Post Time: 2025-07-18
When it comes to monitoring blood sugar levels, there are various methods and tools available. However, before we dive into those details, let's first understand what constitutes a healthy blood sugar range.
The Ideal Balance: For adults without diabetes, the American Diabetes Association recommends keeping fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels below 100 mg/dL and postprandial (after meal) levels below 140 mg/dL. These targets are slightly different for children and pregnant women, but these general guidelines provide a solid foundation.
To maintain your blood sugar range within healthy limits, it's essential to understand the impact of diet on blood glucose control. The Right Foods: Incorporating foods with a low glycemic index (GI) can help stabilize blood sugar levels. Examples include non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and leafy greens; whole grains such as brown rice and quinoa; lean proteins including poultry, fish, and legumes; and healthy fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, and olive oil.
Understanding Insulin Sensitivity: When we consume foods that are high on the glycemic index (GI), they can cause a spike in blood sugar levels. Over time, this repeated exposure to these spikes can lead to insulin resistance – a condition where your body becomes less responsive to insulin. This is why managing stress and getting adequate sleep also plays an important role.
Stress has been shown to have a significant impact on our ability to regulate blood sugar levels effectively. The Body's Response: When we experience stress, the hormone cortisol increases in response. Elevated cortisol can cause your liver cells to release stored glucose into the bloodstream, leading to higher blood sugar levels and increased risk of insulin resistance.
A healthy diet rich in fiber is another essential element for managing blood sugar levels. Fiber helps slow down carbohydrate digestion and absorption, reducing peaks in postprandial glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion – a hormone that regulates glucose uptake by the liver after meals. Good sources include fruits like berries, apples; leafy greens including spinach, kale; vegetables such as carrots and sweet potatoes.
The Science of Sleep: Poor sleep quality can disrupt your body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels effectively. When we don't get enough restful sleep, cortisol production increases along with glucose release from the liver – leading to higher morning fasting plasma glucose (FPG) readings. Getting at least 7-8 hours each night is essential.
Why Tracking Matters: Regular monitoring of your blood sugar range provides invaluable insights into how specific activities and factors are impacting your levels. This includes keeping track of when you eat, physical activity level, sleep patterns – all crucial for maintaining a healthy balance between these variables to effectively manage diabetes risk.
When it comes to managing high blood sugar ranges safely and effectively, A Comprehensive Approach must be taken into account. Lifestyle adjustments that incorporate diet modification (focusing on low GI foods), regular exercise (including both aerobic activities like jogging or cycling as well as strength training exercises for muscle development) and adequate sleep have shown considerable promise in promoting sustained glucose control over time.
It's equally important to acknowledge the impact of specific supplements, such as berberine extracts that may contribute positively by improving insulin sensitivity – a natural response facilitating better regulation.
Do artificial sweeteners like Stevia raise blood sugar or insulin levels? A lot of people with diabetes are using Stevia because it comes from plants and has zero calories. But according to Dr. David Katz, the best natural sugar for diabetics is still real food. Here's why he's generally opposed to artificial sweeteners and what he thinks of Stevia. Notes from Dr. David Katz: Are artificial sweeteners better? I really don’t know, because nobody knows for sure. The literature on this topic is mixed with some studies showing benefit from cutting out sugar and calories through the medium of no-calorie, “artificial” sweeteners. Other studies, however, suggest that the currently prevailing sugar substitutes may do significant damage of their own. Whether or how this pertains to the newer entries such as stevia, or monk fruit extract, is still a work in progress. What I can say is that I avoid artificial sweeteners personally for three reasons. First, the precautionary principle, which argues that it’s safer to assume harms until they are disproven do pumpkin seeds lower blood sugar than it is to assume harmlessness until it is confirmed. Second, when sugar is “put in its place” and one’s diet is made up overwhelmingly of unprocessed foods, there is neither need, nor place, for artificial sweeteners. And third, I think there is a better way to reduce sugar intake, which I call “taste bud rehab.” By trading up choices and eliminating stealth sugar first, and more overt sugar after, you can cut your intake of sugar and calories; avoid any actual or potential harms of chemical additives; and rehabilitate/sensitize your palate into the bargain, so you actually come to prefer more wholesome, less copiously sweetened food. (Full article at: David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM is a specialist in Preventive Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, with particular blood sugar 130 in morning expertise in nutrition. He earned his BA at Dartmouth College (1984); his MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (1988); and his MPH from the Yale University School of Public Health (1993). He completed sequential residency training and board certification in Internal Medicine (1991) and Preventive Medicine/Public Health (1993). Katz is the founder and former director of Yale University’s Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center (1998-2019); Past President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; President and Founder of the non-profit True Health Initiative; and Founder and CEO of Diet ID, Inc. He is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine; the American College of Physicians; the American College of Lifestyle Medicine; and Morse College, Yale University. (Full bio at: 👉SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL 👉GUARANTEED DIABETES COACHING If you’re living with prediabetes, type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes and are tired of high blood sugar, a high A1c, being overweight, or feeling low energy, apply for Personalized Coaching today. Or if you’re living with type 1 or type 1.5 diabetes and want to control your blood sugar with precision, lower your A1c, increase your time in range (TIR), and lower your insulin use, our can you have diabetes with low blood sugar Personalized Coaching program can help. All of our programs are 100% guaranteed to lower your A1c and help you achieve your body weight. If we don’t deliver results, we’ll either coach you for free until you do, or we’ll give you your money back. Guaranteed. Click here to apply: 📺WHAT TO WATCH NEXT Insulin Resistance Diet — What To Eat & Why 8 Tips on How to Lower Your Blood Sugar | Mastering Diabetes EP 128 Insulin Resistance and Low Carbohydrate Diet by Dr Neal Barnard | Mastering Diabetes Low Fat vs Low Carb Diet for Weight Loss and Diabetes | Mastering Diabetes | Robby Barbaro What is Insulin Resistance | Simple Explanation | What Cause Insulin Resistance | Mastering Diabetes 😎 FOLLOW US Podcast: Instagram: Facebook: Mastering Diabetes Cyrus Khambatta, PhD Robby Barbaro, MPH Diabetes Nutrition and Fitness Coaches