Two easy ways to lower your blood sugar
Around 90 million folks in the U.S. take metformin to treat Type 2 diabetes. And recent research shows that it offers many added benefits: It helps folks with prediabetes avoid progression to full-blown Type 2, helps protect the heart, reduces the risk of stroke and lowers the risk of some cancers and of dementia in folks with diabetes.
But a new study shows that if you want it to be most effective in managing your prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes and in conveying all the benefits that come from that, timing is everything. Although it has long been recommended that metformin be taken with meals, research published in the journal Diabetologia shows that taking it 30 to 60 minutes before eating significantly improves blood sugar levels after eating.
That’s because that timing gives it a chance to reduce blood sugar levels as well as increase levels of a hormone (GLP-1) that decreases hunger.
Those benefits are muted if the medication is taken with food, instead of before. So, talk to your doctor about trying this new routine and monitoring your glucose levels to see if it benefits you, too.
Another unsweet tale about artificial sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners were heralded as a solution to American’s sugar addiction. After all, the average person consumes 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day, according to the American Heart Association — and that spells an epidemic of chronic inflammation, overweight, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and even psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Unfortunately, we now know that artificial sweeteners come with their own risks. They can alter the bacteria in your gut biome, changing how they function, and making glucose control difficult. Research also indicates that women who drink more than 24 ounces of artificially sweetened beverages a day are at increased risk for stroke.
And the most recent findings come from a series of studies out of the Cleveland Clinic that found that xylitol — a common artificial sweetener in diabetic treats, gums and toothpastes — raises the risk of blood clots and heart attack.
Giving up added sugars and artificial sweeteners can be hard. Our recommendation: Start by ditching sweetened beverages of all kinds. Substitute water, coffee and tea, hot or iced — with no added sugar.