There are a lot of things that influence blood sugar.  42 to be exact, according to Adam Brown from diatribe.org . If you’re keen to know what those are you can check out his handy chart here.

In the spirit of Diabetes Awareness Month and to share more about what its like to live with diabetes, I’ve put together my own short list based on personal trial and error. For those who don’t have diabetes and are just coming along for the ride, your blood sugar levels might also be influenced by these ‘things’ the only difference between you and someone with diabetes is. When your blood sugar rises your pancreas produces insulin to lower your blood sugar level, mine doesn’t. So unless I inject insulin or do something else to lower my level like exercise, I can’t just kick back and let my body do the work. When blood sugar levels go low in a non-diabetic , the liver kicks in with a drip feed of glycogen, to bring them back to homeostasis. My liver kicks in too, but as there is no insulin to meet the liver dump my blood sugar goes up again, hence the need for more insulin and round and round I go. Fun, fun fun…NOT!

So here’s my list in no particular order.

1. The Sun. Every time I lie in the sun for more than 20 minutes, I have higher levels for 24-48 hours afterwards. Apparently its the oxidative stress. It’s a double edged sword because if I avoid the sun I don’t get enough Vitamin D. I’ve worked out that if I limit exposure to 15-20 min and only sunbathe every two days I stay in range.
2. High Fat Foods. I absolutely love my avocados and olive oil. I also love Haloumi and Feta cheese. My blood sugar however is very fussy when it comes to what I eat when. I’ve learned to avoid fatty dairy products before bed because I go high over  night and for 24 hours after. Avocados are a little more friendly, they actually help me keep my blood sugar from tanking while I sleep. So I load up on a hefty avocado with my dinner. But sometimes it backfires and I am still high when I wake up. I’m still trying to work out how to dose for fat. I feel like if I could figure it out I’d eat pizza again.
3. Not enough sleep affects everything. Sleeping less than 7 hours a night for me definitely messes with my levels. I wake up about 1-2 times a night too so not sure what would happen to my levels if I was able to sleep through the night. I’d probably have lower levels in general.
4.  A Daily Walk can either reduce my blood sugar level, which can be a bonus when I’m high, or raise my blood sugar level which is not ideal. When I walk, for how long and at what pace is also a factor. Walking directly uses the thigh muscles which burn glucose for fuel. It’s suggested that when levels are higher, or you’ve had a carb heavy meal, a walk will help insulin to work more effectively and reduce blood sugar. In my case a long walk (over an hour) on flat terrain  raises my blood sugar whereas a short 20 minutes hike up and down hills reduces my levels.
5. Cleaning definitely drops my blood sugar in spades. All I have to do is look at the vacuum and I’m low. No joke!
6. Travel. This is also very specific to the type of travel. When we travel by car anywhere over long distances I have lows. When we fly I usually have lows and then struggle with a stubborn high when we land. Jet lag is included in travel and wreaks havoc.
7. Any kind of stressor like unexpected news, seeing a snake on the path, (that  happened yesterday) a loud noise, change in routine, fears, emotions, frustrations. So that covers the gamut right? All of this always gives me higher levels. Especially emotional outbursts.

The one thing that doesn’t affect my levels is my yoga practice. That includes postural yoga, breathing and meditation as well as adhering to an ayurvedic daily regime. No matter how often, or how intense the practice my levels stay steady. In fact they flat line. That’s why I personally use yoga as my goto when I’m getting stressed out about my blood sugar levels. It’s like pushing the reset button.

It may not lower a stubborn high or fix a scary low, but it will calm me down enough to handle it.

See you tomorrow

with great respect…