Optimal blood sugar is a cornerstone to good health and vitality. This only becomes more important as people age.
What Exactly Is Blood Sugar?
Simply put, your body converts some of the food you eat to glucose (a type of sugar). And then glucose is used by your body for energy. Blood sugar is simply how much glucose is being carried within your blood stream.
The amount of glucose you have in your blood stream at any given time is regulated by a hormone called insulin.
When blood sugar levels are too high, your pancreas will release insulin. In response to the presence of insulin, your body will deposit glucose into your liver for storage. Inversely, when blood sugar levels are low, your liver will release this stored glucose back into your bloodstream.
For optimal health, it’s important that blood sugar be neither too high, nor too low.
One of the most common measurements of blood sugar levels is a hemoglobin A1c blood test. Rather than just providing a glucose level at the precise moment blood is draw, hemoglobin A1c is useful because it measures average glucose over the past three months. Most healthcare providers are looking for a hemoglobin A1c level of 5.6% or lower for good health.
Unfortunately, for many people, average blood sugar levels will increase with age. This is particularly true for people who are overweight. If not properly managed, this trend can develop into insulin resistance (which means the body no longer responds to insulin the way it ought to) or type 2 diabetes.
The following are some important strategies for keeping blood sugar levels under control.
Watch What You Eat
Good eating habits are the foundation for healthy blood sugar levels.
Embrace a diet that is rich in lean protein, colorful vegetables, and healthy fats. Keep carbohydrates to a minimum, particularly refined carbohydrates. It’s also a good idea to make sure you have plenty of fiber in your diet, as fiber helps to slow the absorption of glucose.
This approach to eating can go a long way toward preventing blood sugar levels that spike and crash.
The timing of your meals is another important factor in blood sugar management.
Smaller and more frequent meals can help to stabilize blood sugar throughout the day. Intermittent fasting (particularly when combined with a keto diet) is also an option.
Stay Active
Physical activity is another cornerstone to maintaining healthy blood sugar levels. Not only does exercise make weight management easier, but it also enhances insulin sensitivity. This is important because when your body is appropriately responsive to insulin, glucose is absorbed by your cells more efficiently.
Even moderate levels of activity like walking, cycling, or swimming can have a significant benefit on blood sugar levels, with more intense exercise having a greater impact.
Avoid Stress
While short-term stressors are an unavoidable part of life and won’t generally affect blood sugar for the long-term, chronic stress can have negative consequences for blood sugar levels.
When under stress, your adrenal glands release cortisol, which increases the amount of glucose in your bloodstream to provide the energy necessary for responding to whatever is causing the stress. This stress response is helpful when confronting imminent threats that occur only occasionally. It’s also important to know that when this stress response is triggered infrequently and for short periods of time, it generally poses no risk to your long-term health.
However, the body’s stress response becomes unhealthy when stress is persistent…as is often the case with work, family, social, and other chronic challenges.
This is because ongoing stress can result in excess cortisol production. Your body needs small amounts of cortisol to be healthy and to feel good; but when cortisol is produced in excess for prolonged periods of time, it becomes toxic. To make matters worse, if this goes on for long enough, the adrenal glands will eventually become fatigued to where they can no longer produce even the small amounts of cortisol that are necessary for good health.
All of the above increases the risk for developing dysregulated blood sugar and insulin resistance.
Modern-day stress is difficult to eliminate entirely, but it can be managed. Be judicious about the optional items you add to your to-do list, and be strategic about how you approach items that are truly obligatory.
And incorporate relaxation practices into your daily routine like meditation, deep breathing, yoga, taking a walk, or whatever helps you to clear your mind and calm your body.
Don’t Shortchange Your Sleep
Getting enough sleep is essential for maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, and good health overall.
On the flip side, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in appetite, an increase in cravings for refined carbohydrates, and impaired insulin sensitivity.
One of the best strategies for getting better sleep is to establish a consistent bedtime routine that gives your mind and your body time to relax and get ready for sleep. Create a comfortable sleep environment that is dark and at a comfortable temperature. Invest in a quality mattress. And limit the use of electronic devices before bedtime.
Make Sure Your Hormones Are Balanced
Keeping your hormones balanced helps with everything described above. When your hormones are balanced, you’ll have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight, you’ll have more energy for exercise, you’ll be less likely to suffer from insomnia, and you’ll have an easier time coping with stress.
If you think you may be suffering from hormone levels that are imbalanced or deficient, give us a call. We can test your levels, and if appropriate, provide hormone replacement therapy that is tailored to your body’s unique needs.
If desired and necessary, your treatment regimen can include medications like metformin and semaglutide that can balance blood sugar, combat insulin resistance, reduce appetite, and assist with weight loss.
Put It All Together for Your Long-Term Health
Balanced hormones, assistance with weight loss, and healthy lifestyle choices can all go a long way toward supporting healthy blood sugar levels.
And Renew Youth is here to help with all of the above. To learn more, call us at 800-859-7511 or use our easy contact form to schedule your free consultation.