If you start having to take more medications, your blood sugar levels may look better, but this is actually an indicator that your diabetes is getting worse.
The good news is, there are natural ways to lower blood sugar and A1c. These natural ways can be more effective than medications, especially when combined together.
Start today and work on putting the following strategies in place.
1. Cut the carbs
Compared to other macronutrients, carbohydrates are the nutrient that has the greatest influence on blood glucose levels.
If you reduce your carbohydrate intake, you will see your blood sugar and A1c levels lower naturally.
TIP: If you want to get a better result faster, try cutting out the highest carb foods: starches such as pasta, rice, potatoes, breads and cereals. Test your levels and you will see they come down fast!
2. Take proven natural supplements to lower A1c
*Always consult your doctor before taking supplements, especially if you are taking medications.
There are some natural supplements with proven effectiveness for lowering blood sugar and A1c. For instance, magnesium, vitamin D, and milk thistle could all be beneficial.
However, the one with the best research is Berberine.
Berberine has been around for a long time – being used in folk medicine, along with traditional Chinese, Indian and Middle-Eastern medicine for over 400 years.
Studies show it can be as effective as metformin so it can be a great substitute for those who have stomach upsets or nausea with metformin, or those who want to lower A1c naturally without medication.
Over the course of 13 weeks, a comparison of Berberine against Metformin in people with type 2 diabetes, found:
- Berberine lowered A1c by 1.99%
- Metformin lowered A1c by 1.53%
Check with your doctor; you may also be able to take berberine alongside other oral medications for diabetes.
3. Move more
Exercise improves your bodies overall metabolism and improves insulin sensitivity.
Aim for a combination of resistance and strength exercises – weights, pilates, or yoga; with aerobic exercise – walking, swimming, dancing, boxing or jogging.
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4. Increase your fiber intake
Dietary fiber is important for generating good gut bacteria, which play a powerful role in helping to reduce blood sugar, inflammation and cholesterol.
The recommended daily fiber is a minimum of 25 g for women and 30 g for men. Most people don’t eat enough fiber-rich foods, so try to include more in your menu.
5. Eat nutrient dense foods
Nutrient dense foods are those that come directly from nature, the way food was intended to be!
This includes healthy carbs like non starchy vegetables, meats, poultry, fish and seafood, dairy products, nuts, seeds and so forth.
The key is to head to the fresh food section of the grocery store and skip walking down the aisles, which tend to be full of processed and packaged foods.
6. Avoid processed foods
See that wise statement above? It’s a crazy thought but makes total sense.
Our bodies are natural entities and thrive best on natural, nutrient dense whole foods.
Processed foods often contain large amounts of added sugar, salt and additives that interfere with the natural synergy of our bodies metabolism.
Avoiding processed foods as much as possible will lead to incredible results!
7. Choose carbs wisely
Let’s get back to the carbs again, because choosing carbs wisely is the number one key strategy to lowering blood sugar and A1c naturally.
As we said above, the highest carb foods are the starchy foods: pasta, rice, potatoes, breads and cereals. If you can avoid or at least minimize these you will get the best results with your blood sugar and A1c naturally.
Instead, choose the healthiest types of carbs – vegetables!
Vegetables are naturally low in carbs and contain fiber, vitamin, minerals, polyphenols and compounds that help boost optimal health, naturally.
There is an abundant range of colorful vegetables to choose from and you can load up your plate with them and feel highly satisfied, while at the same time lowering blood sugar and A1c naturally.
RECAP
7 natural ways to lower blood sugar and A1c are to:
- Cut the carbs – as carbs are the nutrient with the biggest impact on blood sugar and A1c
- Include a natural supplement – consult with your doctor and give berberine a try
- Move more – include a variety of exercises to improve your metabolism and insulin sensitivity
- Eat more fiber – women aim for 25g a day, men 30g a day
- Choose nutrient dense whole foods – head to the fresh food section of the grocery store
- Avoid processed foods – they are not designed for our bodies
- Choose carbs wisely – avoid high carb starchy foods and focus on the best carbs for your body – vegetables!
If you start today and combine the above strategies, you will see your blood sugar and A1c improve dramatically!
For real, these strategies do work:
Sheryl (4 yrs following our plans) said: “My health has improved dramatically. At 70 years old, my HbA1C continues to be under control. My cholesterol continues to be controlled. I maintain lower medication.”
Need help to lower blood sugar and A1c naturally? Join Us As A Member Today – we’ll support you to achieve and maintain your health results!
As a predibitic should I count total carbs or net carbs?
Hi Alison, We generally recommend net carbs as this is the available amount of carbohydrates your body digests. But they can both be useful measures. Read more about total vs net carbs here.
Thanks I going to do what is advised, I’m very serious about lowering my blood sugar levels, taking advice is what I needed.thanks
I will TRY TO EAT RIGHT, I AM TYPE 2 DIABETIC, and it been very HARD for me to eat right , I AM 66 years old and I have tried to exercise by walking, lower back begins to ache so I THINK I MIGHT BE A LITTLE OVERWEIGHT, about 15 lbs. again Thank you for reading my Comment,
Great advice. This could save millions of people from having Diabetes. Thanks so much.
I had cut out most grains, bread, ect. Including fruits beyound berries. And suceeded in knocking A1c down from 9.7 to low as 7.2. But it never whent lower than 7.1 and always stayed in the about 7 range. This was frustrating because I eat many spreads made by delies (hummus, white fish salad, chicken liver, ect.).
My biggest frustration remained having a crackers to use for spreads. Carrots and celery worked, but I recently started using cucumbers, my recent A1c test for the first time went to 6.7. I started poking around and found some information implying cucumbers may have been responsible, not only because they were low carb and mostly water but because they might have some blood sugar lowering properties themselves. It doesn’t appear there is enough medical evidence to say that, butI want to suggest to people that adding cucumbers to deit may give even better blood glucose numbers then previously. I noticed the change on my monitoring numbers within two weeks of regularly adding cucumber to my diet. Just suggesting others should try this.
Well done Elliot! We often recommend cucumber crackers to people – they are fresh and delicious!
Thanks a lot love the advice