How to Lower Blood Sugar Safely: Everyday Steps

01Your plan

What a high reading means in your own care plan

The CDC explains that keeping blood sugar in your target range as much as possible helps prevent or delay serious health problems. Mayo Clinic notes that many things can make blood sugar change, sometimes quickly, including food, activity, medicines, illness, alcohol, hormones and stress.

A single high reading is a signal to look at what may have caused it and to follow the plan agreed with your diabetes team. Repeatedly high readings, or a high reading during illness, call for contacting that team. Blame is not helpful: in type 1 diabetes the body needs insulin, and in all types blood sugar is influenced by many factors beyond food.

04Monitoring

Monitoring and personal glucose targets

Blood sugar can be checked with a meter, using a small drop of blood, usually from a fingertip, or with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a sensor under the skin that measures it every few minutes. The CDC lists typical checking times as on waking before eating, before a meal, two hours after a meal and at bedtime, although how often you need to check depends on the type of diabetes and medicines; people using insulin may need to check more often.

The CDC gives typical targets of 80 to 130 mg/dL before a meal and less than 180 mg/dL two hours after the start of a meal, but stresses that targets may differ depending on age, other health problems and other factors. These are common targets for many people with diabetes, not universal normal values or diagnostic thresholds; agree your own targets with your care team.

05Meals

Balanced meals, portions and carbohydrate awareness

Both sources explain that carbohydrates have the biggest effect on blood sugar, because the body breaks them down into sugar. You can still eat carbohydrates; the right amount depends on age, weight, activity and other factors. Mayo Clinic recommends favoring fruits, vegetables and whole grains, whose fiber helps keep levels more stable, and eating fewer refined carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, sugary cereals, cakes, cookies, candy and chips.

Two common planning methods are carbohydrate counting and the plate method. With the plate method, Mayo Clinic suggests filling half the plate with nonstarchy vegetables, a quarter with lean protein and a quarter with healthy carbohydrates. The CDC adds: eat at regular times without skipping meals, control portions and choose foods lower in calories, saturated fat, sugar and salt. See also diet for type 2 diabetes and foods to avoid with type 2 diabetes.

06Drinks

Water and other drink choices

The CDC recommends drinking water instead of juice or soda. Mayo Clinic explains that sugar-sweetened drinks tend to be high in calories and low in nutrition and make blood sugar rise quickly, so they are best limited, except when used to treat low blood sugar.

Alcohol can cause low blood sugar shortly after drinking and for hours afterward, so it is not a way to lower high blood sugar. Mayo Clinic advises getting your healthcare professional’s agreement before drinking, never drinking on an empty stomach if you take insulin or other diabetes medicines, and checking blood sugar before bed. The CDC suggests limiting alcohol to no more than two drinks a day for men and one for women.

07Activity

Physical activity coordinated with medicines and meals

Mayo Clinic explains that active muscles use blood sugar for energy and that regular activity helps the body use insulin better; even light activities such as housework, gardening or walking can help. Most adults should aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, plus strength exercise 2 to 3 times a week. If you have not been active for a long time, your healthcare professional may want to check your health first.

If you take insulin or other diabetes medicines, exercise can cause low blood sugar, sometimes up to a day later, so Mayo Clinic advises checking before, during and after activity, carrying a quick source of sugar and agreeing on any adjustments with your team. Exercise is not a way to correct very high blood sugar when you are ill or have ketones.

For adults who want help turning these principles into a practical eating plan, our nutrition practice in Bilbao can work alongside your diabetes care team (consultations are in Spanish). It does not replace your doctor or endocrinology care, or urgent treatment.

08Medicines

Why medicine changes need a prescribed plan

Mayo Clinic explains that insulin and other diabetes medicines lower blood sugar when diet and exercise alone are not enough, and that how well they work depends on the timing and size of the dose. Too little food in relation to insulin can cause dangerously low blood sugar, and too much can raise it. Insulin that is stored badly or out of date may not work.

Changes to doses should follow a plan prescribed by your care team. During illness, Mayo Clinic notes that some medicines may need to be reduced or paused while long-acting insulin should not be stopped; these decisions belong in your individual sick-day plan. Before starting any new medicine, including over-the-counter products, ask your team or pharmacist how it may affect your blood sugar.

09Sources

Where the sources differ

The CDC page (May 2024) is a short overview of monitoring, targets and daily habits, while Mayo Clinic (January 2024) goes into more detail about meals, exercise, medicines, illness, alcohol, periods and menopause, and stress. Mayo Clinic gives specific figures for snacks and glucose before exercise and for bedtime readings after alcohol; these apply to people using insulin or certain medicines and should be personalized by the care team rather than copied.

The CDC states that people using a CGM still need to test daily with a meter to check accuracy; this depends on the device, and your team will advise what applies to you. Both sources agree that targets, carbohydrate amounts and testing frequency should be individualized. Neither recommends supplements, vinegar, cinnamon or other quick remedies to lower blood sugar.

10Summary

In summary

Lowering blood sugar safely depends on steady habits rather than quick fixes: regular monitoring, balanced meals with attention to carbohydrates and portions, water instead of sugary drinks, regular physical activity, managing stress and taking medicines as prescribed. Illness, stress, hormones and alcohol can all affect levels.

High blood sugar during illness, especially with ketones, vomiting or confusion, needs urgent medical help. Agree on personal targets and a sick-day plan with your care team. A simple sheet listing your targets, the actions your team has prescribed for high and low readings, and the contacts to call can make decisions easier when you need them.