Methods to Lower Glucose

Lowering glucose -- your body's blood sugar levels -- is critical to staying healthy. When your blood glucose goes too high on a regular basis, you likely have diabetes. And diabetics need to maintain their glucose levels to keep their condition under control. Many diabetics take medications such as insulin to lower their glucose levels, but there are several other methods you can use, too.

Diet

• Avoiding simple sugars and carbohydrates is the first step toward lowering your blood glucose levels. Cutting out empty calorie items such as candy and soda makes the biggest difference, but eating more meals during the day and adding healthy protein helps, too.

  Protein-rich foods take your body longer to process than sugars and simple starches, and that means your blood sugar levels rise more slowly after eating. As the foods are processed there is also a slower decline in glucose levels, and that helps keep your blood sugar regulated.

  Eating five to six small meals each day instead of three large ones has the same effect. With multiple small meals, your body always has food to work on processing; thus, your glucose levels are maintained at more even levels. When you eat large meals infrequently, your blood sugar will drop dramatically in between meals, and rise quickly when you eat.

  Choose healthy protein-rich foods, plenty of leafy vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, and whole-grain bread and pasta. Try to avoid junk food high in sugar such as cake, candy or soda, and limit simple starches that turn to sugar in your body quickly. Simple starches include white bread, plain pasta and instant rice.

Exercise

• Being overweight is one of the primary contributing factors to diabetes and high blood glucose. Regular exercise helps you drop extra body weight that contributes to the problems, while also helping your body process the sugars you eat more readily.

Herbs

• Herbal remedies help lower blood glucose naturally. One well-known antibiotic herb known as golden seal is also a natural form of insulin. Taking this herbal supplement daily is one method of lowering your glucose levels.

  A combined effort of dietary changes, regular exercise and healthy herbal supplements is an excellent overall approach to keeping your glucose at healthy levels.