I get asked all the time: “What’s the one easy thing that will help me heal faster from injuries and surgery?”
My answer, nine times out of ten: Blood sugar.
Let’s break it down—science and soul.
The Labs I Like to Look at with my Clients
- Fasting glucose: (Ideally under 90) This is a 24 hour snap-shot of your blood sugar management. If you had ice cream the night before, it is not going to look as good as if you had salmon and broccoli. This is also why we get very limited information from it.
- HbA1c%: (ideally in the range of 5.2-5.3%) This is a 2-3 month snapshot of your fasting blood sugar. Much more reliable in giving us an idea of what’s going on in your body.
- Fasting insulin:(Ideally in the 3-5 range) This value can begin to change up to a decade before we see changes in your HbA1C%. Super helpful in the world of prevention!
How High Blood Sugar Gets in Your Way of Healing
Here’s what’s actually happening in your tissues, bones, and immune system when blood sugar isn’t managed well.
1. Disrupted Inflammatory Balance
- Healthy healing? Needs just enough inflammation to clear out damage.
- Chronically high blood sugar = inflammation that just. won’t. quit.
- Result? Healing gets delayed. More “breakdown” than “build up.”
2. Oxidative Stress → Cell Damage
- High glucose cranks up oxidative stress, which zaps
- Immune cells (they get sluggish)
- Fibroblasts/osteoblasts (your body’s repair-crew slows down)
3. Poor Collagen Formation
- Sugar forms AGEs (advanced glycation end-products = glycation junk).
- Collagen and connective tissue get stiff, weak, and slow to bounce back.
4. Impaired Blood Flow
- High sugars damage tiny blood vessels.
- Translation: Less oxygen, nutrients, and “fresh materials” delivered where you actually need them for recovery.
5. Weakened Immune Response
- Immune cells can’t clean up or protect as well.
- Higher risk of infection and slower healing, especially after surgery or injury.
6. Impaired Bone Remodeling
- Your bone-building and clean-up cells (osteoblasts and osteoclasts) don’t work right.
- Result: bone injuries linger, repairs take longer, bone isn’t as strong.
Simple Steps to Start Improving Blood Sugar Today
- Move after meals—even a 5-minute walk can help lower glucose spikes
- Eat fiber or veggies first (before carbs/sweets—think “armor up” before dessert)
- Stay hydrated (yes, even this helps blood flow to healing tissues)
- Get your labs checked
- Work in reducing and eventually eliminating white sugar and flower
- Create space for your healing. Stress alone (without any food) can rapidly spike your blood sugar
Bottom Line
You don’t need perfect—just better, steadier blood sugar.
Your body is brilliant at healing given the chance. Sometimes all it needs is less sugar chaos, and a few simple habits, to work its magic.
