Diabetes type 2 has become common in many parts of the world and knowing how to care for your blood sugar is paramount. Here are some effective tips to help you take charge of your blood sugar at home.

The Blood Glucose Meter (BGM)

BGM testing is usually reserved for type 2 diabetics who are required to self-administer insulin in order to control of their blood sugar levels. Simply put, you ‘pin prick’ your finger to produce a very small blood sample and place it on the test strip. This is very important in the aforementioned cases of people with diabetes, and only takes around 10 seconds.

The goal of the test is to discover what your blood glucose range is; we look for 70-90. Anything higher than 90 is problematic, and is a clear sign that your body’s ability to manage carbohydrates is compromised. From a body compositional perspective, this means it is harder for you to consistently drop body fat. This number is highly correlated to your training and nutrition as you increase activity and watch what you eat, this number will go down. However, when you’re inactive and eating poorly, this number will rise. If you score over 100, this means you could be/ probably are pre-diabetic and should be concerned.

Check Acid/Alkaline Balance

The second self-assessment that you should do in the morning is to check your acid/alkaline balance. You must do this using PH strips, as they are a very quick, cheap, and convenient way of getting instant feedback to what is actually happening inside the body at any given moment.

You can check morning PH via urine or saliva. If you happen to be too acidic (<6.0), you know you might need to reduce your training volume or simply try to increase acid buffering in the body. The quickest and easiest way would be to drink those greens and add additional electrolytes. Why you should be concerned if you are too acidic for prolonged periods of time? Well for starters, cancer thrives in an acidic state. Secondly, the more acidic your blood, the more the body will try to alkalize by any means necessary. As a result, calcium can be leached from your bones and released into the blood stream; very bad news. It instantly weakens your bones and opens you up to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. This, in combination with increasing your risk for cancer, should be enough to spur you to act. (Credit: James Heagney, head coach at D5 Executive Gym)