Whether you’re looking to boost your energy, improve your mood, loose weight, or get your sleep under control, balaning your blood sugar is always the first place I start when helping clients improve their health.
It’s a foundational element that can’t be ignored.
So first, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what blood sugar is.
What is blood sugar?
Glucose or “sugar” is the primary source of energy for the body and plays a crucial role in metabolic health.
We get a portion of our glucose from the foods we eat, but it’s important to note that the body can access glucose in the form of glycogen (a sugar stored in the muscles and liver), or through gluconeogenesis.
Don’t worry too much about that right now.
The important point is that when the body requires energy, it will go to the bloodstream first, looking for available glucose.
If we’re trying to maintain “optimal” blood glucose, our levels should consistently range between 72 mg/dL and 110 mg/dL. Post-meal glucose levels are best kept within a 30 mg/dL increase from pre-meal levels.
It’s important for us to keep these numbers in check, because persistently elevated blood glucose levels can have detrimental effects on your health.
For exmapale, it may result in insulin resistance, which is a state where cells stop responding to insulin (a.k.a. the hormone responsible for facilitating the entry of glucose into cells for energy). In addition, prolonged insulin resistance may progress to prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes.
Beyond diaebtes, high blood glucose can also contribute to inflammation, oxidative stress, and glycation, which are fundamental factors in the development of numerous chronic conditions, including Alzheimer’s and cancer.
So yes, ensuirng your blood sugar doesn’t go too high is important, but also ensuring we’re reducing the spikes and crashes also seems just as important.
I wrote extensively about metabolic health in this post if you want a more in-depth review.
How do I keep my blood sugar at optimal levels?
We’ve just chatted about why keeping your blood sugar within this optimal range is important, so now the even bigger question is, how do we do that?
Don’t worry, I’ve got your back with these top four ideas that you can implement today to help get your blood sugar into stable and optimal ranges:
1) Optimize your DIET
You might think that we all respond to food in the same way, but if you think this, I regret to inform you that you are wrong…
Your unique genetic makeup and microbiome composition can influence how a particular food impacts your body. That means there’s no single diet that’s best for everyone in terms of weight maintenance, digestion, or maintaining glucose control.
Having said that, we can’t deny that there are certain general principles that apply to how food influences blood sugar levels.
For exmaple, upon consuming a carbohydrate-containing food (like rice or oatmeal), your digestive system breaks it down into sugars, including glucose, which serves as an energy source.
Simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and refined flours, are heavily processed, causing a rapid increase in glucose in the bloodstream. In contrast, complex carbohydrates present in whole-grain foods or produce take longer to digest. Although they eventually break down into sugar in the same way that the simple sugar did, the process occurs more gradually, resulting in a more sustained and stable blood glucose level.
It’s also important to keep in mind that other macronutrients play a role here too. In particular, fiber is a key player in the game of blood sugar balance.
This is because fiber moves through your body mostly intact, which helps to slow that blood sugar spike. In addition, macronutrients like fat and protein will trigger the release of a hormone called cholecystokinin, which keeps food in your stomach longer, which helps to ensure that the bloodstream doesn’t get flooded with glucose.
That being said, it probably doesn’t shock you too much that I recommend to clients that they stick to whole, unprocessed foods in their diets as much as possible, while avoiding the simple carbohydrates that spike blood sugar quickly like pasta, white bread, and sugary pre-packaged desserts.
Keep in mind, for some, even the more complex carbohydrates can be problematic. For exmaple, we love sweet potatoes over here, but when eaten in excess, or when not paired with a balanced plate, it’s very easy to spike your blood sugar with something like a sweet potato.
When in doubt, always pair your carbs with protein, fat, and fiber. This is an easy way to ensure you’re absorbing that blood sugar spike and keeping things nice and steady.
Also, keep in mind, even just the order that you eat your food can have an impact on your blood sugar! In particular, eating protein, fat, and fiber before your carbohydrates has shown to limit spikes.
How can I change my diet today to support blood sugar balance?
Don’t overcompliacte it!
Eat more whole foods and less processed ones. Simple.
I also recommend loosely paying attention to how much carb and sugar you’re eating on a daily basis. While you definitely don’t need to go “low carb”, it can be really easy to overdo it if you’re not paying attention.
I’m not even going to give you a reference range, and instead I’m just going to say, if you’re making carbohyrates the star of your plate at every single meal, and you’re finding that you need to end every meal with dessert, there’s a chance that you’re overdoing it.
2) Start incorporating DAILY MOVEMENT/EXERCISE
No doubt about it, exercise provides both immediate and long-lasting benefits for metabolic health. In other words, exercise can help you stabilize your blood sugar.
This is particualrly effective if you engage in some type of activity right after a meal, like a short walk around your neighborhood.
So how does this work?
Well, when you use your muscles, they need glucose. Your muscles often have access to stored glycogen, but they will often take glucose from the bloodstream first. When this happens, insulin is released, which helps move the sugar from the blood into the muscle.
When you exercise regularly, your cells become more “sensitive” to insulin, meaning they can take in more glucose, thereby lowering your glucose and keeping things more steady.
Also, keep in mind, when I say “exercise”, I don’t necessarily mean killing yourself in a high intensity cardio class. A 45 minute walk after dinner can be just as effective for lowering that blood glucose and keeping things steady.
What exercise can I do today to support blood sugar balance?
Again, keep it simple! Do what you enjoy and what you can be consistent with.
When in doubt, aiming for 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise five times per week is a great place to start.
In addition, when possible, try to move after eating your meals, particualrly if you eat a carb-heavy meal that you think might spike you.
And lastly, don’t forget about the power of muscle building! The more muscle on you, the more “room” you have to store glucose. This doesn’t have to be anything too “intense”, but just picking up some weights and incorporating them into your workout routine can go a long way to support your blood sugar balance
3) Don’t forget to manage your STRESS
Food has the most obvious and measurable impact on our blood sugar, but did you know stress alone can cause your blood sugar to rise?
This happens because stress prompts a hormal response in the body, which directly impacts glucose.
For exmaple, if you’re running late for work, or you’re about do a high-stakes presentaiton, your body goes into the “sympathetic state”, or the “fight or flight” state.
In this state, your body provides you with ample glucose to ensure that you have enough blood sugar (a.k.a. energy) to use your muscles fight off the “threat.”
Can you see how this might be problematic if we’re consistently in a state of stress and signaling to our bodies that it needs to keep blood sugar high so we can deal with the threat?
This can also be problemtic because the longer and more consistenty you keep yourself in this state, the more likely it is that you cells will become insulin resistant, meaning it will be difficult for energy to get into the cell and sugar levels will remain high.
What stress management techniques can I do today to support blood sugar balance?
Stress is one of those things that you’re not going to be able to “fix” overnight. They are going to be stressful times in your life, and that’s just the way life goes.
Instead of focuding on completely avoiding stress, it is much practical for us to think about what we can do to MANAGE stress.
Some daily habits you can add to your routine to help manage stress include:
- Meditation/breathwork
- Yoga
- Journaling
- Baths
- Putting your phone away at night/winding down for the evening
- Setting boundaries
- And so much more! (stay tuned for future posts)
4) Consider your SLEEP
I know it’s not very fun to say that you should start going to bed earlier, but without a doubt, quality sleep positively impacts blood sugar levels.
Keep in mind, we’re talking about both sleep quality and quantity, meaning getting a good amount of hours of sleep is important, but also ensuring you’re staying asleep and enjoying resorative sleep, waking up feeling refreshed and ready to start your day.
While we don’t fully know the exact mechanism that causes sleep to have such a dramatic impact on blood sugar, it is very likely related into the hormonal changes that occur when you get quality sleep.
For exmaple, cortisol tends to dip in the evening. This is helful for ensuring that blood sugar remains stable as you sleep throughout the night; however, if you don’t wind down and get proper sleep, your cortisol will likely remain elevated and so will your blood glucose.
In addition, adequate amount of sleep controls hormones like leptin and ghrelin, which play a significant role in your appetite. This means if your sleep is off, your appetite will likely be off too, causing you to over eat and contribute to high blood glucose levels.
And lastly, it’s important to note that poor sleep is also linked to inflammation. This is because poor sleep often results in insulin resistance, which in turn causes blood glucose to rise (and stay high).
What can I do about my sleep today tosupport blood sugar balance?
Easy! Get to sleep earlier!
Okay fine, it might not always be easy, especially if you’re someone who tosses and turns at night.
So, to start, set yourself a bed time and a wake time and then stick to it. This helps set your circadian rhythm. In other words, sets your internal clock, telling your body when it is time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up for the day.
When in doubt about when you should set your sleep and wake times, I generally recommend most people aim for between 7 and 9 hours/night.
How can I put this all into place to help balance my blood sugar?
To review, if you’re struggling with blood sugar regulation and you want to set yourself up for success, you’re going to begin by making simple changes to your:
- Diet
- Exercise
- Stress management
- Sleep
And ideally, try not to overcomplicate any of these things.
For instance, don’t jump in by completely switching your diet. Instead, just try and monitor your carbohydrate consumption and maybe add some extra protein and veggies to your plate.
In addition, don’t set yourself a workout routine you don’t think you can stick to. Instead, keep it simple and perhaps go for a walk after you’ve had lunch everyday.
You can also add a 5 minute meditation to your routine for an easy stress management technqiue that takes no time at all.
And, don’t forget to set that sleep and wake time, always ensuring that 7-9 hours of quality sleep is a priority.
I know these all sound like small things, but with consistent effort, they can make a big difference in balancing your blood sugar.
And, if you need help or have questions, don’t forget I’m always here to help support you on your health jounrey!
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