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Health

How to lower blood sugar with medication and without insulin?

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Increased blood sugar levels are not limited to diabetes: there is a condition called "prediabetes" - this is a borderline period preceding diabetes, and at this stage it can still be cured. The first thing you need to know is how to lower blood sugar - this will require, no more and no less, changing your lifestyle and diet. Doctors have a large number of recommendations on this matter - the main thing is to strictly follow all medical prescriptions.

How to lower blood sugar with medication?

Medicines for lowering sugar are a fairly serious tool for correcting the balance of insulin and glucose. Therefore, only a qualified doctor has the right to prescribe such medicines. Self-administration of such drugs is strictly discouraged. Read also: Insulin therapy for diabetes

Medicines designed to lower blood sugar are numerous and varied. To make it easier for doctors to navigate their range, a classification of sugar-lowering drugs was determined - primarily depending on the pharmacodynamic characteristics of these drugs. Four groups of such drugs are considered the main ones:

  1. Medicines that activate insulin secretion are the so-called secretagogues. These include sulfonylurea-based drugs and methylglinide drugs. Sulfonylurea includes such medications as Glibenclamide, Gimeperide, Glikvidon - their action is fast and effective, but there is a significant disadvantage: against the background of taking sulfonylurea, the pancreas is depleted and subsequently stops responding to such drugs. Methylglinides act more gently - these include Nateglinide, Repaglinide, etc.
  2. Insulin sensitizers are medications that increase tissue sensitivity to insulin. This group is represented by biguanides (for example, the well-known Metformin) and thiazolidones (Pioglitazone and Rosiglitazone).
  3. Medicines that inhibit α-glucosidase – their action is based on inhibiting the absorption of carbohydrates by the digestive system. A typical representative of such drugs is Acarobase.
  4. Liraglutide drugs - they are used to improve the condition of patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity. Liraglutide affects the pancreas, activating insulin secretion. A typical representative of such drugs is Saxenda.

How to lower sugar without medication?

In order to gradually reduce sugar without using medications, first of all, it is necessary to prevent its increase in advance. To do this, it is necessary to change your diet, stick to a special diet, and also eliminate a number of forbidden products from your diet, the consumption of which leads to a "jump" in glucose levels. Such products include, naturally, sugar and sweets (including honey).

Sugar is reduced gradually, if the following products are excluded:

  • sweet pastries;
  • any fruit or berry juices;
  • any dried fruits;
  • sweet fruits;
  • starchy foods (eg potatoes);
  • products with a large amount of animal fats (cream, butter, lard).

Few people know, but there are also a number of products that help lower blood sugar levels – as a rule, this list includes products with a low glycemic index:

  • sea fish and other seafood;
  • green vegetables, pumpkin;
  • root vegetables, olives;
  • corn;
  • almost all types of nuts;
  • oatmeal;
  • lemons and grapefruits;
  • white meat;
  • cereals, beans;
  • garlic, all types of onions.

In addition to the above, you need to drink enough clean water: this will help normalize carbohydrate metabolism and lower sugar.

How to lower sugar without insulin?

If your doctor has prescribed insulin for you, it means that without it you will hardly be able to normalize your blood sugar. You should never cancel insulin medications on your own, as such arbitrariness can cost you not only your health, but also your life.

However, it is within your power to try to help yourself and make additional efforts to normalize your blood glucose levels.

Many diabetics successfully use chicory to reduce sugar. Chicory contains inulin (not to be confused with insulin!) - this is an oligosaccharide, a combination of fructose and glucose. Inulin belongs to the category of dietary fiber, and therefore is not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract. However, its effect on digestion processes and the quality of intestinal function is undeniable.

What benefit can chicory bring to high blood sugar? Inulin from chicory retains carbohydrates from food. Some of these carbohydrates then enter the bloodstream, but most of them are excreted from the body along with inulin. This is the benefit: inulin reduces the "sugar content" of the food consumed.

The beneficial substance from chicory is not destroyed when the drink is heated, but it can change and undergo hydrolysis. This property is typical for inulin, which is contained in ready-made instant drinks. A homemade infusion from the plant, as well as chicory extract, do not lose their medicinal properties and ability to reduce blood sugar.

How to quickly reduce sugar?

Folk methods can sometimes be very useful if you need to quickly reduce sugar. For example, you can use these simple recipes:

  • Half a cup of oats is poured with ½ liter of boiling water in a thermos, left for 1 hour. Then filtered and taken ½ cup before meals three times a day. You can be treated this way every day for a month.
  • Pour a glass of boiling water over 5 g of flaxseed, leave for 35-45 minutes, add 1-2 tbsp. of lemon juice. Drink the medicine between meals.
  • Grind buckwheat groats (20 g) in a coffee grinder, mix with 200 ml of kefir, keep overnight in the refrigerator. Eat in the morning, 60 minutes before the first meal.
  • Boil 20 g of walnut partitions in 200 ml of boiling water for an hour. Take the resulting remedy one tablespoon between meals.
  • Mix 1 chicken egg and 1-2 tbsp. lemon juice. Take on an empty stomach 50-60 minutes before meals. The course can last 3 days.
  • Prepare juice from equal parts of potato tubers, beets and white cabbage. Drink 100 ml before meals twice a day.

How to lower blood sugar levels one day before a test?

Plants such as dandelion and burdock act very well and quickly. These plants, like chicory, contain inulin, a substance that prevents the absorption of carbohydrates in the intestines. Thanks to inulin, sugars entering the body with food are not absorbed, but leave the body naturally. The highest percentage of this substance is contained in the rhizome of plants - this must be taken into account if you are going to prepare a quick sugar-lowering agent.

Hawthorn and rosehip infusions are also quite effective in reducing sugar. Fresh or dried currant leaves are also suitable.

A chicory drink will also help quickly: however, to successfully reduce sugar, you should not take an instant drink. It is better to brew raw materials bought at a pharmacy, or use chicory extract.

There is a recipe for reducing sugar, which is usually prepared in advance - 5-6 days. However, this remedy allows you to reduce sugar relatively quickly. Pass 500 g of lemons with peel, 170 g of garlic cloves and 140 g of parsley roots through a meat grinder. Put the resulting mass in a container and keep in the cold for five days. Take the remedy in the morning, before lunch and before dinner, half a tablespoon.

How to reduce fasting sugar?

To reduce sugar in the morning on an empty stomach, you just need to change your daily routine and diet. So, you need to have dinner early - no later than 4 hours before going to bed (ideally - 5 hours). For example, if you go to bed at eleven o'clock in the evening, then it is optimal to have dinner at six o'clock in the evening. If you have dinner later, this will lead to an increase in sugar on an empty stomach in the morning. At the same time, do not forget that dinner should consist of permitted products:

  • a little lean white meat or seafood;
  • eggs;
  • vegetables, greens;
  • quality hard cheese;
  • some vegetable oil;
  • nuts, seeds;
  • olive;
  • low-fat kefir, yogurt without additives.

We must not forget about the need to adhere to the principles of low-carbohydrate nutrition.

How to reduce sugar in urine?

Sugar in urine can increase not only during illnesses, but also under certain circumstances - for example, after severe stress. Therefore, it is important to prevent the appearance of sugar in urine:

  • avoid stress;
  • avoid physical overexertion;
  • eat less sweets;
  • regularly monitor the state of the endocrine system.

If there is a need to quickly reduce sugar, you can use the following methods:

  • Drink tea made from blueberry leaves throughout the day.
  • Take 1 tablespoon of dry brewer's yeast in the morning, at lunch and at night.
  • Drink tea made from birch buds and lilac flowers three times a day.
  • Drink a decoction of dandelion or burdock rhizome throughout the day.
  • Eat one tablespoon of mustard seed three times a day.

In addition, it is recommended to add garlic to dishes more often. This will help maintain normal sugar levels throughout the day.

How to reduce sugar during pregnancy?

In order to reduce sugar during pregnancy, sometimes it is enough to simply change your diet - and the sugar will return to normal without any negative consequences. The use of any other means, and especially medications to reduce sugar requires a doctor's consultation.

After consulting with your doctor, you can try these folk methods to lower your sugar levels:

  • About 15 minutes before eating, drink 1 tbsp. of onion juice or infusion. The infusion is made as follows: chop one medium onion, put it in a cup and pour in drinking water at room temperature. Keep it under the lid for 2-3 hours. Drink this remedy in the morning, before lunch and before dinner, one third of a glass.
  • By analogy with the previous recipe, you can also cook garlic. Moreover, you can use both cloves and garlic feathers and even arrows.
  • Many people talk about the good effect of baked onions to reduce sugar. The recipe is simple: every day, in the morning on an empty stomach, eat one medium baked onion. It is noted that within a month, sugar gradually normalizes.

During pregnancy, it is especially important to regularly monitor sugar levels, both in the blood and in the urine. Therefore, if you are prone to high sugar, you should be examined by a doctor on a regular basis and follow his or her recommendations. Changes in diet and lifestyle should be mandatory in this situation.

How to reduce sugar in a child?

Juice from certain vegetables, fruits and berries has a sugar-reducing ability. To reduce sugar, it is recommended to dilute such juice with half boiled water. On the first day, you should take 50 ml of juice, about 35 minutes before eating. If the body's reaction is normal, then the amount of juice can be gradually increased to 200 ml at a time.

Experts advise making fresh juice from the following ingredients:

  • fresh potato tubers;
  • fresh cabbage leaves;
  • raspberries;
  • dogwood and pear fruits.

The child's diet should definitely include lettuce leaves, green peas, and alfalfa. For older children, you need to prepare mushroom dishes - regular champignons and oyster mushrooms also help lower blood sugar.

How to reduce sugar with diet?

Changes in nutrition begin with a reduction in portion sizes - that is, eat often (approximately every 2.5 hours), but little by little. Read also: What foods lower blood sugar?

The diet should contain a residual amount of fiber - it is obtained from plant foods. Vegetables, beans, not too sweet fruits satisfy hunger well and prevent the development of true diabetes.

In addition to the above, it is important to reduce the consumption of sweets and fatty foods, and reduce the total daily caloric intake of food.

In addition to stabilizing the glucose concentration in the blood, such a diet will help to normalize body weight, strengthen the immune system due to the full intake of useful food components into the body.

It is very important not to overeat. Overeating increases the load on the pancreas, as does an abundance of fatty foods. Therefore:

  • don't overeat;
  • we give up sweets and fatty foods;
  • we give up alcohol and spicy foods;
  • We eat vegetables, porridge, bran, beans – in small portions, but relatively often.

How to effectively reduce sugar?

If the use of the above mentioned means, in particular medications, is ineffective, then the doctor has no choice but to prescribe insulin preparations to the patient. Such means can be different:

  • with ultra-short action (no more than 4 hours) – Novorapid, Apidra;
  • with short action (no more than 7-8 hours) – Actrapid, Humulin;
  • with medium-term effect (no more than 15 hours) – Protofan, Insuman;
  • with prolonged action (over a day or more) – Lantus, Levemir.

However, the use of insulin preparations is an extreme measure, which is not used in all cases. As a rule, lowering blood sugar begins with changing lifestyle and nutrition principles - the effect of this approach is better than any other means. And the best advice on how to lower blood sugar can only be given by a competent medical specialist.

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