A good goal is to get minutes of moderate exercise per week, recommends Jordana Turkel , a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Park Avenue Endocrinology and Nutrition in New York City. This is also what the ADA recommends. Different types of exercise both strength training or resistance training and aerobic exercise can lower your A1C by making the body more sensitive to insulin, Turkel says. She encourages her patients not to go more than two days in a row without exercising, and to aim for two days of strength training.
Be sure to check with your healthcare provider before embarking on an exercise plan , though. He or she can come up with an individualized plan for you.
And if you monitor your blood sugar daily, check it before and after exercise. As the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard Medical School explains, exercise can cause your blood sugar to rise, as more is released from the liver, and blood sugar to fall, due to increase insulin sensitivity. This is particularly important if you are on insulin or another diabetes medication that causes insulin secretion, such as include sulfonylureas, such as Amaryl glimepiride , and glinides, such as Prandin repaglinide and Starlix nateglinide.
But a great rule of thumb is to visualize your plate for every meal and aim to fill one-half of it with veggies , one-quarter with protein, and one-quarter with whole grains, says Turkel. If you like fruit , limit your portions to a small cup, eaten with a little protein or lean fat to help you digest the fruit carbohydrates in a manner that is less likely to spike your blood sugar level. Also, avoid processed foods as much as possible, and say no to sugary sodas and fruit juice, which are high in carbs and calories, and thus can lead to spikes in blood sugar and contribute to weight gain, according to the ADA.
Skipping meals , letting too much time pass between meals, or eating too much or too often can cause your blood sugar levels to fall and rise too much, the ADA points out. This is especially true if you are taking insulin or certain diabetes drugs. Your doctor can help you determine the best meal schedule for your lifestyle.
Diabetes treatment is very individualized, noted an article published in May in Diabetes Spectrum. Your healthcare team will help you determine the steps you need to take to successfully manage diabetes. Always talk to your doctor before making any changes, such as starting a very-low-carbohydrate diet or beginning a new exercise regimen, and especially before making any medication or insulin changes. Work with your doctor to determine if, and how often, you should check your blood sugar.
You may be tempted to pick up an A1C home testing kit, but Dowdell does not recommend doing that. One cup of 1-percent fortified milk contains Low-sugar, dairy-free options include unflavored, fortified soy, rice, almond, flax, and coconut milk or products. Lactose levels are similar in full-fat, reduced-fat, and non-fat milk, but people with type 2 diabetes often need to take care of their weight. For this reason, a low-fat version may be a better option. For most grains and starches, half a cup contains one 15 gram serving of carbohydrates.
Starches are better carbohydrate choices than simple sugars, but the body can absorb highly processed starches rapidly, leading to increases in blood sugar levels. Whole-grain breads, cereals, pastas, and rices contain B and E vitamins , minerals, essential fatty acids, and fiber. Bleached or processed grains and cereals generally contain fewer nutrients and higher levels of sugar than whole-grain products.
Some products that claim to contain whole wheat still have high levels of refined grains, and they may contain added sugar. Plenty of starchy vegetables and legumes also contain high levels of nutrients and fiber in their skins or pods.
Some vegetables have higher concentrations of starch than others. These include root vegetables like potatoes. People should monitor their consumption of these vegetables more closely than others. A1C test results appear as a percentage. A higher A1C level means a greater risk of diabetes and its complications. Physicians may also refer to average glucose, or eAG, when they talk about A1C levels. A person with prediabetes has a good chance of reversing their high blood sugar levels and preventing diabetes from developing.
Get some tips and strategies for managing prediabetes here. A1C level recommendations vary between individuals. People with more advanced diabetes will have higher A1C targets than healthy adults without diabetes. Factors like life expectancy, treatment response, and medical history also have an impact. A1C levels are a measure of blood glucose over 2—3 months.
A person whose A1C level is 6. Click here to find out more about healthy blood glucose levels. Having a snack before bed can help some people manage their blood sugar levels overnight, offsetting the dawn phenomenon and the Somogyi effect. Diabetes occurs when a person has too much glucose in their blood.
Doctors can diagnose diabetes with a random glucose test. A person can have this…. The amount of sugar a person should consume varies, depending on their sex and age. In this article, we look at the recommended intake, as well as how…. What and how much you eat factors in to your blood sugar control and, in turn, affects your A1C.
And despite popular belief, the American Diabetes Association does not prescribe any one type of eating plan. In actuality, they state that many different types of eating patterns, including lower carb , vegetarian , DASH and Mediterranean can be beneficial. One of the best ways to figure this all out is to meet with a registered dietitian, preferably one who has experience in working with people who have diabetes.
Your doctor can provide you with a referral to meet with a dietitian. In the meantime, consider the following for lowering A1C levels:. Getting into the habit of eating three meals a day, and possibly some snacks, is a great way to get started on controlling A1C levels. In addition, aiming to eat your meals at about the same times each day will make it easier to stabilize your blood sugars. Try not to skip meals or delay eating your meals as much as possible. Carb naysayers will proclaim that carb foods are evil and should be avoided as much as possible.
But reality and research shows otherwise. However, you do need to consider the types of carbs you eat. Eating refined and processed carbs has been linked to an increase risk of diabetes, heart disease , inflammation and obesity. The carbs to focus on are unrefined, meaning, they retain their fiber, vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds that promote health. These carbs include whole grains, whole fruits and vegetables and legumes beans and peas.
Along with eating healthy carb foods comes the concept of carb control for controlling A1C levels. Eating too much carb from any food source can mean higher blood sugars and a higher A1C. Aim to eat the same amount of carb at your meals and snacks each day. Many people count grams of carb and aim for a range at their meals — for example, 30—45 grams per meal. Doing so helps you keep your blood sugars steady, whether you take diabetes medicine or not.
Eating too much carb is one thing; eating too much protein or fat is another.
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