High blood glucose can be dangerous and toxic to your body. Diet and exercise can help you manage your blood glucose levels, plus help you prevent other chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease or hypertension.
How to Manage Your Blood Glucose Levels with Diet
Step 1
Eat more often. Try to eat every 3 to 4 hours for a total of five or six small meals throughout the day. This prevents your blood glucose levels from spiking or falling and keeps you from overeating, which can result in high blood glucose.
Step 2
Balance every meal. It is important that all of your meals are balanced. Aim to have complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains and brown rice, protein, and healthy fats with every meal. Protein, fat and the fiber in complex carbohydrates delay gut transit time. That is, they keep the food in the stomach for longer, allowing it to move slowly through your intestinal system. This causes your blood glucose levels to rise slowly and steadily, giving your body a better chance to process it.
Step 3
Portion control. How much you eat is as important as what you eat. Use portion control and avoid overeating. You can do this by eating slowly and listening to your body's hunger cues.
Step 4
Schedule your meals around your medications if you take them. If you take medications, coordinate your meals with your medications. Talk to your doctor about which medications should be taken with food and which medications should be taken on an empty stomach.
How to Manage Your Blood Glucose with Exercise
Step 1
Increase moderate-intensity physical activity. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that you participate in moderate physical activity at least 150 minutes every week. Physical activity can lower blood glucose immediately after, and it improves muscle sensitivity to insulin, which allows glucose to be absorbed from the blood faster.
Step 2
Add strength training. Strength training can increase your muscle mass and its sensitivity to glucose. The DHHS recommends participating in strength training at least two times per week.
