15 easy ways to lower blood sugar levels naturally

what exactly is diabetes?

With the rapid rise of diabetic patients in the country, India has slowly become the ‘Diabetes Capital of the World’. A whopping 50.9 million people of India today suffer from Diabetes, a number which is believed to rise to 80 million by 2025 (as per Diabetes Foundation, India). Now, these estimations are based only on reported cases, there still might be many who may not be aware that they have diabetes and so the real figure might be higher than reported here.

Diabetes in very simple terms is a metabolic disease that causes high blood sugar. When the blood sugar levels are higher than normal it can lead to serious health problems in the individual. There are two main types of Diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is very common during childhood and adolescence years but can affect people of any age. Similarly, Type – 2 diabetes too can develop at any age but is more common in people older than 40 years.

diabetes symptoms:

Early detection and on-time diagnosis can help contain the progress of diabetes into a potentially fatal disease. So, here’s listing some of the common symptoms of diabetes that you should know about;

• Increased Thirst
• Frequent Urination
• Extreme Hunger
• Unexplained Weight Loss
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Blurred vision
• Slow-healing sores and wounds

when to see a doctor?

If you suspect any of the above symptoms in you or your loved ones then immediately see a doctor. The earlier the diagnosis is made, the sooner the treatment can begin. A doctor might advise any of the following blood tests to diagnose diabetes, namely;

• Glycated Haemoglobin (A1C) Test
• Random Blood Sugar Test
• Fasting Blood Sugar Test
• Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

All these blood tests are pretty simple and while some require fasting, others can be undertaken at any time of the day. You can also get these blood tests done at the comfort of your home with the help of Portea’s quality at-home medical services. 

remedies:

The most common home remedy for diabetes believed through ages is to simply cut out sugar and sweets from your diet, while this is true to a certain extent; it is equally important to follow a healthy diabetes diet to not only maintain a normal blood sugar level but to also lead a healthy life.

Here are a few home remedies for diabetes that you can try beside following your medications to help control blood sugar levels naturally.

1. Lifestyle Changes – The first and foremost step needed to lower your blood sugar levels is by making lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes include both participating in physical activities and strictly adhering to your diabetic diet chart.
2. Regular exercise – Numerous studies have shown that following a moderate-intensity exercise can help reduce mean blood glucose levels by nearly 16.8%. Regular exercise also helps to increase insulin sensitivity. Few of the exercises found to help reduce blood sugar levels include speed walking, bike riding, running, swimming and dancing among others.
3. Lose Weight – This is an absolute no brainer, maintaining a healthy weight not only prevents various health issues but also keeps the blood sugar levels under check and reduces the risk of diabetes.
4. Limit your Carb Intake – It is essential to limit your carb intake since our body breaks carbs into sugar (glucose), which is then moved into the cells by the insulin. When you consume a large number of carbs or have any issue with your insulin function, this process fails and results in the rise of your blood sugar levels.
5. Have a fibre rich diet – A fibre-rich diabetes diet plays a crucial role in lowering blood sugar levels in an individual. Fibres slow down the carbohydrate digestion process and sugar intake, which eventually leads to the gradual decrease of blood glucose levels.
6. Drink plenty of water – It is important to stay hydrated to keep your blood sugar at a healthy level. Water also helps the kidney’s to flush out blood sugar, especially if you are hyperglycaemic.    
7. keep your stress levels under check – Stress can wreak havoc with your health. This is because the stress hormones cause the liver to secrete blood glucose back into the bloodstream to give you that extra bout of energy and strength to help you focus better and be more alert. This constant state of hyper-alertness gets blood glucose at peak levels.
8. Get Enough Sleep – It is quite important to get something as basic as our sleep patterns correct to better manage our blood sugar levels. Poor sleeping patterns or lack of proper sleep negatively affects our glucose tolerance levels and disrupts the hormone leading to weight gain and high blood sugar.
9. Regular Monitoring of Blood sugar levels – The importance of regular monitoring of blood sugar levels can never be overstated. Regular monitoring will help your doctor and dietician make appropriate changes to your diabetes diet and treatment to effectively lower your blood sugar.
10. Eat food rich in Chromium and Magnesium – Diabetics have often been found to be deficient in micronutrients. To counter these micronutrient deficiencies, it is important to have chromium and magnesium-rich diabetes diet which would help prevent deficiency and reduce blood sugar at the same time.
11. Try Apple cider vinegar – Apple cider vinegar holds many benefits for our body, one of which is reducing blood sugar level. Apple Cider Vinegar significantly affects the body’s response to sugar and also strengthens insulin sensitivity.
12. Cinnamon Extract – Cinnamon is another key ingredient that helps quickly reduce blood sugar levels and also increase insulin sensitivity. But do exercise caution while including cinnamon in your diet as excessive use of cinnamon can be dangerous.
13. Eat Fenugreek Seeds – Eating fenugreek seeds is an age-old home remedy for diabetes followed by past generations. Fenugreek seeds are rich in soluble fibre that helps in lowering blood glucose and also increase glucose tolerance.
14. Sip on Herbal teas – Several studies have found consuming 3 or more cups of green tea, black tea and oolong tea improve insulin sensitivity by 15%. So go on and grab yourself a hot cup of green tea or black tea to relax and rejuvenate.
15. Berberine – Berberine is an effective supplement for diabetes and pre-diabetes patients. It is anti-diabetic and has been traditionally used in Chinese medicines to treat diabetes. Berberine also helps in treating other metabolic conditions like ageing, inflammation and heart health.

We hope these home remedies for diabetes would help you in controlling your blood sugar levels and let you have a better quality of life. A word of caution – do consult your doctor/dietician before making any dietary and lifestyle changes to prevent any undesirable situations.