6 factors that significantly affect your blood sugar levels.

How to keep your blood sugar at an optimal level? There are certain key factors that directly affect your blood sugar and metabolic health. Here are seven factors to pay attention to.

Diet

Our genetics and the composition of our microbiomes are unique, so one particular food can affect our bodies very differently.

Whenever possible, choose foods that are unlikely to raise blood sugar, and prefer foods rich in micronutrients, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics.

Nevertheless, there are some universal truths about food’s impact on blood sugar. When you eat food containing carbohydrates, your digestive system breaks it down into sugars, including glucose, which can be used for energy. Simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and refined flours, are processed easily, so glucose quickly enters your bloodstream; more complex ones, like whole grains or fruits and vegetables, take longer to digest. While they eventually break down into sugars that enter the bloodstream, this happens more slowly, leading to more stable blood sugar levels.

Fiber, which passes through your body mostly undigested, slows glucose absorption. Proteins and fats trigger the release of cholecystokinin, which keeps food in your stomach longer and prevents your bloodstream from being rapidly flooded with glucose.

Foods that combine both fiber and protein—such as beans, legumes, and nuts—can be especially helpful for keeping blood sugar stable, partly because fiber slows the movement of food through your digestive tract.

Finally, the order in which you eat food can make a difference to your blood sugar response. Studies show that eating fats and proteins before carbohydrates can blunt the glucose spike.

In summary: Try to limit your intake of carbohydrates and sugars. Whenever possible, choose foods that are unlikely to raise blood sugar, and prefer clean and healthy foods that are rich in micronutrients, fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, and probiotics.

Exercise

Exercise provides both short-term and long-term benefits for metabolic health. In the short term, it helps move glucose from your bloodstream into your cells, which is why moderate exercise after meals can help reduce blood sugar spikes.

When you are active, your muscles need glucose. Although they have access to some stored glucose (in the form of glycogen), they first try to take it from your bloodstream instead of using their reserves. Your pancreas then releases insulin, which allows sugar to move from the blood into the cells. Exercise makes your cells more sensitive to insulin and improves the movement of sugar into the cells.

A study compared the effects of 15-minute walks after each meal with 45-minute daily walks in older adults and found that both short and long exercise routines improved blood sugar control over 24 hours compared to days when participants did not walk, likely because their cells used insulin more effectively during that time.

In the long term, regular physical activity helps partly because it increases the number of muscle cells, which means more mitochondria to turn glucose into energy. Regular exercise also encourages the liver to metabolize glucose more efficiently and reduce insulin clearance, which may help improve glycemic variability. In other words, your muscles are prepared to absorb more glucose.

Too little activity has the opposite effect. Several studies have linked too much sitting during the day with higher levels of inflammation and greater insulin resistance. And while some forms of intense exercise, such as HIIT or strength training, may cause temporary increases in glucose, this effect is short-lived and does not reduce the long-term metabolic health benefits of exercise.

What you can do: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise five days a week, as recommended by the World Health Organization. If possible, schedule your activity after meals, as studies show that post-meal walking provides significant benefits in limiting postprandial glucose spikes. Also consider adding strength training to your routine, as increased muscle mass boosts glucose uptake capacity and improves insulin sensitivity.

Stress

Stress triggers a hormonal reaction in the body that affects glucose levels. When you feel extremely upset or panicked, your body prepares to fight off danger by leaving enough glucose in your bloodstream for your muscles to use. To increase blood sugar, your body pumps out more adrenaline and glucagon; as a result, your cells become insulin resistant, so glucose stays in your blood. The result is elevated glucose levels, as shown in studies linking perceived work stress to increased circulating glucose.

Chronic stress can lead to long-term insulin resistance, as your body constantly deals with elevated cortisol levels. In addition, many people overeat or choose less healthy foods when stressed, which can further raise glucose levels.

Better stress management can greatly improve your health. Studies have found that regular deep breathing can lower blood sugar levels by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the “rest and digest” system. Research showed that people who participated in several diaphragmatic breathing sessions experienced significant reductions in cortisol levels, which in turn helps lower blood sugar.

What you can do: While life’s challenges cannot be avoided, our stress response can be managed with the right tools. Prioritize your psychological well-being and take steps to manage stress. For example, breathing exercises can be useful in managing stress and its metabolic effects.

Sleep

Studies show that sleep quality is vital for optimal metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and glucose variability. One study among healthy young men provides a compelling look at this link: after five nights of sleep deprivation—four hours of sleep per night—the participants showed metabolic profiles similar to those of people with type 2 diabetes. The men showed signs of impaired metabolism and insulin resistance, and the rate of sugar removal from the bloodstream was 40% slower than when they were well-rested.

There is also a large body of evidence linking insufficient and poor-quality sleep to the development of obesity and diabetes. While the exact mechanisms are still being clarified, sleep plays an important role in hormonal secretion changes.

While sleeping, your body produces ghrelin and leptin, two hormones that affect appetite and satiety. If you do not get enough sleep (or your sleep is of poor quality), you may produce too much ghrelin. This can indirectly lead to higher glucose levels by prompting you to overeat. Studies have shown that sleep-deprived people often crave sweets and starchy foods.

Lack of sleep is also linked to increased inflammation. Inflammation contributes to insulin resistance, and when your body does not use insulin effectively, blood sugar levels remain high.

What you can do: Prioritize getting enough quality sleep. The number of hours you need is individual, but studies show that seven to eight hours is optimal for metabolic health. The risk of diabetes rises sharply for each hour below seven.

2 Other factors that affect glucose levels

Although the factors mentioned above, especially diet and exercise, have the greatest impact on your blood sugar, many other factors also influence it.

Micronutrients

When thinking about what’s on your plate, you likely focus on carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which are macronutrients. But micronutrients, which your body needs in smaller amounts, also affect how your body handles glucose.

Several different micronutrients have been linked to better metabolic health. One of these is magnesium, which may influence glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity through a process called autophosphorylation: magnesium allows phosphorus, another mineral, to attach to the insulin receptor and activate it, improving insulin sensitivity. Magnesium also helps glucose transporter proteins move sugar from the bloodstream into cells.

Several other minerals, including selenium (an antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation) and vitamin B6 (which is involved in many cellular reactions regulating glucose metabolism), may also potentially influence glucose levels.

What you can do: Base your diet on whole or minimally processed foods. Avoid ultra-processed foods, as they are known to be deficient in micronutrients. If necessary, use health-supporting supplements and vitamins.

Microbiome

Another way micronutrients may affect glucose levels is by altering your gut microbiome. Your gut microbiome refers to all the microbes (bacteria, viruses, and fungi) that live in your gut. The balance and composition of your microbiome are extremely important.

Research suggests that gut microbiota disrupt incretin secretion in people with metabolic health issues. For example, there are significant differences in incretin production between people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes and those without either condition.

What you can do: Optimize your diet for gut health by consuming more probiotics, or “good” bacteria, and prebiotics, which feed these beneficial organisms. Fiber is also essential for digestive health. Women should aim for 22 to 28g of fiber daily, and men for 28 to 32g daily.