THE HOLY GRAIL OF LONGEVITY: 9 WAYS TO STABILIZE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR
Dr. Krista Coombs, DrAc, IFMCP
August 22, 2025
In this week’s, INSIGHTS for Healing by Design, I’m giving you 9 lifestyle habits to experiment with to stabilize your blood sugar. WHY? Because, stabilizing your blood sugar is the holy grail of longevity and health span which is what most of us aspire to experience with this gift of a life.
You don’t need a medication to reduce your appetite and slow stomach emptying, such as the commonly used meds on the market right now, including the meds Ozempic and Wegovy.
You can influence these natural body functions and chemistry with lifestyle habits that together are the elixir of long life and better health right now!
These work for everyone, even those with progressive metabolic dysfunction like diabetes.
These 9 lifestyle habits are also particularly impactful if you’re a woman in peri or post-menopause when the declining estradiol and increasing FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels create havoc with cortisol and insulin, making sugar regulation much tougher.
So, let’s dig in!
Each of the following 9 lifestyle habits help to reduce sugar spikes from your meals and are easy to implement. This in turn will greatly reduce issues with things like body composition, energy availability, hormone regulation, mood, cholesterol levels, brain function, aging and much more.
9 WAYS TO STABILIZE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR
1. DON’T EAT NAKED CARBS
This means refrain from eating a higher glycemic carbohydrate food alone. For example, if you want to eat an apple, consider pairing it with some nut butter to add some extra protein and fat to the carb.
2. SEQUENCE MEALS BY “PRELOADING” WITH LOW GLYCEMIC FOODS
When eating your meals, aim to eat a higher fibre food first, to give the body some fibre to slow digestion, before eating the rest of the carbs, protein and fats. This could look like eating some broccoli or reheated rice (with more resistant starch) before digging into a piece of baked salmon. Or you could eat some of your salad before eating a piece of GF bread. This habit will slow any sugar spike from the meal.
3. EAT EARLIER IN THE DAY
Your cells tend to be less sensitive to insulin in the evenings than in the early mornings. You want your cells to be sensitive so that they can package away the sugar you eat more efficiently. So, aim to eat your larger balanced meal in the mornings, then a decent sized lunch, followed by a smaller earlier supper and no snacking around bedtime (unless a doc suggests it for you).
4. TIGHTEN THE EATING WINDOW
Time Restrictive Feeding (TRF) involves fasting for periods of time each day. The most common form of TRF is Intermittent Fasting which is most commonly an 8 hour eating window followed by 16 hours of fasting (water only). Research has shown that even eating the exact same foods during an 8 hour window versus an extended time frame, the test subjects had lower sugar and insulin spikes with the narrower eating window.
5. AVOID EATING LIQUID SUGAR
Liquids high in sugar, such as fruit juices and sodas, will be absorbed super quickly and spike sugar. Limit or remove these altogether. This also applies to sugar alternatives, such as stevia, sucralose, aspartame and more. They trigger the chemistry to manage sugar simply because something sweet has been eaten, even if not sugar.
6. ADD FIBRE TO ALL MEALS
Fibre is the super food for your microbes in your gut microbiome which does so much work for your body. Fibre also slows digestion and slows absorption of sugar. Consider aiming for 25-50 grams of different forms of fibre daily, especially as you age, from food predominantly, like nuts, seeds, leafy greens, legumes, GF grains and some fruit (like avocados).
7. USE VINEGARS AND CINNAMON
Vinegars can slow stomach emptying, slowing digestion so you get more nutrients out of your foods. It’s easy to use vinegars in cooking, such as with salad dressings, marinades, fermented foods and homemade gut shots. Do your best to start your meal with the vinegar-based food to jumpstart digestion. Cinnamon is also well studied to positively impact sugar management. So, adding it to some foods can be helpful in this regard.
8. WALK FOR 10+ MINUTES AFTER MEALS
Research shows that even a short walk within the first hour of a meal can lower sugar spikes by up to a whopping 30%. So, this is a great lifestyle tool to implement with as many meals as possible. If you just can’t get a walk in though, consider dancing around the kitchen when washing dishes, or doing 20-30 air squats, or maybe quickly going up and down the stairs 3-4 times, or walking on a treadmill or treadclimber. Get moving!
9. EAT MINDFULLY AND WITH GRATITUDE
Two research papers are of particular interest with this lifestyle habit. One showed that the faster eaters were twice as likely to develop diabetes type 2, and the other showed they were four times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome (so, insulin resistance and sugar issues leading to diabetes)! Slowing down your eating will get you out of the stress response which will help positively help with sugar management. And it will likely mean you end up eating less overall during your meals. Paying attention to the food you are taking in, taking time to chew, and appreciating your food and body, all help regulate blood sugar and your body will thank you for it by Healing by Design.
These 9 lifestyle habits are skills you can easily learn by practicing them over and over in your daily life. And I promise you’ll start noticing improvements in your body on so many levels. They are FREE to practice! Plus, no medications are needed. If you are on meds for sugar management, you might just find that you’ll start needing less because of these new habits.
Are there other ways to naturally impact blood sugar? Absolutely! And I'll write about some of those soon. But for now, starting with these 9 foundational lifestyle habits that are genuinely easy to add to your life today and practice, will give you major results fast. Start here.
I discuss this topic regularly in my private women’s Facebook group, The EASY YOUniversity, and give loads of tools to help support your body as you age. I’d love for you to check it out and join so I can help you get to the next level of health.
My advice right now is to pick a couple of the 9 lifestyle habits you resonate with and start practicing them for a few days. Then add in another and another until you’re more consistently making better, natural decisions that help extend your health and hopefully your longevity!
I’d love to hear what you choose and how it goes for you. You can always DM me through Instagram and Facebook or come see me for support in the clinic.
Hugs,
Dr. Krista
DrAc, IFMCP
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