How to Achieve Healthy Blood Sugar Levels

Diabetes, which affects more than 23 million Americans today and is rapidly on the rise, can strike anyone at any age. Serious complications can result if the disease, which sabotages your body's ability to process sugar correctly, is left untreated. Diabetics have a deficiency in, or resistance to, insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas and responsible for moving glucose (blood sugar) to the cells to fuel the body. The result: Blood-sugar levels can become dangerously high. Through treatment and lifestyle changes, however, glucose levels can be kept in check.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat the same amounts of food in the same time-frame each day. Maintaining a routine can help keep your blood-sugar levels in a normal range.

• 2

  Fill your diet with the right types of foods. Certain foods can throw your blood sugar out of whack. Eat a high-fiber diet packed with protein and good carbohydrates. In other words, eat vegetables, fruits, fish, eggs, grains and lean meats and avoid the processed foods.

• 3

  Exercise. Having an exercise routine that you follow regularly will help keep your blood-sugar levels in check along with keeping you physically fit and healthy. Exercise at least two to three hours a week by fast walking, swimming or bicycling to keep your heart rate up and your weight and blood-sugar levels down. Excess weight can make blood-sugar control more difficult.

• 4

  Take your diabetes medicine at the same time every day. Just like with your eating, it is important to keep yourself on a routine when taking your medicine. This will ensure that you are keeping a continuous stream of medicine in your body throughout the day.

• 5

  Change your medication if needed. If you do not believe your medication is working as well as it should to help control your blood sugar, talk to your doctor about changing the dosing.