How to Lower Blood Sugar - Part1 Lowering Blood Sugar through Diet

High blood sugar is most commonly caused by diabetes, which should be managed and treated carefully under a doctor's supervision. However, there are many actions you can take to reduce your blood sugar to healthy levels. Moderate exercise and reasonable dietary changes are great for reducing blood sugar, but they are best achieved with the guidance of a medical or dietary professional who is familiar with your medical history.

Part1 Lowering Blood Sugar through Diet

1 Reduce your intake of sweets, animal products, and refined carbohydrates.Your doctor should be able to recommend a diet more specific to your needs, as there is no single perfect diet for people with high blood sugar or diabetes. However, if you have high blood sugar, it is usually a good idea to lower the amount of meat, dairy, white bread, white rice, potatoes, and sugary foods you consume.

2 Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. These foods, and other foods high in fiber and moderate in fat, are recommended for people with high blood sugar. Whole grains may not be appropriate for every person with high blood sugar, so consult your doctor before making them a major part of your diet.

• Fresh apples, dried apricots, or peaches canned in juice or water are good choices. Avoid canned or frozen fruits that have added sugar.
• At least 3 cups (700mL) of raw vegetables or 1.5 cups (350mL) cooked vegetables every day are recommended. Try artichokes, cucumbers, or salad greens. Fresh vegetables are better than frozen or canned ones, which sometimes have added sodium.
• Oatmeal and barley are especially good whole grain options for most people with high blood sugar.
• Note that eating too many carbohydrates can increase your blood sugar and cause obesity.

3 Look up foods you're not certain about. If you are not certain whether a food is harmful, ask a doctor or look up the food on a glycemic index, which gives a rough idea of its effect on blood sugar (but not its overall healthiness). "High glycemic" foods with a Glycemic Index rating of 70 or above should be avoided if you have high blood sugar. Replace these with "low glycemic" foods (GI rating 55 or below), such as the foods recommended above. Foods with a rating between 55 and 70 have a "medium" rating, and can be eaten in low to moderate amounts depending on your needs.

4 Cut down on tobacco and alcohol. If you use these substances daily or imbibe them in large quantities, you could be seriously affecting your body's ability to produce insulin, which breaks down sugar in your bloodstream. If you are trying to quit smoking, realize that products containing nicotine may cause similar effects. Nicotine patches or gum may be used as a temporary replacement, but should not be treated as a long term solution if you are concerned about high blood sugar.

5 Be skeptical about specific food claims. Newspaper headlines often make claims about managing blood sugar or other health issues with common foods, but these are not always backed up by high-quality medical studies. Studies of coffee have produced contradictory results, so its overall effect on blood sugar is unclear. One study of cinnamon found possible benefits, but only a small group of similar people were tested. All of them were people over 40, with type 2 diabetes, who were not using insulin therapy or taking medications for health conditions other than diabetes.Even if a claim seems reasonable to you, realize that one food item is never a replacement for exercise, other dietary changes, or medical treatments.