How to Keep Glucose Levels Stable

The CGM Blog

How to Keep Glucose Levels Stable

Discover effective strategies on how to keep glucose levels stable. Dive into a comprehensive guide that prioritizes your health and well-being.

When you live with diabetes, managing your blood sugar is a 24/7 job that can sometimes feel confusing and overwhelming. You may notice that your blood sugar level changes from one day to the next even if you follow your regular routines. Learning what might influence your blood sugar can give you insight into ways to keep your glucose levels stable and increase the time you spend in your ideal glucose range.

What is Glucose?

Glucose is a type of sugar molecule that our bodies use for energy.¹ Glucose comes from carbohydrates in the foods and beverages we consume. When we digest carbs, they break down into glucose which enters the bloodstream so that it can be used for energy in the rest of the body.¹ Glucose comes from many different foods, not just those you might think of as carbs. Fruits contain different types of sugar that break down into glucose in the body. Many dairy products have lactose in them, another kind of sugar that turns into glucose through digestion.¹

Understanding Glucose Management

Many factors influence glucose levels. It’s not always easy to tell what causes your glucose to change throughout the day or during the night. You may be most familiar with the effect that food and exercise have on blood sugar. However, glucose levels are also influenced by things we don’t always have control over. This includes other biological processes within the body as well as external circumstances in our lives.

Illustration of a Dexcom G7 user reviewing TIR

Biological factors, such as how much sleep you get, being sick, experiencing hormonal changes (including those that occur during menstruation), and even your gut microbiome, play a role. These factors influence the way the body manages glucose.² External circumstances such as experiencing a stressful life event, going out in hot weather, or changing altitudes during a flight can also influence your glucose.^2-4 Online diabetes publication diaTribe lists 42 factors that can affect glucose on an everyday basis, which also includes what time of day you exercise, the vitamins you’re taking, whether you have allergies, and more.

You may also be using insulin or glucose medications to help regulate your glucose levels. It’s important to talk to your doctor about how these treatments work to help you manage your glucose. Different types of insulin do different jobs in the body. Similarly, not all glucose medications work the same. Your doctor or a diabetes educator can help you learn how to correctly dose your insulin or glucose medications to best support your diabetes management.

Recommended Glucose Levels for People Living with Diabetes

You and your doctor will work together to determine a target glucose range. Keeping your levels within that range can help you feel your best as often as possible and decrease the risk of diabetes complications.⁵ Diabetes Canada recommends a target glucose range of 3.9 mmol/L to 10.0 mmol/L for most adults living with T1D or T2D.⁶ Along with working to spend more time in your target glucose range, Diabetes Canada also recommends minimizing the duration of hypoglycemia.⁶ This means treating lows throughout the day and managing nighttime hypos that may occur while you’re asleep.

Your doctor will likely check on your glucose management at your regular clinic appointments by looking at your A1C test results. An A1C test is a blood test that measures your average glucose levels over the previous three months.⁶ Individuals living with T2D may be at greater risk of having high glucose levels and might aim to lower their A1C.³ Conversely, low glucose levels are more common in people living with T1D. For most individuals living with T1D or T2D, Diabetes Canada recommends maintaining an A1C less than or equal to 7.0%.⁶

What Foods Keep Blood Sugar Stable?

Your doctor and diabetes dietitian can help you determine a diet plan to help you keep your glucose levels in your target range. Diabetes Canada recommends that individuals living with diabetes choose foods with a lower glycemic index more often.⁸ The glycemic index (GI) is a scale that ranks foods out of 100 based on how much and how fast they raise blood sugar. A higher GI number means that a food increases glucose levels quickly or significantly after you eat it. The GI also takes into account the fat and fibre content of a food. Typically, the more fibre and fat a food has, the lower its GI will be.⁹

Grains and bread, fruits, vegetables, legumes, dairy products, and many processed foods have a GI number as they contain carbohydrates and other sources of glucose. Meat, poultry, and fish don’t have a GI because they don’t contain carbohydrates.⁸

When it comes to stabilizing your glucose levels, how you eat can be just as important as what you eat. It’s a good idea to eat a variety of foods to support consistent glucose levels, but it can also be helpful to consider which foods you’re eating together and when you’re eating throughout the day. Sticking to a regular meal schedule may help you stabilize your glucose throughout the day and night.¹⁰

Mixing medium and high GI foods with foods that provide fat and fibre can slow down the digestion of glucose. This can prevent rapid spikes in glucose after eating.¹¹Studies have shown that eating foods that contain fibre, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, can play an important role in glucose regulation and overall diabetes management.¹²

How Does Physical Activity Affect Glucose Levels?

Movement and exercise can also help you regulate your glucose levels and lower your A1C. Diabetes Canada recommends that all individuals living with diabetes get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity over three days every week—without skipping more than two days in a row—including two to three days of resistance training.¹³

Research has shown that getting the recommended amount of exercise each week reduces A1C levels in individuals living with T2D. Adding in regular resistance training—such as lifting weights or body-weight exercises like simple arm raises or squats—decreases insulin resistance in those living with T2D.¹³ Doing resistance training at least twice a week in combination with cardio exercise has been shown to reduce A1C more significantly than just focusing on one or the other.¹³

Exercise can also lower glucose levels in those living with T1D, which can sometimes make it more difficult to stabilize glucose. For individuals using insulin therapy, including those living with T1D, it’s important to pay attention to how activity impacts glucose.¹⁴When we’re active, muscles can use glucose without needing insulin at all, which can quickly lower your blood sugar.¹⁴ Prolonged aerobic exercise (like running, cycling, or swimming) can keep glucose levels low for 24 hours or more.¹⁴ On the other hand, intense physical activity may activate the body’s stress response which tells the liver to release stored glucose, leading to a spike in blood sugar.¹⁸

It’s a good idea to talk to your doctor about what activities are right for you and your diabetes care plan. Explore options that feel fun for you and give you the opportunity to connect with your community. Try joining a local walking group or yoga class. At home, put on some music and dance with your family while making dinner or do some gentle stretching while you watch TV in the evening. If you’re new to exercise, start wherever you can. Simply engaging in several shorter movement sessions of at least 10 minutes throughout the day can make a difference.¹⁶

Monitoring Your Glucose Can Help You Manage It

One of the proven ways to help keep glucose stable is to closely monitor your levels with frequent readings.^18-21 A continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system, such as the Dexcom G7 CGM System, can provide real-time glucose readings in the palm of your hand on a compatible smart device or receiver up to every five minutes, without the need for routine fingersticks.^*†

Switching from a blood glucose meter (BGM) to a Dexcom CGM System has been shown to significantly improve glycemic control, decreasing A1C and increasing time spent in your target glucose range.1^7-22BGMs can only show you a snapshot of your glucose levels the moment you prick your finger, making it difficult to see how your glucose is changing in between tests. It can also be a challenge to monitor and manage your blood sugar at night. Because pricking your finger can be uncomfortable, there’s likely an upper limit to how many tests you do each day.

Dexcom CGM Systems provide far more readings than a BGM. Note that Dexcom CGM systems measures glucose in the interstitial fluids surrounding calls rather than blood glucose. With more readings, you can spot patterns in your glucose data and pinpoint when changes happened. You can also get a little extra peace of mind around detecting lows during your busy day and while you sleep. Dexcom G7 can provide a predictive alert that can let you know up to 20 minutes before you’re likely to go below 3.1 mmol/L, empowering you to take action to prevent lows before they happen. It can also show you whether your glucose is trending up or down at a glance so that you can be proactive about shifts in your glucose in the moment.

Learn more about Dexcom G7

* For a list of compatible smart devices, please visit www.dexcom.com/compatibility.
† If your glucose alerts and readings do not match symptoms or expectations, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions.

1 Hantzidiamantis PJ, et. al. Physiology, Glucose. StatPearls Publishing. Updated September 20, 2021. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545201/
2 Brown A. 42 Factors That Affect Blood Glucose?! A Surprising Update. diaTribe. Updated September 29, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://diatribe.org/42-factors-affect-blood-glucose-surprising-update
3 Stress and diabetes. Diabetes UK. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/emotions/stress
4 Hot Weather and Diabetes – Staying Safe in the Heat. Diabetes.co.uk. Reviewed January 25, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-and-hot-weather.html
5 Uğurlu M. Flight and diabetes. Anatol J Cardiol. 2021;25(Suppl 1):20-23. doi:10.5152/AnatolJCardiol.2021.S108
6 Imran AS, et. al. Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada: Targets for Glycemic Control. Can J Diabetes 2018:42(S42–S46). doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2017.10.030
7 All About Your A1C. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Reviewed September 30, 2022. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/managing-blood-sugar/a1c.html
8 Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Glucose). American Diabetes Association. Accessed January 18 2024. https://diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-care/hypoglycemia
9 The glycemic index (GI. Diabetes Canada. Updated December 6, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.diabetes.ca/resources/tools---resources/the-glycemic-index-(gi)
10 The lowdown on glycemic index and glycemic load. Harvard Health Publishing. August 2, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-lowdown-on-glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load
11 Frost A. Time to Eat? Why Timing Matters for People With Diabetes. diaTribe. March 6, 2023. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://diatribe.org/time-eat-why-timing-matters-people-diabetes
12 Carbs, Protein and Fats – Their Effect on Glucose Levels. Joslin Diabetes Center. July 8, 2021. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.joslin.org/patient-care/diabetes-education/diabetes-learning-center/carbs-protein-and-fats-their-effect
13 Reynolds AN, et al. Dietary fibre and whole grains in diabetes management: Systematic review and meta-analyses. PLoS Med. 2020;17(3):e1003053. Published 2020 Mar 6. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003053
14 Sigal RJ, et al. Diabetes Canada 2018 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada: Physical Activity and Diabetes. Can J Diabetes. 2018;42 Suppl 1:S54-S63. doi:10.1016/j.jcjd.2017.10.008
15 Blood Glucose and Exercise. American Diabetes Association. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://www.diabetes.org/healthy-living/fitness/getting-started-safely/blood-glucose-and-exercise
16 Epinephrine (Adrenaline). Cleveland Clinic. Reviewed March 27, 2022. Accessed December 6, 2023. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22611-epinephrine-adrenaline
17 Exercise and activity. Diabetes Canada. Accessed December 13, 2023. https://www.diabetes.ca/nutrition---fitness/exercise---activity
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19 Beck RW, et al. Ann Intern Med. 2017;167(6):365-374.
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22 Welsh JB, et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2022:19322968221099879.