Manage Your Blood Sugar
Every cell of your body uses sugar called glucose for its energy needs. Your body needs enough blood sugar but not too much and it uses hormones to keep your blood sugar balanced. You can make it easier for your hormones to balance your blood sugar by eating in a healthy manner. Unhealthy eating habits cause your blood sugar to rise quickly and then fall into the low range.
As blood sugar rises, your pancreas gland secretes a hormone called insulin. Insulin causes cells to absorb sugar from the blood. As glucose goes into your cells, your blood levels of glucose often fall below the optimal range to create a condition called hypoglycemia. The adrenal glands secrete a stress hormone called cortisol to bring the blood sugar back up again. When you eat foods that raise your blood sugar quickly your hormone system responds with high levels of insulin and then a short time later, high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This sets the stage for many serious health problems. Read Stress and Your Hormones for more information.
Sugar and carbohydrates in your diet are converted into sugar in your blood. The glycemic index is a scale that measures how much a food raises your blood sugar. The higher the number the more that food raises your blood sugar. Simple sugars have a high glycemic index and so do refined carbohydrates. You might be surprised to know that white bread and instant rice raise your blood sugar faster than table sugar.
Insulin resistance
The higher the glycemic index the higher and faster your blood sugar rises. The more your blood sugar rises, the more insulin is required. When insulin levels are high for a long time the cells in your body eventually stop responding to the insulin. This is a condition called insulin resistance. When the cells don’t respond, insulin can’t do its job. Blood sugar is not absorbed into your cells to be burned for energy. It is converted to fat instead. As a consequence you feel tired and you gain weight easily.
Insulin resistance increases the likelihood of every disease of aging including Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart disease, hormone problems, obesity, and some forms of cancer. It is the leading cause of infertility in women, and it is conservatively estimated that a third of the population in the United States suffers some degree of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is sometimes called ‘Syndrome X’.
Here are some common signs and symptoms of insulin resistance.
· Fatigue, especially fatigue after a meal
· Craving sweets, especially after a meal
· Weight gain, especially around the middle, or inability to lose weight
· Constant hunger
· Migrating aches and pains
· Facial hair growth for women
· Decreased libido and sexual function for men
· High blood pressure
· High cholesterol and triglycerides with low levels of the good HDL cholesterol
· High blood sugar, both fasting and after meals
· High insulin, both fasting and after meals
· Increased tendency to form the clots that cause heart attacks and strokes
· Polycystic ovary disease
Conventional Medicine Misses the Big Picture
Conventional treatment often addresses individual symptoms of insulin resistance and misses the underlying pattern. Doctors often prescribe a variety of medications including Viagra, blood pressure medication, blood thinning medication, cholesterol lowering medication, and pain medications for the various manifestations of insulin resistance without addressing the underlying insulin resistance. The medications don’t help the insulin resistance, and they can actually make it worse. They also have frequent undesirable side effects.
Natural Management of Hypoglycemia and Insulin Resistance
Natural management of blood sugar problems begins with you. Medications can’t do it for you. You need to eat in a healthy manner, exercise and take nutritional supplements. The goal of lifestyle changes and treatment is to improve your ability to burn fat for energy, and to eat in a way that doesn’t cause swings in your levels of blood sugar. It is often necessary to support the adrenal glands in order to deal with hypoglycemia. Read Stress and Your Hormones for more information.
1) Eat in a way that keeps your blood sugar stable.
· Eat a well balanced diet consisting mostly of non-starchy vegetables, quality fats, and moderate amount of protein.
· Eat a high-quality, non-starch-based breakfast. (Smoothies and protein bars are not a good breakfast)
· Eat every 2-3 hours. Do not wait until you are hungry.
· Snack with low glycemic foods such as nuts, seeds, hard-boiled eggs, etc.
· Avoid fruit juices and carrot juice
· Avoid concentrated sugars (this includes Splenda)
· Do not consume high glycemic foods (like fruits) without a source of protein.
· Read Basics of Healthy Eating for more information.
If you crave sweets or get tired after you eat then you have eaten too many carbohydrates in that meal. Eat less carbohydrate foods, eat foods with a lower glycemic index, and increase your intake of nutritional supplements mentioned below.
2) Exercise at an intensity level appropriate for your condition. Do this twenty minutes four times a week. It is very important that you exercise in a moderate way. Many people exercise in a way that aggravates their blood sugar problems and makes it harder to lose weight! Read the article Healthy Exercise.
3) Take nutritional supplements that help reestablish insulin sensitivity. It is important to take these supplements two or three times a day.
