How to Get Your Blood Sugar Under Control
http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php
The advice you will find below is an edited, updated version of the excellent advice written by a lady named Jennifer , which has helped thousands of people bring their blood sugars down to the level that gives an A1c test result in the 5% range. Note: The Jennifer who wrote the advice is not the same person as the Jenny who maintains these pages.
How to Lower Your Blood Sugar
Step 1: Eat whatever you've been eating and write it all down Eat normally, but use your blood sugar meter to test yourself at the following times. Write down what you ate and what your blood sugar results were:
Upon waking (fasting)
1 hour after each meal
2 hours after each meal
What you will discover by this is how long after a meal your highest reading comes... and how fast you return to "normal." Also, you may learn that a meal that included bread, fruit or other starches and sugars (carbohydrates) gives you a higher reading.
Step 2: For the next few days cut back on your carbohydrates Eliminate breads, cereals, rice, beans, any wheat products, potato, corn, and fruit. Get all of your carbohydrates from veggies. Test your modified meals using the same schedule above. See what impact you can make on your blood sugar by eliminating various high carbohydrate foods. The closer we get to non-diabetic readings, the greater chance we have of avoiding horrible complications. Here are what doctors currently believe to be non-diabetic readings:
Fasting blood sugar
under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L)
One hour after meals
under 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)
Two hours after meals
under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L)
If you can do better than this, go for it. At a minimum, The American College of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends that people with diabetes keep their blood sugars under 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L) two hours after eating. When you achieve normal blood sugar targets, you can start cautiously adding back carbohydrates, making sure to test after each meal. Stop adding carbohydrates as soon as you get near your blood sugar targets. Recent studies have indicated that your "after meal" numbers are those most indicative of future complications, especially heart problems.
Step 3: Test Test Test!Remember, we're not in a race or a competition with anyone but ourselves. Play around with your food plan. Test, test, test! Learn what foods cause blood sugar spikes and what foods cause cravings. Learn which foods give you healthy blood sugars. No matter what anyone tells you, if a food raises your blood sugar over the targets you are aiming for, that food should not be part of your diabetes food plan. Your blood sugar meter will tell you what the best "diabetes diet" is for your body. Use it and regain your health!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Naked Carbs May Lead to Insulin Spikes
http://www.gardenoflifeusa.com/OurCompany/Articles/DailyHealthArticleDisplay/tabid/1539/ContentPubID/373/settmid/3463/Default.aspx
Naked Carbs May Lead to Insulin Spike
You probably know that you should not eat your carbs naked, but do you know why you shoudn't? It has something to do with the glycemic index.
You may have heard of the glycemic index. Simply put, the glycemic index is a measure of how fast insulin (a hormone released by the pancreas to manage blood glucose levels) rises in response to the amount of glucose or sugar entering the bloodstream. Here’s how it works: the faster glucose arrives into the bloodstream and the higher the amount of that sugar, the higher the glycemic index of that food.
Carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates, have a higher glycemic index and will enter the bloodstream much faster than proteins or fats do. Most of us know that too many carbohydrates, especially those from refined sources, not only cause insulin spikes but can also cause the body to store excess carb intake as body fat.
If the release of insulin is too frequent due to foods high on the glycemic index, cells can eventually become desensitized to insulin--a condition associated with cardiovascular disease , high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, blood fat abnormalities, and obesity.
And that brings us to this: one thing you can do to avoid the insulin spikes is to never eat your carbs naked. By that, we mean to couple your carbs (healthy ones) with a healthy protein or fat. Insulin is released quickly in response to carbohydrates, and if carbs are eaten alone, insulin levels can skyrocket. And our culture sure has its share of over-abundant carbohydrate intake. And sugars, including fructose and high-fructose corn syrup, have been major players.
In fact, as early as the 1970s, studies were indicating the correlation between refined carbohydrate intake and increases in degenerative conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Likewise, further studies indicated that the addition of sugar to our diets gleaned a large increase in heart disease and diabetes. Pioneering studies resonate with current studies indicating that increased sugar consumption eerily mirrors the increase in the incidence of cardiovascular disease—and some of it has to do with the hormone insulin.
You may be wondering what effects high insulin levels (due to high carbohydrate and sugar consumption) can have on the body. According to Ann Louise Gittleman, author of How to Stay Young and Healthy in a Toxic World, sustained high insulin levels can increase cholesterol production, increase fat storage, and lead to hypertension. Likewise, Ralph DeFronzo, M. D., of the University of Texas Health Center, believes that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity are symptoms of underlying hyperinsulinemia.
And DeFronzo is not alone. Additional studies conclude that sugar intake (especially fructose intake) may be a risk factor for hypertension, insulin resistance, hypertriacylglycerolemia, obesity, type 2 diabetes, preeclampsia, chronic kidney disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease—all bad things for health.
The bottom line? Avoid sugar, especially fructose and high fructose corn syrup, and be sure to eat foods with a low glycemic index, including organically grown non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes (soaked first for optimal benefits) and sprouted grains. Non-starchy vegetables include arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, spinach, squash, and tomatoes.
And when you do eat healthy carbs, be sure to pair them with a healthy protein or fat. It’s a combination your insulin levels will appreciate--and ensures that you never eat your carbs naked.
Naked Carbs May Lead to Insulin Spike
You probably know that you should not eat your carbs naked, but do you know why you shoudn't? It has something to do with the glycemic index.
You may have heard of the glycemic index. Simply put, the glycemic index is a measure of how fast insulin (a hormone released by the pancreas to manage blood glucose levels) rises in response to the amount of glucose or sugar entering the bloodstream. Here’s how it works: the faster glucose arrives into the bloodstream and the higher the amount of that sugar, the higher the glycemic index of that food.
Carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates, have a higher glycemic index and will enter the bloodstream much faster than proteins or fats do. Most of us know that too many carbohydrates, especially those from refined sources, not only cause insulin spikes but can also cause the body to store excess carb intake as body fat.
If the release of insulin is too frequent due to foods high on the glycemic index, cells can eventually become desensitized to insulin--a condition associated with cardiovascular disease , high blood pressure, adult-onset diabetes, blood fat abnormalities, and obesity.
And that brings us to this: one thing you can do to avoid the insulin spikes is to never eat your carbs naked. By that, we mean to couple your carbs (healthy ones) with a healthy protein or fat. Insulin is released quickly in response to carbohydrates, and if carbs are eaten alone, insulin levels can skyrocket. And our culture sure has its share of over-abundant carbohydrate intake. And sugars, including fructose and high-fructose corn syrup, have been major players.
In fact, as early as the 1970s, studies were indicating the correlation between refined carbohydrate intake and increases in degenerative conditions like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Likewise, further studies indicated that the addition of sugar to our diets gleaned a large increase in heart disease and diabetes. Pioneering studies resonate with current studies indicating that increased sugar consumption eerily mirrors the increase in the incidence of cardiovascular disease—and some of it has to do with the hormone insulin.
You may be wondering what effects high insulin levels (due to high carbohydrate and sugar consumption) can have on the body. According to Ann Louise Gittleman, author of How to Stay Young and Healthy in a Toxic World, sustained high insulin levels can increase cholesterol production, increase fat storage, and lead to hypertension. Likewise, Ralph DeFronzo, M. D., of the University of Texas Health Center, believes that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity are symptoms of underlying hyperinsulinemia.
And DeFronzo is not alone. Additional studies conclude that sugar intake (especially fructose intake) may be a risk factor for hypertension, insulin resistance, hypertriacylglycerolemia, obesity, type 2 diabetes, preeclampsia, chronic kidney disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease—all bad things for health.
The bottom line? Avoid sugar, especially fructose and high fructose corn syrup, and be sure to eat foods with a low glycemic index, including organically grown non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes (soaked first for optimal benefits) and sprouted grains. Non-starchy vegetables include arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, spinach, squash, and tomatoes.
And when you do eat healthy carbs, be sure to pair them with a healthy protein or fat. It’s a combination your insulin levels will appreciate--and ensures that you never eat your carbs naked.
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