Blood Sugar Overview

Your body primarily uses blood sugar as fuel. The blood levels of glucose must be tightly regulated because too much or too little will cause damage as you might expect.

Different body systems will help regulate your blood sugar levels including liver, pancreas, adrenal glands, intestines and of course brain.

Behavior is Key for Most of Us

You are not at the mercy of uncontrollable forces here. Behavior plays a major role in how well your body can manage your blood sugar. Factors you can control include diet, exercise and mental attitude.

Foods to Be Avoided

First let's talk diet. For those having blood sugar issues, the following will stress your body and should be avoided as much as possible.

  • concentrated sugars-candies and other similar treats
  • caffeine-coffee and sodas and some teas
  • nicotine-another reason to quit smoking and/or chewing tobacco
  • alcohol
  • foods that can cause an allergic reaction-the histamine produced will cause its own stress on the brain and adrenal glands
  • partially hydrogenated oil (AKA trans fats) - they put a poor-quality fat in the cell membranes and also inhibit steroid hormone synthesis
  • Artificial sweeteners - interfere with conversion of phenylalanine to tyrosine - tyrosine is needed for brain chemistry and also for synthesis of catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine) in the adrenal medulla
  • deficient sleep
  • too much exercise

Here are a few more specific steps you can take to help your body out.

If you go for more than a few hours without eating, your body goes into a different mode involving stored glucose in the liver for its source.That isn't a problem for a perfectly healthy person but for a hypoglycemic or pre-diabetic, the additional stress on the blood sugar regulation will continue to cause problems you will have to pay for later.

Glycemic Index Still Relevant

You should become acquainted with the concept of the glycemic index.Look for the article on that topic or do a simple internet search. The concept is simple and basically says that some foods are more quickly raise your blood sugar than others. You want to choose foods that raise the blood sugar slowly such as nuts, raw apples, hard boiled eggs and some snack bars.

Don't wait to eat until you are hungry and that includes breakfast. By the time your body advises you of the hunger, you are probably have been running in stress mode for a few hours.

Zone Diet Is Helpful

Mix proteins with your carbohydrates. For a complete explanation of this important concept, consult any of the Zone writings.

Grains Won't Help With Blood Sugar Control

Grains are not your friend. That includes wheat, rye, barley, oats and corn. Rice seems to be better tolerated but only in small amounts. Check out my other writings on gluten sensitivity. Your chances are greater than 90% that you have gluten intolerance issues. Gluten is a protein component of the listed grains.

Side Note: Intermittent fasting of different types seems here to stay as of this update in 2022. This is an important topic that will require its own blog.

Moderate Exercise Good For Many Reasons

Moderate exercise is key. Best is 30 to 45 minutes of something like brisk walking, jogging, swimming or biking for example. This type of exercise dramatically lowers the effort your body uses to regulate blood sugar. Start with 5 minutes a day and work up. It takes 3 months of repetition to build a new habit.

Meditation is Always Helpful

The think Americans probably have the most trouble with relaxation techniques. Most people are wound pretty tight and have 25 hours a day worth of tasks. Because some type of true relaxation each day is so important, we will discuss this in a separate blog and video.

Caffeine and Blood Sugar

Having caffeine equal to about 2 cups of coffee a day can raise blood sugar an average of about 8%. A 2008 study at Duke University checked just that. They gave people with type II diabetes 500 mg of caffeine every day for a week while the second group did not have any caffeine. The researchers wanted to see about caffeine interfering with the action of insulin that helps move sugar into the cells.

Stevia seems to have no effect on blood sugar.

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