Sugar (glucose) levels are very carefully managed by the body. Sugars and carbohydrates once digested are broken down into glucose. Our body can only cope with 1 tsp. of sugar at any one time. If, for example, you drank a sugary fizzy drink, the amount of sugar in the blood would rise steeply. The body tries to protect itself from the sugar by releasing insulin. Its job is to pull the excess sugar from the blood, which accounts for the blood sugar crash. Blood sugar drops can lead to dizziness, fatigue, and headaches.
Ideally we want to keep or blood sugar levels constant throughout the day. Avoiding dips and spikes.
What are the affects of long term uncontrolled blood sugar?
If you diet continues to be high in refined carbohydrates, which require insulin to control, the blood sugar levels the pancreas soon becomes tired and won’t produce enough insulin, which then leads to high level of glucose the blood which can lead to diabetes. Diabetes can lead to illness associated with the eyes, kidneys and nerves.
What are the signs that your blood sugar may be out of balance?
Irritable and anxious if you miss a meal. Mood improves after you haven eaten
Low energy/sluggish especially in the afternoon
Constantly hungry
Crave sweet sugary foods
Feel thirsty/frequent urination
Excessive weight around the middle.
Find it hard it to lose weight
Mood swings
Headaches
Poor concentration/brain fog/disconnected
•Tested blood sugar levels are raised
How can I keep my blood sugar balanced?
Avoid
Simple carbohydrates – white rice, pasta, bread. These foods are simple in structure, devoid of fibre and nutrients (empty calories), break down easily causing a fast release of glucose into the blood responsible for the ‘sugar high/hit) which is short lived.
Sugar, (also seen as, fructose, dextrose, glucose sucrose), honey, maple syrup, dried fruit esp. dates. Careful with processed foods such as cakes, biscuits, ketchup, bake beads, fruit juice yoghurts and some cereals. Read labels.
Avoid eating too much fruit. Two portions a day. Limit the amount of sugar laden fruit juices.
Alcohol – cut down to a minimum – can cause wild spikes in blood sugar. Often people think they need an alcoholic drink after a hard day, but could be low blood sugar and they just need to eat!
Stimulants – coffee, tea, cigarettes, fizzy drinks. Drugs. Caffeine stimulates adrenaline, which encourages the release of stored glucose causing a rapid rise in blood sugar. A ‘hit’ is experienced followed by a
•crashing low as insulin works to lower the levels. Avoid drinking on an empty stomach. Try to cut down and drink with food
Do!
Eat Complex Carbohydrates, brown rice, oats, rye bread, and lentils, complex structures, with more fibre and nutrients; break down slowly avoiding the sudden blood sugar rise.
Eat little and often – try not to fast all day and then eat at night. Large, infrequent meals will cause bigger shifts in blood sugar, than smaller more frequent meals. Make sure you have some protein with complex carbohydrates at each meal. Protein slows down the breakdown rate of the carbs and so makes you feel fuller for longer.
•Snacks – handful of nuts or an oatcake with nut butter or hummus
Eat breakfast (with a source of protein). Blood sugar can be at its lowest when we wake and if you don’t eat any breakfast it can dip even lower.
Healthy fats - coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds they help slow the release of glucose in the bloodstrea
Sleep! A lack of sleep can raise stress and appetite hormones (cortisol and ghrelin) that make you hungry and make it harder to say no to those sugary snacks
Exercise - helps cells in your muscles take up more glucose in order to use it for energy and tissue repair and lowers blood sugar in the process.
