Diabetes is a disease of elevated blood sugars or hyperglycemia. For diabetics, the key to successfully managing diabetes is learning how to reduce high blood sugars. How?
- Change what you consume, eat or drink.
- Change activities, increase certain exercises and decrease others.
Pretty simple eh? Indeed it can be. For many diet and exercise will not be enough, but remember maintaining truly normal blood sugars is the key to successfully managing diabetes.
This post will go into more detail on how you can reduce high blood sugars. A proper diabetes diet like this ‘low carb paleo‘ diabetes diet is an important foundation for successfully managing diabetes and reducing high blood sugars.
Reducing High Blood Sugars
This post addresses a question from Karen Gale and she has approved the publishing of our exchange and the use of her name. :)
You can read Karen’s full story in a post I did about her, “Karen Gale’s Story“. Since that post published she has had even better and better results. Totally weaning off drugs and maintaining normal blood sugar… she is definitely “thriving and not just surviving”.
Karen had maintained normal blood sugar … until several weeks ago.
Here is what Karen sent me.
Ever since I tried to introduce Heavy Whipping Cream back into my diet, I’ve been battling my Blood Sugar. I think it’s only been below 100 a couple of times. I’m usually around 110 when I wake up, close to the same at bedtime. Overnight fasting had reached as high as 114 mg/dl.
I replied, “only one thing left to do” … which meant reducing the heavy cream.
Karen stated that she had already removed the Heavy Whipping Cream and had recently removed wine as well.
1) Wine has never raised my blood sugar so I doubted it was a cause for Karen’s high Blood Sugar.
2) Heavy Whipping Cream never affected my blood sugar either but some people do claim it raises their’s so it’s possible it caused her blood sugar to elevate… ‘could’. Karen said that she had only used the Heavy Cream for three days before her sugars elevated. She stopped using it and it had been a couple of weeks since she last used any.
I was skeptical that the Heavy Cream was the cause… but one NEVER knows.
Karen and I actually talked on the phone at this point. She said that she was to the point of going back on medications to lower her blood sugar. She said that she was not doing anything different. Her stress level and sleep was about the same, she was eating the same etc.
Going on drugs should be the last option. Do not get me wrong, Blood Sugar control is the KEY for proper diabetic treatment. However, we should do what we can to avoid drugs due to the adverse side affects.
I was trying to rule out any other possible variables… … so I asked her about her exercises.
She was doing intense weight resistance training or intense cardio four to six times a week… without a break. In fact, she could not remember the last time she took any significant time off from intense exercise.
I suggested that Karen take an entire week off from intense exercise. Walking is always allowed… but I suggested that she not do any intense anaerobic exercises including weight resistance or intense cardio.
She complained… (she’s an exercise junkie) so I told her,
” or … you can take drugs and not know if it’s the exercise ….yeah… that makes sense. “
Yes, I was being sarcastic but I was trying to make a point.
Evaluate everything that you do! You never know what may be causing a rise in blood sugars.
At this point I did not know if the intense exercise was the cause for her elevated blood sugars. Every diabetic should know that Intense Exercise causes a rise in blood sugar temporarily. However, it has been my experience that over time, intense exercise causes a reduction in blood sugars longer term.
I talk about Exercise and Diabetes in this post. I guess Karen never read it. :)
Karen finally RELENTED and here are the results of experiment.
Overnight Fasting readings while ceasing the intense exercise. 103, 102, 97 and today 84!
Here are her post meal blood sugar readings were 97, 97, 94 and 89. (these were 2-4 hours post meal)
Her body needed a break from intense exercises. Yes I love VERY intense exercises but I generally alternate days and will take several days off after several weeks of intense exercise.
Question and Evaluate Every Thing
When your blood sugars are elevated and you are eating VERY low carb, the cause can be many things. Inflammation can often be the root cause.
Subtracting potential inflammatory triggers is part of the cat and mouse game we all have to play from time to time.
Reducing High Blood Sugars
Most people are not going to have the problem Karen Gale had… of over training.
It’s something that I rarely talk about because the problem with the vast majority of people is not exercising ENOUGH!
The lesson learned here is…
Objectively and critically examine your life and lifestyle to see what can be changed or tweaked to reduce inflammation and reduce high blood sugars.
Intense Exercise is GOOD!!! … but too much, too often may have adverse affects.
For diabetics, the key to successfully managing diabetes is learning how to reduce high blood sugar.
You may have to reduce carbohydrates, you may have to reduce food consumption (fast), you may have to change how you play (exercise) or how you live.
Lower Your Blood Sugar Naturally
If your blood sugars are elevated and you cannot achieve truly normal blood sugars with diet alone…
BUY MY BOOK! How to Reduce Blood Sugars.
I am thrilled to have found this site. I am insulin resistant. I do not want to become diabetic. I am able to keep my blood sugar stable if I eat ONLY meat. My boyfriend is a vegan and he is supportive of my only meat diet because he has seen the difference in my energy, weight and overall health.
He seems to do much better on a vegan diet. He eats only vegetables and I eat only meat…. we are fun company.
I can get away with eating spinach and very low carb vegetables most days. But, sometimes when I have any vegetables at all it causes intense carb cravings. The only way I seem to not crave carbs is if I avoid them all together. I eat nuts, low carb cheese & meat. My fasting blood sugar average is 77. One hour after meals it is never above 105.
I went on the low-fat vegan, low carb, diabetes diet. I wanted to be vegan! I was strict and did not cheat. I gained 15 pounds in 2 months. My fasting blood sugar was 110 and an hour later 140 -180’s. I was tired and had a very hard time waking in the morning.
I can’t thank the creator of this site enough. It helps to know I am not alone in my so called odd – eating habits.
I eat grass fed and free range meats and cheeses. I think animals fed corn and other GMOS are not good for our cells and all these toxins may be why so many people are becoming Diabetic.
Tai
I’m happy to see you here. It give me hope that the “experiment” my husband and I started last week just might work. We are tired of being prescribed deadly drugs to “save our lives”. So, we travel a new road of supplements and stringent diet control.
Thanks for being here. Will be back!