7 Signs Your Blood Sugar Is Out Of Whack – And What To Do About It

Longer term, you might see changes in your weight, hormonal imbalances and more long-lasting mental health issues, not to mention the aforementioned chronic diseases that are so often fuelled by fluctuating blood sugar levels.

How to balance your blood sugar levels

Nutrition

Diet is one of the most influential factors when it comes to blood sugar – and the quickest way to address fluctuating levels is to remove excess sugar from the diet. “When our diet is full of sugar and quickly absorbed carbohydrates, we see bigger peaks and falls of insulin and blood sugar throughout the day,” says Stephenson. “If this continues, the body slowly becomes resistant to the effects of insulin and will need to release more of it to try and keep blood sugar stable – that’s when problems occur.”

As well as forgoing sugary foods and refined carbohydrates (opt for whole food or slow-release carbs instead), Stephenson recommends including adequate protein (think chicken, meat, eggs and tofu), fat and fibre onto your plate. It’s all about starting your day right, with a savoury, high protein and high fat breakfast to prevent blood sugar spikes throughout the day. Cereals, toast and pastries are a no-no.

It can also help to understand the glycemic index (or GI) of foods you’re eating because this is the “measure by which we evaluate the speed at which carbohydrate foods affect your blood sugar levels, if eaten alone”, says Norton. Examples of low GI foods include nuts, seeds, vegetables, proteins and fats, while high GI foods include white bread, cereals, white rice and pastries.

One final thing to be aware of is how you combine your foods – mixing carbohydrates with protein and fat can slow the glucose conversion down, which prevents drastic spikes. Inchauspé recommends starting each meal with a “vegetable starter”, since the fibre in vegetables coats the digestive tract, reducing its ability to absorb glucose from food. This, in turn, reduces blood sugar spikes, regardless of what you eat afterwards.

Intermittent fasting

Time-restricted eating techniques, such as intermittent fasting, can also help lessen insulin load, but Stephenson says that your overall nutrition is still the most important thing. “Eating excess sugar and refined carbohydrates on the days you’re not fasting isn’t going to be beneficial and could actually do more harm than good,” she points out.

Stress

If you’re suffering with chronic stress, then chances are you are also suffering with elevated blood sugar levels. “It’s why people often find it difficult to lose weight when they’re stressed, even if their diet seems to be balanced,” says Stephenson. “Anything you can do to diminish the impact of stress will have a knock-on effect on blood sugar.” Make time for things like meditation, mindfulness, yoga or breathwork – or all of them!

Exercise

Exercise is helpful in a number of ways. “Think of your muscles as your metabolic engines – when we have muscles that are metabolically active, we are able to burn more glucose as fuel, during exercise and at rest,” says Stephenson. “If we have very little muscle tone, we’ll be more prone to storing glucose as fat.” As well as ensuring you work on your muscle mass – via resistance workouts and weights – going for a walk after a meal has been scientifically proven to blunt the glucose response to meals rich in sugar or refined carbs.

Supplements

“Chromium, cinnamon, zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6 are some of my favourites for assisting with blood sugar levels,” says Sepel. “Finding a good combination of them can really help.”