Many people today have blood sugar imbalances due to eating a sugar
loaded diet usually consisting of breads, cereals, cakes, soft drinks, health
bars, takeaways and prepackaged foods etc. Anything made from flour/grains
turns to sugar (glucose) when digested, and used to make energy in the body. Vegetables
increase glucose too, but they have less glucose content so more can be eaten to
make you feel full, especially when combined with good sources of protein. They
also take longer to be digested and broken down into glucose, so do not give
that immediate hit of sugar refined foods do.
When we eat foods high in sugar, our blood sugar level go up with the
body having to produce loads of insulin to bring it down, which then causes a blood
sugar crash. The adrenals kick in and produce cortisol (stress hormone) for the
body to be able to access the glucose that has been stored in fat, and to bring
the blood sugar back up again.
Low blood sugar can cause irritability, anxiety, dizziness, nausea,
sweating, headache, difficulty in thinking and hunger etc, causing the person
to reach for another hit of sugar to get them through the day. The poor pancreas eventually gives in and
cannot keep up the insulin production. Blood sugar levels are then uncontrolled
which means eventual development of diabetes.
Adrenal exhaustion may also occur which is another topic in itself
affecting hormone systems related to stress.
The increased production of cortisol causes chronic inflammation and
triggers insulin insensitivity.
While in the supermarket the other day I overheard a lady on her mobile
boasting about the foods she had consumed that morning, which had only given
her a blood sugar reading of 4 on testing, which is considered to be good but
how long can her body keep this up?
She had started the day with Mc Donald’s for breakfast including
pancakes and 2 hash browns with coffee, and a few soft drinks over the morning,
and was now consuming a large iced donut. She was overweight, with most of this
weight around her belly, and a prime candidate for Type 2 Diabetes, heart
attack and stroke.
I would loved to have enlightened this lady on the fact that for her
body to give this amazing result, her pancreas had to produce very high levels
of insulin to take all that glucose (excess energy) out of her blood, and that
it had been stored as more fat. If she had
made better food choices that morning, her pancreas wouldn’t have had to work
so hard. Unfortunately the large amounts of insulin produced also causes
inflammation throughout her body. She wont be able to keep going like this
without consequences……TYPE 2 DIABETES!
This lady is typical of many people I see who are not taking into
consideration that healthy diet and lifestyle change are necessary for ongoing
health and well being. The blood sugar
readings will not stay low forever, as her pancreas will fatigue from this
ongoing sugar assault on her body, and she WILL BECOME A DIABETIC!
Eating fat wont make you fat !
Another disturbing fact that is everywhere we look in the supermarket,
we are being lead to believe that eating fat makes us fat, which has caused us
to consume even more hidden sugars!
Foods without fat don’t taste very nice, so manufacturers put more sugar
in their products so we buy them.
If you do not consume enough good fats, such as being on a very low fat
diet, your body will make its own fat called Palmatic acid which is the worst
kind of fat contributing to
inflammation, elevated lipids, atherogenesis and vascular
disease.
Today we are experiencing an obesity epidemic with Type 2 diabetes rates
climbing at alarming rates, even in our kids.
Sugar turns to fat in your body if you don’t use it for
energy
The only fats that should be avoided are trans fats, which are used to
keep foods longer on the supermarket shelf.
Trans fats block the uptake receptors for the good fats (omega 3) that
are anti-inflammatory, and prevent us from using them. Look out for trans fats
other names; hydrogenated oils, fully hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated
on labels. In some countries
manufactures can declare no trans fats on a label if it contains less than 0.5g
per serving.
My grandmothers who is 99 has always said,
“Too much of anything is
no good for you”
Variety is the key to a healthy lifestyle both in the food you eat, the
exercise you do, and the company you keep.
Don’t get locked into a way of living, instead make changes, shake
things up, and find out what feels right for you and your body. Explore the possibilities.
The only way to get sugar
(glucose) into the cells without insulin is exercise.
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