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Daily habits — from what you eat for breakfast to how much you sleep — can have a significant impact on blood sugar levels, according to a metabolic health expert.
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is essential for energy, organ function and overall metabolic health, while frequent or prolonged spikes and dips can contribute to health complications.
Jim LaValle, a Texas-based clinical pharmacist and metabolic medicine expert, told Fox News Digital that understanding how food, exercise, sleep and stress affect blood sugar is key to controlling levels.
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LaValle recommends monitoring blood sugar after meals, called postprandial blood sugar, to better understand how different foods, drinks and eating habits affect blood sugar.
“Do I itch more when eating rice, or do I itch more when eating quinoa? How much can I eat?” he said. “I think it’s a fundamental question.”
Stable glucose levels are essential for energy, organ function and overall metabolic balance, while spikes and dips can contribute to long-term health effects. (iStock)
The metabolic health expert noted that insulin resistance occurs when cells become less sensitive to insulin, a process that can be influenced by inflammation in the body.
Normally, insulin helps move glucose from the bloodstream to muscle cells, where it can be stored as glycogen for later use.
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LaValle said he’s a “strong believer” in a high-protein breakfast over a high-carb breakfast, pointing to naturally high cortisol levels in the morning and their potential impact on blood sugar levels.
“You need to watch the amount of sugars in foods, the amount of refined carbohydrates you (eat),” he added.
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According to LaValle, one of the simplest lifestyle habits to help lower blood sugar is to walk 10 minutes after eating. Regular exercise is an “obvious” healthy practice, he added, although he acknowledges it’s not easy for everyone.
The expert recommends taking a 10-minute walk after eating to balance blood sugar levels. (iStock)
“It’s easy to say ‘eat better, exercise better, sleep better,’ but people work 16-hour days or are single parents, they go home, open their pantry and destroy a bag of cookies because that’s the first thing they can eat and their blood sugar drops,” he said.
Even a little movement after eating can be beneficial, LaValle said, especially in a modern world that “eliminates the need to move.”
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LaValle also stressed the importance of managing stress, which can contribute to insulin resistance.
Along with a healthy diet, exercise and stress management, getting enough sleep is “huge for glucose regulation,” he added.
“You need to watch the amount of sugars in foods and the amount of refined carbohydrates you (eat),” the expert advised. (iStock)
“When you’re not sleeping and you’re not getting enough rest to reset your body for the next day…all of these hormones that are supposed to be released are off-kilter,” LaValle said, noting that insulin regulation is particularly affected by insufficient sleep.
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LaValle noted that sleep apnea is often associated with conditions such as diabetes, prediabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, highlighting the importance of healthy sleep habits.
Hyperarousal of the brain can contribute to insomnia, LaValle added.
Sleep hygiene is important for controlling weight and stress, the expert said. (iStock)
For someone who is “excited all day,” feeling overcommitted and anxious, this heightened state of stress can disrupt sleep and, therefore, interfere with glucose regulation.
Insufficient sleep can also affect appetite and eating behaviors, potentially making blood sugar management more difficult.
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“Then you’ll start to gain weight, and when you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll have to eat more to fuel your brain,” LaValle warned.
“So you’re eating more, you’re not packing efficiently, you’re moving less…and those are things you have control over.”
Gn Health
