Get a better understanding of what to eat and which lifestyle habits are scientifically proven to help balance blood sugar naturally - all the sweet details you need to balance your blood sugar naturally, are below.
How Do You Balance Blood Sugar Levels?
Some foods are known to help naturally balance blood sugars, such as whole-food plants. Others, such as highly-processed foods are very unhelpful. However, there's more to naturally balancing your blood sugar than what you eat.
What’s a Normal Blood Sugar Level?
Here's a quick estimate of blood sugar levels to help. Talk to your doctor for help on whether your blood sugar levels are healthy, and what you can do about it. This blog's information is for educational purposes only.
- < 140mg/L is a normal blood sugar level for adults
- Between 140-200mg/dL is considered prediabetic
- 200mg/dL is considered diabetes
Can Your Reverse Prediabetes?
Yes! A study found over 90% of prediabetic adults who adopted a healthy lifestyle did not progress to type II diabetes! Being prediabetic doesn’t mean you will develop type II diabetes. Adopting a healthy lifestyle can help lower blood sugar levels, as well as other markers of an unhealthy body. Evidence shows that for those living with elevated blood sugar levels, it’s possible to prevent or delay type II diabetes with a healthy lifestyle and body weight.
7 Ways to Holistically Work Towards Balancing Blood Sugar Levels
Lifestyle studies have shown, even just 3 weeks of a healthy lifestyle can help, if you focus on:
- Focus on whole-foods
- Avoid processed foods
- Eat more plants/feed your microbiome
- Focus on fiber
- Daily physical activity & exercise
- Sleep more
- Reduce stress - find ways to reduce stress
- Hydrate
What's the Best Food to Eat to Balance Blood Sugar?
Focusing on whole foods ensures you are not consuming highly processed foods which are known to spike blood sugar levels, making it harder to balance them. Plus, whole foods are rich in fiber which traps sugars to help balance blood sugar. As well, fibre-rich foods, such as lentils are well known to support the gut microbiome - a key player in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.
Broccoli and other sulphane-rich vegetables may promote healthier blood sugar levels. Eat your veggies green leafy vegetables have been linked to lower risks of developing diabetes in studies of large populations of people.
Maybe consider nuts and nut butter as a tasty addition to your day. Nuts have been suggested in research as a food with potential benefits for those seeking to balance their blood sugar levels – with nut butter (peanut butter in particular) being noted in a large scientific review as a potentially delicious and helpful candidate.
What's the Worst Food to Eat for Diabetes?
Researchers have discovered that certain foods thought to raise blood sugar in all people, may only raise it in some. Meanwhile others thought good for blood sugar balancing may not be for all. Your gut microbiome, genetics, lifestyle habits and physical activity will impact how certain foods impact your blood sugar. This evidence shows the importance of personalized nutrition plans for those trying to balance their blood sugar levels. You are unique - and you're eating plan should be as unique as you are.
Not Sure Where to Start?
As a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, I help clients develop a personalized road map to help them find the way to reach their goals. Everyone is unique, and that means to reach your goals your nutrition and lifestyle aren't the same as others.
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References:
Lifestyle and the prevention of type 2 diabetes: a status report. Am J Lifestyle Med 2018 Jan-Feb; 12(1): 4-20.
Outcome of lifestyle intervention in relation to duration of pre-diabetes: the pathobiology and reversibility of prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort (PROP-ABC) study. BMJ Open Diab Res Care 2022; 10:e002748.
Personalized nutrition by prediction of glycemic responses. Cell 2015; 163(5).
The links between sleep duration, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Endocrinol 2022 Feb 1; 252(2): 125-141.
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