Five Small Habits That May Help Your Blood Sugar

If your blood sugar number has crept up, you didn't fail. Bodies change with time, work, stress, what we eat and how we sleep, and most people were never shown what the research says.

At any one time, there's only about 4 grams of sugar, or glucose, in your bloodstream. That's roughly 1 teaspoon. Insulin moves it into your cells, where it's burned for energy or stored as glycogen, and when there's far more than the body needs, some can be turned into fat. When cells start to respond less to insulin, for reasons that include genes and extra body fat, that's called insulin resistance.

For many adults, blood sugar runs higher than is healthy, and that matters because too much glucose in the blood, over time, can cause damage. So here are five small habits that may help.

Here's what the research shows: a few small, ordinary habits have been tested in real trials. None of them is a promise. Some were studied in people without diabetes and some only in people with type 2 diabetes or higher blood sugar, and I'll say which. You choose which ones fit your life.

If you take medication for blood sugar or blood pressure, talk with your doctor before changing how you eat or move.

1. A short, easy walk soon after eating may help lower the after-meal rise

In small lab trials of people with and without type 2 diabetes, a walk started soon after a meal lowered the after-meal rise more than sitting, or walking before the meal. In these trials, starting sooner after eating made a bigger difference, so you might leave the cleanup until later.

After your biggest meal, you could try a lap of the block or a walk with the dog.

These were short, one-day lab studies of the after-meal curve, not long-term health.

2. Breaking up long sitting with light walking may help lower after-meal blood sugar

Getting up often for a short, light walk lowered after-meal glucose and insulin compared with sitting all day. Standing helped a little.

That can be as simple as a refill of your water mug, taking a call on your feet, a couple of flights of stairs, or a walk to the mailbox between tasks.

These were one-day lab trials. Still, getting up more often costs nothing to try.

3. Strength work at home, even a band during your favourite show

In randomized trials of adults with type 2 diabetes, training with inexpensive elastic resistance bands lowered A1C (a blood test that reflects your average blood sugar over the past 2 to 3 months) by about 0.4 points on average, a modest drop, and grip strength improved too. Several of those trials were done at home.

These findings come from people with type 2 diabetes, so if you don't have it, read this as what was studied, not a promise for you.

No gym needed. Strength work is anything that makes your muscles work against a load, and plenty of ordinary moments can do that. Here's a menu of ideas. Pick one or two that suit your day, and skip the rest:

• Calf raises while the kettle boils, holding the counter for balance.
• Wall push-ups while you wait for the coffee.
• Sit-to-stands from a kitchen chair, or easy squats, during the ads.
• A band looped around a chair leg for rows or presses during an episode of your favourite show, or at your desk between tasks.
• Walking to the store and carrying a carton of milk home in each hand.
• Taking the stairs a couple of extra times.
• Yard work like raking leaves or digging in the garden.
• Playing with the dog, or a game with the family, down on the floor and back up again.

Start light. If you have a heart or joint condition, check with your doctor before starting new exercise. Strength is worth building for its own sake.

One larger home trial found no change in A1C, though people did gain muscle. Building strength is still worth it for everyday things like stairs and getting up from a chair.

4. Five common foods, and an option that tends to raise blood sugar less

Researchers have tested how much hundreds of foods raise blood sugar over two hours, a measure called glycemic index (GI). In trials of people with diabetes, eating patterns built on lower-GI foods were linked with a modestly lower A1C.

These are some options to consider. The first three compare GI. The last two compare how much carbohydrate or sugar a food carries.

1. Instant mashed potato is high GI. Lentils as a side are low GI.
2. Jasmine white rice is high GI. Chickpeas, warmed with vegetables, are low GI.
3. Cornflakes are high GI. Porridge made from large flake rolled oats is low GI, though oat findings vary.
4. Potato chips are a common snack. Turkey bites, beef sticks and pork rinds have almost no carbohydrate, so they barely raise blood sugar. Many are salty, so the label is worth a look if you watch your sodium.
5. Orange juice tests low GI, but a glass carries a fair amount of sugar. Sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon carries almost none.

A quick word on these: GI measures how much a food raises blood sugar over two hours. It isn't a carb count, so low GI doesn't mean low carb. Lentils, chickpeas and oats still carry carbohydrate, so serving size still counts. If you eat low carb, a smaller portion or more vegetables on the plate are other options.

See where many of these and other everyday foods sit on Ascent's free pocket GI card (more on GI).

This is information, not a rule. Portion, ripeness, cooking and what you eat it with all change how a food acts, and the same food can act differently in different people. If you take medication, the note near the top applies here too.

If a swap appeals to you, it's yours to try or skip.

5. In people with type 2 diabetes, eating carbohydrate last was linked with a lower rise after meals

In small trials of adults with mostly mild type 2 diabetes, eating protein and vegetables before the starch was linked with lower blood sugar one hour after eating, and a very small A1C difference over time.

Same food, different order. Try it if it interests you.

It changes nothing you eat, so it's simple to test for yourself.

An honest note on the evidence

None of these studies is the last word, so here's what they did and didn't show.

• Walking after meals: one-day lab studies with a small number of people, and the researchers said the studies had real weak spots in how they were done. They looked at the after-meal curve, not long-term health.
• Breaking up sitting: one-day lab trials, so the evidence is moderate.
• Strength work: people with type 2 diabetes only, mostly small trials, and one larger home-based trial found no change in A1C, though people did gain muscle. So how the training is done may matter.
• GI: GI numbers come from lab tests of single foods, often in 10 people or fewer. The A1C finding comes from people with diabetes, and the trials varied a lot. In people without diabetes, the benefit of choosing foods by GI alone is less certain. Some of the researchers reported ties to the food industry, which is one more reason to treat these numbers as a guide.
• Eating carbohydrate last: studied in mild type 2 diabetes, mostly in small groups.

Where to start

Pick one. Try it for a week and notice how you feel. Small, repeatable moves are easier to keep, and you don't have to do it alone.

Tried before and stopped? If you've started walking after supper before and let it slide, that isn't a willpower problem. The hard part is making it fit your week.

If you'd like help picking the one that fits your days, and a plan built around your week, that's what the call is for.

The call is 15 minutes, free, by video. Bring any questions you have. There's no obligation and no pitch, just a chance to see if it's a fit.

Book Your Free Discovery Call

You're the climber. I'm your coach.

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