24 Home Remedies for High Blood Sugar
High blood sugar is also called hyperglycemia. It’s a condition that normally happens when there is too much blood sugar (also called blood glucose) in your bloodstream.
Causes
The most common cause for high blood sugar is diabetes (whether it be prediabetes, type one, or type two). While diabetes is the most common, it can also result in severe illness, heart attack, Cushing’s Syndrome, hyperthyroidism, pancreatic cancer or pancreatitis, hormone-secreting tumors, and stroke.
Symptoms
High blood sugar can come with a need to urinate more often than normal, thirst, trouble with concentrating or thinking clearly, headaches, hunger, tiredness, and blurred vision.
If you do have diabetes or long lasting high blood sure there are consequences that can do serious harm. Long lasting hyperglycemia can lead to things like stroke, heart attacks, kidney failure, nerve damages, gum disease, eye diseases, and peripheral artery disease.
Home Remedies for High Blood Sugar
Most of you reading this are reading it because you do not wish to go to the doctor. With hyperglycemia, you must if your blood sugar does not lower into a safe or normal range within a couple of days.
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Exercise
This is one of the best and easiest ways to keep your blood levels right where they should be. You do have to be careful with when you exercise. Having high blood sugar is bad, but if there are ketones (byproducts of the break down of fat for energy when carb intake is low) then don’t exercise as it can actually increase your blood sugar. Try to exercise for about 150 minutes a week.
Rest when you need to. Exercise should help your body, not hurt it.
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Change Your Food Plan
Avoiding beverages with a lot of sugar, and frequent snacking can help with keeping your blood sugar down. Basically, if it has a lot of refined sugar or carbs in it, don’t eat it! This includes soda, candy, energy drinks, and bakery.
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Watch Your Insulin
Too much or not enough insulin can get your blood sugar too low and neither are good. If you are having frequent highs, talk to your doctor to get it adjusted. This tip is especially important for those who are prediabetic or diabetic.
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Sugar Substitutes
Refined sugar is bad in general, but it can also majorly spike your blood sugar. Natural sugars are better for you (think maple syrup and raw honey), but can still raise your blood sugar. The best thing you can eat, as far as sweeteners go, would be stevia.
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Avoid Alcohol
Drinking alcohol is one of the worst things you could possibly do for your blood sugar or diabetes. Beer is the worst as it is made of wheat and high in carbs as a result. Avoid these entirely if you are struggling with high blood sugar
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Grains in Moderation
Grains should be eaten sparingly because the large amounts of carbs are quickly broken into sugars; gluten can cause intestinal inflammation. If you often have stomach troubles, see a doctor see if you have a gluten intolerance.
If you want to continue eating grains often, switch to whole grains
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GMO
Foods with GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms)are known for promoting liver and kidney disease. Not eating packaged foods, soy, corn, and canola can be beneficial for your health. You can find foods that are either organic or foods that specifically state there is no GMO to add to your diet.
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Fiber
Fiber lessens how quickly glucose is absorbed, detoxifies, and helps you keep your blood sugar levels in check. Eat foods that high in fiber like berries, chia seeds and flax seeds, avocados, brussels, and peas.
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Avoid Hydrogenated Oils
Plant-based oils are supposed to liquids at room temperature. If the oil is not a liquid (or even semi-solid), that means that it has been processed and processed foods are bad because they have been cheated with chemicals, dyes, and cause health issues, which includes diabetes complications. Some of these oils to avoid include but are not limited to soybean and vegetable, cottonseed and canola.
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Magnesium
This is another substance that helps to keep your blood sugar in check while helping to improve the metabolism. Eat more pumpkin seeds, yogurt, spinach, almonds, chard, and black beans to see if it helps you at all.
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Chromium
Chromium strengthens how well your body deals with sugar so it also balances your blood sugar levels. Eat broccoli, green beans, grass-fed beef, raw cheese, and brewer’s yeast to add more chromium to your diet.
Eat green beans raw or cooked to take in more chromium
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Protein
Grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, bone broth, lentils, chicken, and eggs are all high in protein. Protein will slow sugar absorption. Try to eat some sort of protein with every meal.
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Cinnamon
Cinnamon increases sensitivity to insulin, lowers plasma and blood sugar levels, along with triglyceride and cholesterol. Drinking cinnamon tea or adding cinnamon to your meals can help to lower high blood sugar levels.
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Avoid Cow’s Milk
Do your best to not drink cow’s milk. It can raise blood sugar levels and increase intestinal inflammation. Instead of drinking cow’s milk, give goat or sheep’s milk a try. Other non-dairy sources include soy milk, rice milk, and coconut milk.
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Vitamin C
Vitamin C is excellent for keeping your blood sugar in a safer range while also being good for your skin. It is most commonly found in fruits, especially citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapefruit.
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Jamun
Jamun lowers your blood sugar and then helps to keep it level and even. Some people say that 100 grams of Jamun a day helps exponentially. However, it might be best to ask your doctor what dosage amounts since too low blood sugar is also dangerous.
Jamun is a popular sweet in India
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Basil
Basil leaves are known for helping to lower high blood sugars, in part because of all the antioxidants it has. The antioxidants and other compounds help the cells to know what to do with the insulin. To use basil, you can just add it to your food as a spice.
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Mango Leaves
Mango leaves can be used to make a tea just like most other teas. If you boil 15 mango leaves in water for a minute for each leaf, let it cool, and drink the tea at least once a day, it should help to regulate the blood sugar in your system.
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Fenugreek
High amounts of fiber keep blood sugar levels from getting too high, and it stops sugar from building up in your body’s organs. Drink fenugreek tea or add fenugreek seeds to salads to incorporate more of this food into your diet.
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Indian Gooseberry
Again, this is an amazing source of vitamin C which helps to lower high blood sugars. In addition, Indian gooseberry is also fantastic for helping your pancreas to produce insulin. Add more of this fruit to your diet to improve your high blood sugar levels.
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Bitter Gourd
Having lower blood sugar helps to deal with pancreatic insulin. Bitter gourd assists in controlling blood sugar and insulin levels. Like the other foods on this list, add this to your diet to see results.
Bitter gourds look a bit different from other types of gourds
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Curry Leaves
Curry leaves regulate sugar levels in your blood. You can simply add curry leaves to your meal dishes as a spice.
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Guava
This fruit is packed full of vitamin C and fiber, so it does wonders for keeping blood sugar levels where they should be and help to absorb sugar. Eat this fruit as often as you please to lower high blood sugar levels.
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Indian Lilac
Indian Lilac (also called neem) stimulates insulin production and activity. While this can be beneficial, it is strongly suggested that you speak to a doctor about how much to incorporate into your diet because it can mess with medications and insulin injections if you are taking too much.
Neem leaves are used in this home remedy
Which of these home remedies will you try to lower your high blood sugar levels? Comment below!
References
https://www.naturalfoodseries.com/17-home-remedies-diabetes/
https://www.medicinenet.com/hyperglycemia/article.htm
https://www.perfectketo.com/what-are-ketones/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperglycemia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373635
