This is a guest post by Dr. Jason J. Koenig, D.C.
When you’re diagnosed with diabetes your whole world turns upside down. You begin seeing a lot of doctors, and in the process, start taking an increase of medication. Most diabetics don’t know that there are natural ways to lower their blood sugar. Thankfully, with these 5 lifestyle changes, you can stop relying solely on your medication and start focusing on a more holistic approach to your health.
1. Watch What You Eat
This may sound like common sense to some, but monitoring what foods you eat is critical to maintaining your blood sugar levels. When changing your diet, you may want to move from three large meals a day to five smaller meals. Eating larger meals causes a spike in your blood sugar. Patients should focus on healthy snacking. With each meal, make sure you’re choosing foods with lower carbohydrates and higher fiber. You also want to keep the amount of carbs you’re consuming the same, from meal to meal.
2. Hydrate
Often when patients feel hungry, it’s actually the first sign of dehydration. Maintaining the proper level of hydration in your body is imperative. Additionally when you’re dehydrated, your blood sugar runs higher. Make sure that you are carrying water along with you throughout the day to ensure you’re getting the right amount of fluids. If you’re not a fan of plain water you can always add slices of fruit or sprigs of herbs to jazz it up. You’ll be amazed how drinking the right amount of water can lead to consistent blood sugar readings.
3. Exercise
Just as important as watching what you eat, exercise is a critical element to a healthy lifestyle. Most adults diagnosed as diabetic are overweight. Through exercise and weight management it is possible to improve your blood sugar. You can start small with an evening walk after dinner, and slowly increase your exercise to three days a week. Just think, the more weight you lose the healthier you will be. Diabetes is a disease that wears down your organs due to chronic high blood sugar, so the sooner you take control of your health the better chance you’ll have of beating the condition.
4. Reduce Your Stress
Blood sugar is affected by the most minute things. Stress is one of the leading factors. If you have a bad day at work, your blood sugar will increase. Make sure you are implementing stress-relieving activities in your life. Some patients enjoy listening to music, coloring in coloring books, or sitting outside. No matter what you need to do to center your life, remember that stress wears down your immune system leaving you vulnerable to other illnesses.
5. Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes
Alcohol is a toxin and stresses liver function causing an interference with blood sugar levels. It can cause your blood sugar levels to raise or lower dramatically. For diabetics, the effects are more exaggerated. When a diabetic drinks, their blood sugar can plummet to dangerously low levels for up to 24 hours. Additionally, smoking can cause your body to become insulin resistant. You can talk to your doctor about your habits. Your practitioner may suggest alternative methods to ease your habit, or suggest dropping them entirely.
Change your lifestyle and change your diagnosis
As a diabetic, you know how frustrating it can be to find relief from your symptoms. Conventional medicine provides very little hope for reversing your disease and very few options for treatment. However, today’s research is getting closer and closer to finding the light at the end of the tunnel. Diabetes sufferers have found real results from making these simple lifestyle changes. They are safer, more effective, and changes that you can make right now; it’s just up to you to do it. Fight back against your disease and discover a life free from type II diabetes.
