What is blood sugar, can I cheat?
What does it mean when you hear the words, “blood sugar spike”?
I have had clients ask me this question, I always wrongly assume that people know what this means.
I carry on talking away or get carried away talking, about blood sugar, and sometimes it’s lost in translation.
OK lets clear it up!
BLOOD SUGAR
It’s just basics so don’t switch off yet:) Lower down you can cheat them level.
Let’s start with what our blood sugar is, it is as it says, the sugar also known as glucose in the blood.
The glucose is carried through our cells for energy. Sugar is from the food we eat, our bodies regulate the levels so we have neither too much or too little.
This balance is called HOMEOSTASIS
This sounds simple enough eh? well keeping it balanced is and can be the tricky part.
When you throw in stress and lack of sleep and cravings through possible hormone imbalances the homeostasis is thrown off balance.
Our blood sugar levels change throughout the day, after eating, for example, our levels will rise and then settle down after about an hour. They are at their lowest point before the first meal of the day, which is a breakfast.
So what happens when you eat a carbohydrate for example pasta?
The human digestive system breaks down carbohydrates from food into various sugar molecules.
One of these sugars is glucose, the body’s main source of energy.
The glucose goes straight from the digestive system into the bloodstream after food is consumed and digested.
But glucose can only enter cells if there is insulin in the bloodstream too. Without insulin, the cells would starve.
Not all carbs are equal in terms of the speed the process happens and how they raise your blood sugar level. What we can use is the Glycemic Index. This gives us a reading range of how fast food is turned to glucose.
Ideally staying in the lower and middle range will help you maintain a healthy weight.
Using the GI index will help you keep your blood sugar balanced, the reason we need to stay balanced is to prevent diseases such as….
Obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Large-scale studies have shown that the more high-glycemic foods (those that quickly affect blood sugar), including foods containing sugar, a person consumes, the higher the risk for becoming obese and for developing diabetes and heart disease.
Have a look at the GI chart and stay in the healthy low to middle range. Maintain a healthy BMI and exercise regularly. Hydrate effectively and practice altruism daily.
For a more detailed approach please email direct………Tailored to your taste and lifestyle.
Please note you can balance your blood sugar levels with certain tricks…
Example…. Add a dollop of nut butter or seed butter to an apple slice for a snack that will stop your blood sugar spiking, apple alone will make it rise.
I have lots more tricks so email me for a free sheet on how to “Cheat your levels to stay…….level”.
maria1tait@gmail.com
Have a great Monday
x
