung but you can blood sugar two hours after meal submit questions to our regular Q&A episodes here: Transcripts of all episodes are available at www.thefastingmethod.com on the Podcast page. Learn More About Our Community: Join our FREE Facebook Group: Watch Us On YouTube: Follow Us on Instagram: @fastingmethod This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. You should always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before doing any fasting, changing your diet, taking or adjusting any medication or supplements, or adopting any treatment for a health problem. The use of any other products or services purchased by you as a result of this podcast does not create a healthcare provider-patient relationship between you and any of the experts affiliated with this podcast. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.