What is high blood sugar OR Hyperglycemia?

Hyperglycemia, or high blood glucose, occurs when too much sugar is in the blood. It usually happens when your body has too little insulin, a hormone that transports glucose into the blood. It also happens if your body can’t use insulin properly. Hyperglycemia is fasting blood glucose greater than 125 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). A person with fasting blood glucose greater than 125 mg/dL has diabetes. Having impaired glucose tolerance, or pre-diabetes, with a fasting blood glucose of 100 mg/dL to 125 mg/dL. A person has hyperglycemia if their blood glucose is greater than 180 mg/dL one to two hours after eating.

High Blood Sugar Levels and Foods

Diet plays an essential role in almost all functions of our bodies. Your dietary and lifestyle habits play a crucial role in helping you manage blood sugar levels. Therefore, the primary component to look for in your foods is their glycemic index. 

Glycemic Index

The glycemic index determines the spike in blood sugar levels after eating a particular carbohydrate rich food. For example, your blood sugar levels rise a lot after you eat sugary treats. That is because these foods are rich in sugar, a refined carbohydrate. However, when you eat a chapati, the blood sugar level does not increase as much as after eating sugary treats. The glycemic index monitors these spikes in blood sugar levels. Low-glycemic-index foods aid in the management of type 2 diabetes and weight loss.

4 Ways to Naturally Lower Blood Sugar Levels

1. Increase Your Protein Intake

Indian diets are highly deficient in protein, especially the vegetarian diets. Irrespective you workout or not, everbody is recommended to eat 1g/kg body weight  of protein on daily basis. For example, if you weigh 70kg, you need to eat 70g protein on daily basis for healthy blood sugars and maintain good muscle mass. 

Protein is very important to lower your blood sugars and here's why: protein helps in lowering glycemix index of your meals. For example, plain rice has high glycemic index leading to high blood sugars, but if you pair up that rice with paneer or chicken, the glycemic index of rice goes down. This way you don't have to give up your favourite foods while making sure your blood sugars are in control naturally.

2. Increase Your Fibre Intake

Just like protein, fibre from non-starchy vegetables  such as cucumbers, capsicum, spinach, cauliflower, helps you lower your glycemic index of the meals. For example, eating a bowl of salad along with rajma-rice will help you lower your blood sugars. Also, fibre provides you satiety which helps you feel full and reduce your carbohydrate intake.

3. Eat every 2-3 hours

Timing your meals is very critical to make sure you have controlled blood sugars with a gradual graph rather than peaks and drops throughout the day. Make sure to eat atleast 3 main meals and 2 snacks in a day, so that your blood sugars don't drop, due to huge meal gaps.

4. Walk after your meals

Walking atleast 15 minutes after each meal, help your blood sugars drop significantly as your muscles use the excess blood sugars, leading to lower blood sugars and controlled diabetes.

The Bottom Line

High blood sugar levels or hyperglycemia is prevalent worldwide. It is spreading like wildfire nowadays. But, as the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure”. Therefore, you should keep your blood sugar levels in check to remain fit and healthy. As the article explains, your dietary habits, healthy and active lifestyle and optimum sleep can help you lower blood sugar levels. Hence, you should eat fibre-rich foods, good quality protein and fat. In addition, follow a healthy lifestyle with physical activity, and get optimum sleep. These fundamental changes are essential to lower blood sugar levels naturally.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. How do you bring blood sugar down quickly?

A. Although medical science suggests taking an insulin dose to bring down your blood sugar quickly, you can also get help from exercises. Physical exercise can help you rapidly and successfully lower your blood sugar levels within 24 hours. That is because exercise increases your body’s insulin sensitivity.

Q. What foods immediately lower blood sugar?

A. There is no such magical food that will help you reduce your blood sugar instantly. However, constant dietary modulations may help. For example, you should eat fibre-rich foods and complex carbohydrates to improve blood sugar levels. In addition, you can prevent blood sugar issues by following regular exercise routines and a balanced diet.

Q. How long does it take to bring blood sugar down?

A. For some people, it may take 2-3 days to bring down blood sugar levels. However, it may take well over 2-3 weeks to improve blood sugar levels for some others. Leading a healthy lifestyle with proper exercise and a balanced diet will help you get favourable results earlier.

Q. How do you feel when your blood sugar is too high?

A. Symptoms of high blood sugar may include but are not limited to fatigue, frequent urination, increased thirst, shortness of breath and dryness of the mouth. If you find yourself suffering from the above symptoms, you should immediately consult a physician.

Q. How can I stabilise my blood sugar overnight?

A. Although an overnight solution is not plausible, you should control your diet, especially during the night hours, to regulate your sugar levels. Also, try not to eat anything right before your bedtime because it might result in sugar level spikes.

Q. Can exercise lower blood sugar levels?

A. Yes, exercise is one of the best solutions to regulate blood sugar levels. That is because it makes your body optimise the use of insulin, resulting in better elimination of excess glucose.

Remember, individual responses may vary. For personalized guidance and support, reach out to us. As a Diabetes dietitian, I've helped several people naturally reverse prediabetes and diabetes with our specialized Diabetes Management program. Let's embark on your wellness journey together and book your consultation session right now to know if you are a perfect fit for our Diabetes Management Program or not.

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