7 Ways to Naturally Balance Blood Sugar

If you experience afternoon crashes, intense cravings, brain fog, fatigue, unexplained weight gain or middle-of-the-night wakings – blood sugar imbalance could be to blame! 

Before you stop reading because you think blood sugar balance is only for those with PCOS or diabetes, I want to fill you in on a secret: Blood sugar imbalance is one of the most common imbalances I see in healthy people, including those with normal weight. It causes stress on the body and can lead to more serious health conditions like autoimmune disorders, type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammation, anxiety, and hormonal imbalances. 

Also, more than 80% of those with prediabetes (1 in 3 American adults) don’t even know they have it. High blood sugar is a serious but common problem. It had many of my patients wondering how to naturally balance their blood sugar to improve their health and decrease their chances of developing diabetes or other blood sugar related disorders. 

You could be doing all the “right things” in your healing journey, like prioritizing sleep, taking supplements, and doing detox protocols, but optimal health is difficult to achieve if your blood sugar is too high or too low.

How Do I Know If I Have Blood Sugar Issues?

Lab work like fasting glucose, hemoglobin A1C and fasting insulin are good markers for knowing more about your blood sugar, and I offer these lab tests to TDW Community members. 

However, conventional medicine’s “normal” blood sugar ranges aren’t optimal and greatly differ from a functional medicine perspective. See how the insulin of 20.7 on the bottom is even in the green!

Also, wearing a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for a short period can show real-time blood sugar data. What surprised me the most when I wore my CGM, was how not just food, but stress and sickness affect blood sugar!

I’ve tested thousands of patients who have shown blood sugar imbalances, which is why I believe most people – regardless of if they had lab work done or not – can benefit from understanding how to balance blood sugar in our modern society.

How Can I Naturally Balance My Blood Sugar?

We’re going to dive into blood sugar balance and the many ways you can support blood sugar stability. The wonderful news is, most of these steps are actionable, free and available to anyone! They just take a little mindfulness, planning and/or intention. 

1. Eat a blood sugar balancing diet as much as possible. 

Food is the first place I turn when patients are looking to improve their blood sugar balance. After all, the food we consume is what ultimately breaks down into glucose, or blood sugar. 

My first suggestion is to cut, or at least significantly reduce, foods with added sugars or foods that are highly refined. Refined flours and sugar (in any form!) cause huge spikes in blood sugar. When these large spikes happen, crashes usually follow. It can be difficult to regain blood sugar control once the roller coaster has started. 

Choose whole food sweets such as low glycemic berries instead of refined and processed desserts. 

Go with complex carbohydrates that take longer to digest instead of simple carbs that immediately spike blood sugar. This means trading things like bread, crackers and pasta for things like legumes, root veggies and squash. 

2. No naked carbs. 

Basically, this just means that you shouldn’t eat your carbs solo. Eat your carbs alongside protein and/or fat because protein and fat will dampen the blood sugar spike from whatever carb you’re eating with them. 

Practically, this means if you’re having some sort of toast (even a high quality bread like AWG Bakery – use code TAYLORDUKES10), then you’ll want to add some ghee, grass-fed butter or nut butter on top. If you’re having fresh fruit, eat it with a small handful of mixed nuts. If you’re having crackers (again, even healthier choices like Simple Mills), then make sure you’re having a high quality raw cheese, some lunch meat or something like a Chomps stick with them. 

3. Aim for 20-30 grams of protein at breakfast. 

Starting your day with a protein rich meal is beneficial on several fronts:

• It decreases the likelihood of beginning your day with a blood sugar spike/crash, which makes it harder to regain control as the day goes on 
• It decreases cravings throughout the day
• It decreases the likelihood of overeating late at night
• It allows you to start your day feeling energized and full instead of shaky and looking for snacks mid morning
• It sets your body up for hormonal balance
• It sets you up for more balanced blood sugar throughout the rest of the day

My favorite way to hit my breakfast protein mark is with a high-quality protein smoothie. You could also do eggs, some sort of breakfast meat (we love Primal Pastures – use code TAYLORDUKESWELLNESS), or even stir protein powder into coconut yogurt, oatmeal or your warm beverage of choice!

4. Reduce stress. 

Stress causes a spike in the “stress hormone” cortisol. When cortisol spikes, it can signal to the muscles to dump stored sugar into the bloodstream. This is essentially your body sensing danger and dumping “energy” in the form of glucose into the blood stream so you can RUN! 

When we manage our stress in healthy, positive ways, we are able to avoid these large cortisol spikes and glucose dumps. While stress management is individual to each person, here are some ideas on how to manage stress to get you started:

• Read, pray and/or journal
• Move your body – a walk, run, workout class
• See a counselor
• Talk to a loved one
• Deep breathing exercises
• Go to bed early
• Play

It’s an added bonus that when you improve the way you deal with stress, it will benefit your health even beyond your blood sugar balance!

5. Eat balanced meals. 

Blood-sugar balancing meals include clean proteins, healthy fats and plenty of vegetables. As we talked about earlier, protein and fat are what will keep your blood sugar from spiking, even if you’re eating carbs at your meal. 

It doesn’t have to be rocket science. 

1. Pick a favorite clean protein – roasted chicken, salmon, a burger, eggs or more.
2. Pair it with some sort of veggie and healthy fat. Some of my favorite veggies are broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, squash, sauteed greens and bell peppers. I either coat them in ghee and roast them, sauté them on the stovetop in avocado oil, or drizzle them in a high quality olive oil (my favorite is Kasandrinos). 
3. Now that you have a clean protein, healthy fat and some veggies, feel free to accessorize with better carb choices like sweet potatoes, quinoa, lentil pasta or more. 

Here are a few favorite recipes:

• BBQ Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
• One-pot Chicken Chowder
• High Protein Turkey Ranch Wraps
• Brunch Breakfast Casserole
• Chicken Salad

6. Engage in some sort of movement daily. 

This one is common sense when you think about how your body works. Muscles use glucose, or blood sugar, as fuel for energy. When we move our body and use our muscles, they naturally eat up more glucose, which lowers our overall blood sugar levels. 

In particular, studies have found that light activity after a meal can improve the body’s glucose response. In other words, taking a walk or going for a bike ride or some other type of movement after a meal can lower your post-meal blood glucose level. 

7. Eat mindfully. 

Have you ever found yourself mindfully munching away with your hand inside a bag of something crunchy? We’ve all probably been guilty of mindlessly eating at some point! Whether it’s nerves, boredom, or habit, eating without thinking can be the culprit behind unnecessary blood sugar spikes throughout the day. 

I challenge my clients to eat more mindfully. Turn off the tv and put away the phone while eating. Don’t eat in a car or standing up. Chew your food! Put down your fork in between bites. Stay away from late night snacking or grazing all day long. Sit down for your meals and snacks, and actually put your food on a plate. 

These are all tiny tips for eating more mindfully. Mindful eating can transform your digestion, improve your health, and promote blood sugar balance when it becomes a habit. It puts your body in a state of calm while eating, which is beneficial for digestion and blood sugar regulation. It also does away with unnecessary food consumption or those constant blood sugar spikes throughout the day from all day snacking. 

Seven steps to more balanced blood sugar! I hope you feel empowered by these easy-to-implement tips. I promise that if you practice them consistently over time, they will benefit not just your blood sugar balance, but your overall well-being. 

Want More Support?

In the TDW Community, I’ve shared with members how to rebalance blood sugar to kick cravings, get back their energy, optimize body weight, and feel their best! When you join, you’ll get immediate access to exclusive content from a jam-packed guide to an intro video from me and more. My team and I spent hours on these sources to make blood sugar balancing easy to follow and implement in your life.

Our guide dives into how blood sugar affects your well-being and gives you practical tips to balance blood sugar. It includes some of the following:

• What happens when blood sugar isn’t balanced
• Blood sugar balance quiz – this is great for anyone who can’t afford lab testing but wants to know if blood sugar balancing is right for them
• Nutrition tips for blood sugar balance, including a fun protein challenge
• Lifestyle tips for blood sugar balance
• And more!

Learn more about the TDW Community member perks here.