45XP
Lowers long-term blood sugar (HbA1c) in people with type 2 diabetes, though trial quality varies.
Metabolic Health
Blood Sugar Control
Supplements and protocols ranked by XP
36XP
Lowers blood sugar and HbA1c a little in people with type 2 diabetes.
34XP
In adults with type 2 diabetes, resistance training lowered HbA1c, with larger improvements when training produced bigger strength gains.
Studies1
32XP
Lowers fasting blood sugar and HbA1c in type 2 diabetes, in trials that are mostly from China and of limited quality.
29XP
Breaking up long sitting with short bouts of light walking lowered blood sugar and insulin after meals compared with sitting all day, and walking breaks worked better than just standing.
25XP
In the PREDIMED randomized trial (n=7,447 at high cardiovascular risk), a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil cut new type 2 diabetes risk by 40% over ~5 years; the nuts-supplemented arm of the same trial showed a smaller, non-significant reduction, suggesting the olive-oil component may be doing much of the work.
24XP
Across 29 randomised trials in people with diabetes, low-glycemic-index or -load eating patterns lowered HbA1c by a small amount.
Studies1
22XP
In people with diabetes or prediabetes, higher fibre intake lowered HbA1c by about 0.2 percentage points and fasting glucose by about 0.6 mmol/L.
21XP
Lowers fasting blood sugar and HbA1c in people with diabetes or prediabetes, in small trials.
20XP
Improves fasting blood sugar and insulin sensitivity in people with diabetes or at high risk.
20XP
Walking soon after eating lowered the blood sugar rise from that meal compared with staying seated, and worked better than exercising before the meal.
19XP
Lowers fasting blood sugar slightly in people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes.
18XP
Small improvements in insulin sensitivity, mostly in women with PCOS.
18XP
Lowers fasting blood sugar slightly in people with diabetes.
13XP
In people with type 2 diabetes, step-counter programmes added about 2,100 steps a day and lowered HbA1c by about 0.2 points in one pooled analysis, but an earlier one found no change.
12XP
Each 10% more of the diet coming from ultra-processed food is linked to a 12% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
12XP
Slightly lowers fasting blood sugar in some trials.
Studies1
10XP
A 2026 review of 10 meta-analyses found no reliable effect on blood sugar; some older analyses saw small falls in type 2 diabetes.
