By Diabetes is a chronic and metabolic disease which affects how the body turns food to glucose, it definitely means high levels of blood glucose. Diabetes can lead to many serious complication overtime if left uncontrolled, it can affect badly on heart, kidney, blood vessels, eyes and nerves.
Doctors can confirm the diagnosis of diabetes through 3 tests, so the person is considered a diabetic when the A1C test is 6.5% or higher, fasting blood sugar test is 126 mg/dl or higher, random blood sugar test is 200 mg/dl or higher.
People must be careful about their blood sugar levels and try seriously to maintain lower blood sugar levels because that will protect them from dangerous health problems or at least delay them.
Continuous high blood sugar has bad prognosis such as nerve damage, vision loss, kidney diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
1- Eat food with a low glycemic index
Diabetics must take food with a low glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking system which includes carbohydrates which have an effect on blood sugar levels such as cereals, breads, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
Specialists use the glycemic index to measure and rank foods, each with its glycemic value, this informs you how each food affects your blood sugar levels.
After eating previous foods, the digestive tract breaks them down into simple sugars and they go to the bloodstream. Certain foods can lead to a spike in blood sugar levels that may cause serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes.
Experts classify foods on the glycemic index into low-GI foods, medium-GI foods and high-GI foods. Low glycemic index foods control the rise of blood sugar levels as the body digests and absorbs them slowly, this is the reason for considering them the best food for people with diabetes.
Low glycemic index foods include avocado, raw carrots, kidney beans, lentils, spinach, green vegetables, chickpeas, bran cereals and broccoli.
Foods with low glycemic index lead to slow rise and slow decline in blood sugar levels that helps with avoiding spike in blood sugar levels, this leads to lower risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus as a result of reducing blood sugar levels.
Low glycemic index foods also lower the density of bad cholesterol (LDL) that can help with prevention of heart diseases.
2- Manage your carb intake
In normal, carbohydrates are broken down into small units of glucose which finally go to blood, when blood sugar levels rise, the pancreas produces insulin which makes blood sugar enter cells.
In people who don’t suffer from diabetes, blood sugar levels stay within a narrow range throughout the day. As for those who suffer from diabetes, this process doesn’t work well, that leads to both too high and too low blood sugar levels and that is the reason for harm.
Many studies said that following a very low carb diet helps with control of diabetes. In the past, before insulin discovery, a very low carb diet was a standard treatment for people with diabetes.
From a study performed about this object, it is found that people with type 2 diabetes who follow a low carb diet for 6 months, their case will remain well controlled for more than 3 years later.
As for people with type 1 diabetes who follow a carb-restricted diet, they saw a noticeable improvement in blood sugar levels over a 4-year period.
Many studies supposed that following a restricted carb diet, which includes 20 grams of carb per day, improves blood sugar levels and body weight. But the optimal amount of carbs varies from one to another as everyone has a specific response to carbs.
In general, the less carbs you eat, the less blood sugar will rise. Low carb diet includes seeds, nuts, vegetables and berries.
3- Eat more fibers
Fibers are a type of carbohydrates found in fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, it helps with control of blood sugar levels as the body can’t absorb or break down fibers. So, it doesn’t lead to a spike in blood sugar levels as other carbohydrates do, this leads to achieving optimal levels of blood sugar.
Fibers protect the body from heart diseases as they make one eat less fat and cholesterol, which in turn leads to lower triglycerides and cholesterol levels.
Fibers keep the digestive system healthy and also help with maintaining healthy weight that improves the conditions of diabetes.
There are two types of fibers, soluble and insoluble ones. Soluble fibers form a gel-like substance that leads to slow down digestion process and helps with control of blood sugar levels, soluble fibers include banana, apples and oats.
Insoluble fibers support insulin sensitivity. They include bran, seeds, nuts and skin of fruits and vegetables.
It is advisable to consume 35 g of fibers per day, but take care of sudden increase of them in your diet as they can cause digestive system problems as flatulence, take plenty of water daily to help with easy movement of food through digestive tract.
4- Maintain your weight
Body weight has an obvious effect on type 2 diabetes mellitus. For pre-diabetes, loss of body weight delays the onset of getting type 2 diabetes mellitus. Weight loss helps with glycemic control and avoiding cardiovascular problems.
Loss of body weight and fats help with lowering triglycerides and cholesterol levels, it also improves the sensitivity of cell’s receptors, so receptors for insulin work more properly.
Generally, following a low calorie diet leads to a wonderful effect on body and helps with getting rid of most diseases.
5- Exercise regularly
Exercise and movement are very useful for type 1, type 2 and other types of diabetes.
Exercise makes the body use insulin properly as it improves insulin sensitivity, it prevents the body from high levels of blood pressure which leads to complications of diabetes, it protects the body against heart problems.
Regular exercise leads to healthy joints and helps you sleep well that improves the public health of the body. Exercise helps people who suffer from type 2 diabetes with improving HbA1C results.
6- Drink water and stay hydrated
Drinking water is very useful for all people especially those with diabetes, water is the most suitable drink for diabetics, it has no calories and no carbs.
Because high blood sugar levels lead to dehydration, it is necessary for diabetics to stay hydrated, drinking enough water helps the body with getting rid of excessive amounts of glucose through urine.
One study suggested that adult men should take about 3 liters per day and adult women should take about 2 liters per day.
Dehydration of body is a bad prognosis for diabetics as that leads to increase in blood sugar levels and complications of diabetes.
7- Eat food rich in chromium and magnesium
Chromium is a trace element, it is important for general body health. Chromium decreases insulin resistance, scientists suggest that chromium enhances the effects of insulin and may help with improvement of blood sugar levels.
Studies have also said that chromium deficiency can lead to higher risk of diabetes.
Chromium is present in foods as shrimps, oysters, shellfish, broccoli, grapefruit, brewer’s yeast, meat, nuts, mushrooms and whole grains.
Magnesium is useful for the body, it can manage insulin and carbohydrate metabolism, it helps the body secrete insulin and helps body cells use insulin more efficiently.
Animal products and plants are rich with magnesium such as legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, peanut butter, cereals, avocado, oatmeal, yogurt, cereals, chicken breast, ground beef, broccoli, tap water and mineral water.
8- Contain a specific food within your diet
Diabetics must follow a planned diet such as dash diet because it is important for diabetics to eat the right foods with the right amount at the right time.
Many foods play an important role in regulating blood sugar levels. For example, broccoli contains sulforaphane which is a type of isothiocyanate, this substance can reduce blood sugar levels, sulforaphane is produced when broccoli is chewed through an enzyme reaction.
- Seafood is a good source of protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that may help with lowering blood sugar levels. Protein helps with control of blood sugar levels as it slows digestion and prevents spikes in blood sugar levels after meals, it also makes one feel fullness that results in avoiding overeating.
- Okra also helps with regulation of blood sugar levels, it contains many compounds that participate in lowering blood sugar levels such as polysaccharides, flavonoid and antioxidants.
- The main polysaccharide in okra is rhamnogalacturonan which is considered a powerful antidiabetic compound. Flavonoids such as isoquercitrin and quercetin 3-O-gentiobioside help with decreasing blood sugar levels by inhibiting certain enzymes.
- Kale is a good choice for diabetics, It includes many compounds that may lead to decrease in blood sugar levels, it includes fibers and flavonoid antioxidants.
Flavonoid antioxidants, as quercetin and kaempferol, lower blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity.
9- Eat healthy snacks more frequently
Healthy snacks help with weight loss so help with improvement of blood sugar levels, it makes one feel fullness without causing rise in blood sugar levels, it is important to choose snacks which give you nutritional needs.
The most common healthy snacks for diabetics are avocado, almond, yogurt with Berries, sliced Apples with Peanut butter.
Avocado helps with management of blood sugar levels, it contains high amounts of fibers and polyunsaturated fatty acids that decrease the chance of spikes in blood sugar levels after meals, avocado causes a powerful improvement especially in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Almonds are considered a dense nutritional snack, it contains manganese, magnesium and riboflavin which are useful for diabetics, almonds can stabilize blood sugar levels as it contains fibers, protein and healthy fats.
It is useful for the heart as it can reduce cholesterol levels and it helps with control of body weight, this will be good for type 2 diabetes.
Yogurt with berries is rich with antioxidants which can reduce inflammation and damage of pancreatic cells, it contains many fibers which slow down digestion and make a good control on blood sugar levels.
It is rich with proteins that help also with control of blood sugar levels, Greek yogurt has a more dense protein than others yogurt.
Sliced Apples with Peanut butter are considered a good snack, Apples are rich with vitamin B, potassium and vitamin C. Peanut butter is rich with magnesium, and vitamin E which help with good management of blood sugar levels.
10- Eat probiotic-rich food
Probiotics are useful bacteria and/or yeasts which naturally live in the guts of your body. Probiotics are a group of good bacteria which helps the body keep healthy and functioning well. It helps body in many process such as fighting against harmful bacteria and helps one feel better.
Probiotics have an important role in blood glucose homeostasis, it can stimulate glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) secretion from intestinal L cells to give a hypoglycemic effect, it can promote pancreatic β-cell function.
Probiotics reduce the levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and proinflammatory cytokines to enhance insulin sensitivity, they also decrease the harmful bacterial flora which promote insulin resistance and the inflammatory response.
Probiotics could obviously reduce HbA1c in pre-diabetics and delay the onset of entry in the diabetes phase.
Examples of probiotics are Lactobacillus, bifidobacterium and Saccharomyces boulardii, it also present in foods as yogurt, buttermilk, fermented pickles and miso soup.
11- Implement portion control
Portion control doesn’t mean you should eat very small amounts of food or determine definitely the number of peas on your plate. But if you are eating too much, you may need to retrain your brains to see a smaller-than-normal portion as satisfying enough.
Using a smaller plate makes you feel that the amount of food in your plate is enough and you won’t need to eat more, on the contrary the large one.
Don’t double your carb amount, it means that if your plate contains starchy vegetables or fruit and you need to add bread to your plate, you must cut down the amount of starchy carbs you need to eat.
You don’t need to use special cups to be served, you can use any cups with its measurement and decrease the amount you take regardless of what the measurement is.
Be selective with your food. For example, you can end your meal with an apple instead of 2 bars of chocolate, although they have the same calories but the apple will make you feel full.
Don’t eat leftover food. If you find that excessive foods are leftover frequently and you are obligated to eat them instead of throwing them, try to cook less to avoid excessive eating.
Follow the 20 minutes rule. Try to wait for a while before asking for more food, you will feel full and won’t need more.
Check food labels. You need to see the amount of nutrients in foods you eat to choose the food with less sugar and less fat.
Always try to ask for less food, don’t put much food on your plate and try to control your appetite.
These tips will help you with management of eating food which results in good control on blood sugar levels.
12- Monitor your blood sugar levels
Monitoring blood sugar levels is very important to inform you if your blood glucose levels are within your target range. This helps you know your blood glucose level at any time.
It’s important for blood glucose levels to maintain in your target range. Because too low glucose levels lead to loss of the ability of the brain to think or function well, too high blood sugar levels lead to damage and make you suffer from the complications of diabetes.
You can do this simply by finger-puncture tool, it will give you an idea about your blood sugar levels.
| Normal Glucose Toletance | Pre-Diabetes | Diabites | |
| Fasting Blood Glucose (mg/dL) | <100 | 100 to <126 | ≥126 |
| 2-hour Blood Glucose (mg/dL) during OGTT | <140 | 140 to <200 | ≥200 |
| HbA1c (%) | <5.7 | 5.7 to <6.5 | ≥6.5 |
13- Get enough quality sleep
Enough quality sleep is very useful for all people as it improves the general health of the body.
For diabetics, getting enough sleep protects their case from getting worse. If you get less than 7 hours of sleep every night, your condition will be more difficult to control.
Getting not enough sleep will increase insulin resistance and make you feel hungry the next day, it decreases the feeling of fullness so you will eat more and your case will get worse.
It makes you feel with clave for junk foods and that will harm you because of fats , sugars and carb presented in junk foods
Sleeping less makes it difficult to lose weight so you will get bad control on your blood sugar levels, it also leads to increased blood pressure which is a bad sign for diabetics, it weakens your immune system and makes you more susceptible to infection.
| Low quality sleep | Normal quality sleep | High quality sleep |
| Feeling tired even after having enough sleep, waking up during the night repeatedly and having symptoms of a sleep disorder. | Feeling sleepy more easily, not to be fully wake up throughout the night, not to wake up too early and feeling satisfied in the morning. | Fall asleep soon after getting into bed, sleeping straight through the night, waking up no more than once per night, you feel rested upon waking up in the morning. |
14- Try to manage your stress levels
Stress is how the body and mind react to difficult or new situations, stress alone doesn’t cause diabetes but it has a role in getting type 2 diabetes.
During stress, the body releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, this gives you energy and helps you with situations but affects badly on insulin work and leads to insulin resistance.
If there is continuous stress, blood sugar levels continue to be high and this will make you liable to complications of diabetes.
15- Follow up with doctor
It is important to follow up with your doctor even if your case is stable, if you take your medications on time, you will need to visit your doctor every 6 months.
You also need to check your blood pressure and weight, and the doctor also reviews your self-care plan and medicines. Doctor also will examine your nerve sensation and make sure if you are liable to diabetic foot.
Does breakfast affect Blood sugar levels?
Yes, breakfast time and food can affect blood sugar levels. One study suggested that eating breakfast before 8:30 a.m. may decrease the chance of getting type 2 diabetes.
Eating food rich with fibers and protein helps you with control of blood sugar levels as they can efficiently decrease blood sugar levels.
Eating breakfast later increases the chance for insulin resistance.
What happens after 2 hours of eating?
After 2 hours of eating, insulin and blood sugar levels return to their normal range.
But in people with diabetes, these values continue to rise and don’t return to their normal range.
How metabolism could be affected by diabetes?
Diabetes affects metabolism by decreasing insulin levels. This leads to deprivation of the body from storing energy.
Diabetes is mainly a metabolic disorder which impairs the ability of the body to release and store energy from food. Problems with insulin production are the reason for these disorders.
When one eats carbohydrates, the body starts to break them down into glucose. This glucose then goes to the bloodstream which in turn delivers energy to cells of the body.
In normal people, if blood glucose levels are too high, the pancreas secretes insulin. Insulin makes the liver remove glucose from the blood and convert it into glycogen and the body can use it later.
On the other side, in people with diabetes, insulin levels are lower than they need to be. This makes blood full of much glucose which can lead to serious complications if left untreated.
Protein metabolism is also affected by diabetes, the body go to use protein as an energy source. In some cases, the body can break down protein from its own muscles for energy which obviously leads to a state of catabolism and reduction in muscle mass.
Diabetes also affects the metabolism of fats. In case of insulin impairment, the body can direct to use stored fat instead and this leads to a condition known as ketosis.
During ketosis, the body exerts ketone bodies which yield as a result of breakdown of fats. If ketone levels become too high, they can acidify the blood and this results in a serious condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
DKA mainly develops in people with type 1 diabetes, but it can also occur in people with type 2 diabetes. It can be a life threatening condition that needs emergency treatment.
Is fasting good for diabetics?
Not in all situations, as fasting can harm people who have very high blood sugar levels. Hypoglycemia is the obvious risk.
Hyperglycemia can be also due to cutting back on diabetes medicine especially if they are treated with insulin. If they leave their medications too much, their blood glucose become too high and they are at risk of diabetic ketoacidosis.
What are the risks of maintaining high blood sugar?
Maintaining high blood sugar levels without treatment can lead to:
- Damage to large and small blood vessels which results in heart stroke and heart attack.
- problems with the eyes. High blood sugar can cause damages to blood vessels in the eyes, it can has an effect on the shape of the lenses and cause blurred vision.(30)
- Problems with kidney. High blood sugar can cause damage to blood vessels in the kidneys and nephrons so kidneys don’t work functionally.(31)
- Diabetic foot. High blood sugar levels can cause numbness, tingling, pain, or a loss of feeling in your feet.
- Bad effect on nerves. High blood glucose levels can cause damage to the small blood vessels that supply the nerves in your body and these will lead to nerve damages.(33)
This bad effect can be decreased. Regular follow up is very important to discover diabetes-related health problems early.
Patient should also keep good control on waist measurement, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, HbA1c and cholesterol.
It is advisable not to smoke if you have diabetes because smoking leads to exacerbate problems.