How to Lower A1c: Your Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Blood Sugar and Lowering High Levels

In this article: 

• Glycated hemoglobin, or A1C, is an important measure of blood sugar. It can indicate prediabetes or diabetes, or it can give an indication of long-term blood glucose control. 
• You can lower A1C with daily actions like eating well, being physically active, and taking medications. 
• Eating a consistent amount of high-quality carbohydrates, including healthy fats and proteins, and maintaining a healthy weight can lower A1C.
• Being physically active increases insulin sensitivity and lowers A1C.
• Taking medications as prescribed can support efforts to lower A1C.
• Talk to your healthcare provider for help lowering A1C and if you have any questions or concerns about your blood sugar levels. 
• Lark can help you make sustainable changes to manage blood sugar and prediabetes or diabetes with 24/7 availability and personalized coaching. 

Getting a higher than expected A1C test result can be unsettling. You might, for example, be learning for the first time that you have prediabetes or diabetes, or it could mean that your blood sugar hasn’t been as well controlled recently as you thought. However, the good news is that there is a lot you can do to lower blood sugar and manage diabetes. 

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A1C reduction is one of the most important things you can aim for if you have prediabetes or diabetes, and it’s largely in your hands. Here’s what you should know about what A1C is and how to lower A1C with your healthcare team.

Understanding A1C: Your 90-Day Blood Sugar Overview

First, what is A1C, and what is your A1C target? 

What is A1C?

It’s glycated hemoglobin, or the percentage of your hemoglobin that’s coated with sugar. Hemoglobin is the protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen around to your body. When you have higher levels of blood glucose or blood sugar, more of your hemoglobin proteins get coated with blood sugar, leading to a higher A1C. 

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Your A1C may be the single most important measure of blood sugar or diabetes control. A blood sugar test is like a snapshot of your blood sugar levels at one moment in time. However, an A1C test gives an overview of your blood sugar levels over the past 2-3 months, or 60-90 days. That’s because red blood cells, which contain hemoglobin, live for 120 days. 

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You can get an estimate of how your A1c may correlate to your average blood glucose level over the past 90 days. This is known as the estimated average glucose, or EAG. It's just an estimate. You can find your estimated level by typing your most recent A1c result into the calculator below.

Your Target A1C Level

Understanding what A1C is can help you understand your target A1C. 

Here’s what A1C numbers may mean.

You and your healthcare team can determine your personalized A1C targets. For many individuals with diabetes, the goal may be 7.0% or lower. If you’ve been newly diagnosed, your target A1C may be lower. Your health status, age, and risk of hypoglycemia all impact your personal A1C targets. 

Risk Reduction with Glycemic Control: Why Lowering A1C Is Important

Diabetes is a chronic condition with higher than normal levels of blood sugar. When you have diabetes, higher blood sugar leads to a higher risk for complications like heart disease, infections, neuropathy, retinopathy, and kidney disease. 

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Every decrease in A1c can improve your risk. For example, research published in Diabetes Care explains that in a large study, compared to patients whose A1c was 7.9%, patients whose A1c was 7.0% had lower risk of complications like eye problems or retinopathy, kidney disease or nephropathy, and nerve damage or neuropathy. Heart attack and stroke risk also decreases with lower A1c, or improved glycemic control. 

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Since A1c is a measure of blood sugar control, the same diabetes management tips to lower blood sugar will help lower A1C over time. Losing extra weight and eating well, being physically active, and working with your healthcare team can all help lower A1c and improve long-term health. 

Weight Loss and Nutrition to Lower A1C

Knowing what to eat to lower blood sugar can help lower A1c. The best diet for A1c reduction helps you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, and includes foods to lower A1c. High-fiber and other high-nutrient foods and a balanced plate with a controlled amount of carbohydrates can have a big impact on A1c and on related risk factors. 

Losing Weight to Lower A1c 

If you’re overweight or obese, losing weight can improve blood sugar control and lower A1c. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) Standards of Care in Diabetes support weight loss to decrease insulin resistance. 

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You can see meaningful results with modest amounts of weight loss. For example, losing 5-10% of body weight can lower A1c by more than 5%, and reduce the need for diabetes medications. It can also improve other risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Losing more than 15% of your body weight could help decrease A1c by 1-1.5%. 

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Here are some tips for small changes for weight loss. 

Talk to your healthcare provider about a sustainable weight loss plan if you’re overweight or obese. Also ask your doctor before changing your diet to lower A1c. Some individuals use GLP-1 medications in addition to diet and other lifestyle changes to lose weight and manage blood sugar. 

Low-Carb Diet and Top Foods to Lower A1c

Carbohydrates are the nutrients most likely to spike blood sugar levels. That’s because your body breaks down carbohydrates from food into sugar, or glucose, that goes into your bloodstream to raise blood glucose. A low-carb diet can help lower A1c by keeping blood sugar levels from spiking as much as a higher-carb diet, but it’s important to choose high-fiber carbs and to talk to your doctor about carb choices. 

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A low-carb diet can be moderately low in carbs, with about 30-40% of calories from carbohydrates. A stricter low-carb diet may have 20-30% of calories from carbs. A very low-carb or keto diet might get 5-10% of calories from carbs.  

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Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about how many carbohydrates you should have and before trying a very low-carb diet. 

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Master your carbohydrate, protein, fat, and beverage choices to lower A1c. 

Here are some tips for foods for lowering A1c.

Physical Activity to Boost Insulin Sensitivity and Lower A1c

Physical activity is one of the quickest and most effective natural ways to lower A1c. Exercise improves insulin sensitivity almost immediately by making cells more responsive to insulin. When you’re active, cells can take glucose from the blood more easily so blood glucose goes down. Over time, this translates to lower A1c levels. Both aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening exercises are important for blood sugar. 

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It’s also important to avoid sitting for too long. When you do, insulin resistance increases. Try to stand up and do light activity regularly throughout each day. 

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Here are general guidelines for physical activity.

Ask your healthcare provider for clearance before starting an exercise program if you haven’t exercised for a while or if you have any risk factors or concerns. 

More Daily Habits That Matter for A1c

Diet and exercise can go a long way towards lowering A1c, but there are other natural ways to lower A1c that can make your efforts go further. Here are more daily habits. 

• Hydrate well. Staying hydrated helps lower blood sugar by diluting the amount of sugar you have in your blood. Choose water and low-calorie options like coffee, herbal tea, green or black tea, or low-sodium broth.
• Get plenty of sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to insulin resistance and higher blood glucose levels after just one night. Aim for 7-9 hours each night, and set a consistent bedtime. 
• Manage stress. Stress hormones like cortisol can raise blood sugar. Stress management techniques include exercising, meditating, socializing, making to-do lists, visualization, deep breathing, yoga, and drawing. 
• Understand sick day management. If you have diabetes, sick days can wreak havoc on blood sugar control. Ask your healthcare provider for tips like when to check blood sugar, how many carbs to have, and what you should watch for. 

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Here are some tips for lifestyle changes to lower A1c. 

• Be consistent with your choices, trying to turn them into habits that you can keep up
• Set realistic expectations for how long it takes to lower A1c. It may be 3-6 months
• Make one change at a time to prevent feeling overwhelmed. Every little step to lower A1c helps

Working with Your Doctor: Medication and Monitoring to Lower A1c

If your A1c is high, work with your doctor or medical team to lower it. If your A1c puts you in the range for prediabetes, your doctor may suggest trying A1c reduction without medication first. Weight loss, high-fiber foods to lower A1c, and physical activity to lower blood sugar are first-line steps. Stress management and getting enough sleep are additional examples of ways to lower A1c. 

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If you have diabetes or if you’re not able to achieve A1c reduction without medication, your doctor may prescribe medications to help lower blood sugar. 

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Here are some of the most common types of diabetes medications and what they do. 

How Lark Can Help

If you’re looking for help with how to lower A1c, your healthcare provider might suggest lifestyle changes and medications. Lark can help by supporting healthy behaviors. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

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Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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