What Can You Do to Lower Your A1C Level?

1. Make a food plan

Eating certain foods may help lower your A1C, so you may want to make a plan and stick to it as often as possible. Strategies include:

• Make a grocery list: When trying to fill your basket with nutrient-dense foods while minimizing sweets, having and following a list can help you avoid impulse purchases. If you’re trying out new recipes, a list can help ensure you get home with all the right ingredients.
• Meal prep: When fixing a nutritious meal, you can save time by doubling the recipe so you have another meal readily available later in the week.
• Build in flexibility: Plan to give yourself options before you need them. That way, you’re not searching for a fallback when the cupboards are bare and your stomach is rumbling.

2. Measure portion sizes

Managing portion sizes may also help reduce your A1C. Helpful practices can include:

• Get familiar with appropriate portion sizes: You don’t have to measure every food you eat by the gram to learn to recognize and make a habit of thinking about what’s a right size portion.
• Use smaller plates at home: For portioning purposes, opting for a smaller plate may help limit portion sizes.
• Avoid eating from a bag: If you’re having a few crackers, pull out one or two servings, then put the rest back in the cupboard for later.
• Be mindful when going out to eat: Restaurant meals can contain large portion sizes. Rather than order an entrée that may contain more food than you need, you may want to ask a friend if they’ll split something with you. Or you can plan to take half home to eat later in the week.

3. Track carbs

The appropriate amount of carbohydrates varies from person to person and is worth discussing with a doctor. It can be easy to overeat carbs if you’re not keeping track. Keeping a food diary or using an app to keep track of your carb intake may help.

Starting out, you may have to take some time to look at nutrition labels. With practice, this will become a quick and easy process and will help you get a sense of which foods are most carb-heavy so you can adjust accordingly.

4. Plate method

Also called the diabetes plate method, the plate method’s intent is to simplify your mealtime calculations while eating the right foods in the right proportions. Picture a plate that’s less than a foot in diameter and divide it into four quarters:

• Half of what’s on the plate — that is, two quarters — is low carb vegetables: Options include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peppers, mushrooms, and cucumber. This can also include anything leafy, like lettuce, cabbage, and spinach.
• The next quarter of the plate is lean proteins: This can include fish, chicken, eggs, shellfish, cheese, tofu, and lean cuts of pork or beef.
• The last quarter of the plate goes to carbs: Carbs can include grains like rice and whole grain bread as well as fruit and starchy vegetables like potatoes.

You can apply the same proportions and ideas behind the plate method to foods that don’t lend themselves to being divided across a plate, like sandwiches, for instance.

5. Have a realistic weight loss goal

Set yourself up for success. It’s important to be practical. A slow, steady approach to weight loss (1 to 2 pounds a weekTrusted Source, at most) tends to get the best results when it comes to keeping weight off.

Results don’t have to be drastic to improve your health. Experts say even 5%Trusted Source can make a difference. For example, if someone at 180 pounds adjusts their exercise and food habits and works their way to 170 pounds over a few months, the resulting health benefits can be worthwhile.

Consider talking with a doctor about what weight loss goal makes sense for you and how best to work toward it.

6. Exercise plan

Increasing your activity level can help get your A1C level down for good. You may want to start with a 20-minute walk after lunch. You can build up to 150 minutesTrusted Source of extra activity a week.

Get confirmation from a doctor first before you increase your activity level. Exercise can affect your blood sugar levels. Depending on other health conditions you may have, a doctor may recommend a safe starting point. Being safely active is key to reducing your diabetes risk.

Remember: Any exercise is better than no exercise. Even getting up for 2 minutes every hour can help reduce the risk of diabetes.

7. Take medications

Taking prescribed diabetes medications can help manage your A1C level. Medications that lower fasting blood sugars will also lower your A1C level.

Some medications primarily affect your blood sugars after a meal, which are also called postprandial blood sugars. These medications include sitagliptin (Januvia), repaglinide (Prandin), and others.

While they don’t significantly improve fasting glucose values, they still help lower your A1C level because of the decrease in post-meal glucose spikes.

8. Supplements and vitamins

Some supplements may improve your A1C level. These may include aloe vera and chromium.

Aloe vera is a succulent that may lower fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1C, according to 2022 researchTrusted Source. However, additional studies are needed to test its long-term effects.

Chromium, a mineral found in vegetables like potatoes and mushrooms, as well as oysters, may lowerTrusted Source A1C in people with severe insulin resistance and less blood sugar management. But some studies show inconsistent or mixed results.

The American Diabetes Association Standards of Care stress that insufficient evidence is available to support the use of supplements like aloe vera or chromium.

9. Stay consistent

Lowering your A1C levels depends on making changes that become habits. The best way to make something second nature is to keep doing it consistently.

Slow, steady progress tends to deliver the best long-term results, particularly where eating patterns and exercise are concerned.

What is the A1C test and what does it measure?

The A1C test is a blood test that screens for diabetes. The test provides information about a person’s average blood sugar levels over a 2- to 3-monthTrusted Source period before the test. If you have diabetes, it can give doctors a picture of whether treatment is working and how well you’re managing the condition.

The A1C test measures how much glucose (sugar) is attached to hemoglobin. This is the protein in red blood cells. The more glucose attached, the higher the A1C.

The test reports the number as a percentage. If the percentage is high, so are your average blood glucose levels. A higher number means your risk of either diabetes or related complications is higher.

Although A1C is the gold standard of diabetes diagnosis, many clinical conditions can affect A1C, including iron deficiency anemia and other blood disorders that affect red blood cells. A doctor may recommend you take a different test to ensure an accurate diagnosis.

A1C can test for type 1 and type 2 diabetes but not for gestational diabetes.

If you have diabetes, you still need to regularly monitor your glucose levels. Because the A1C measures an average, it may not capture intense highs and lows.

Some benefits of the A1C test include:

• no fasting
• gives an average of blood sugar levels over a period of weeks to months
• can do it at any time of the day

What do the scores mean?

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney DiseasesTrusted Source, A1C measurements can indicate whether you have diabetes or prediabetes.

Having prediabetes increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Within the prediabetes range, having a higher percentage increases your risk of developing diabetes. But you can take steps to prevent or delay developing diabetes. If test results are positive for prediabetes, a doctor may recommend retesting each year.

If you have received a diagnosis of diabetes, having a higher percentage can increase your risk of diabetes complications.

If you receive a diagnosis of prediabetes or diabetes, a doctor may prescribe a home monitor to allow you to test your blood sugar. Be sure to talk with them about what to do if the results are too high or too low for you.

Talking with a doctor

It’s important to talk with a doctor about what steps you can take to help lower your A1C levels. They can help you set and monitor practical goals and may also prescribe medication.

Additionally, a doctor may connect you with a dietitian who can help you better understand the nutrition component of lowering your A1C levels. They can also help determine the best ways to adjust your diet and habits around food in health-promoting, practical ways.

Takeaway

The A1C test measures your average blood sugar levels over a period of weeks to months.

You can lower your A1C level by eating a nutritious diet with managed portion sizes and getting regular exercise. Doctors may recommend medication for some people.