 You may or may not know that today is World Diabetes Day. And on this day at 2 PM (local time) thousands of people — whether they have diabetes or not — will test their blood sugar, exercise for 14 minutes, test again, and then share their results on the TuDiabetes website in an event called The Big Blue Test.
I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about why blood sugar doesn’t just matter for diabetics, but is something all of us should pay attention to. Because I’ve found that few people who don’t have diabetes realize that stable blood sugar is actually an integral part of our overall health and wellness.
Blood sugar (or blood glucose) is the amount of the simple sugar glucose in our blood. It goes up and down depending on what we eat and how well our bodies break down and absorb carbohydrates in foods — and they don’t have to be sweet to have an effect. You can get a “sugar high” from white potatoes, pasta, white rice, or white bread. It may come as no surprise that highly processed foods, particularly “junk” food made with refined grains or sweeteners, pack a real wallop when it comes to raising blood sugar.
Elevated blood sugar over the long-term can lead to insulin resistance, which can put women at a higher risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, breast cancer, and of course type 2 diabetes. Unstable blood sugar (the “sugar high” followed by the “crash”) affects our moods and promotes weight gain as well as hormonal fluctuations (think PMS and hot flashes!). Researchers are also suggesting links between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s disease, and other types of cancer as well. 1
So now you’re saying, I thought this blog was supposed to make me feel good, not depressed! Here’s the good news: you can do some easy things to keep your blood sugar level. My suggestions are as follows:
- Exercise regularly (even a walk around the block will help!)
- Pair your sweets and starches with protein, healthy fat, and/or fiber to lessen the insulin spike
- Get your vitamins and minerals (especially chromium, magnesium, and B vitamins)
- Have your practitioner test your fasting blood sugar so you know where you stand. A normal fasting blood sugar is 99 or below, a reading between 100 and 125 is considered “pre-diabetes”, and anything above 125 is in the diabetic range
Diabetes now affects over 300 million people worldwide, so keeping tabs on and stabilizing your blood glucose is a key health issue that we should all take into consideration. And participating in the Big Blue Test is one great way to start.
For more information on blood sugar, read our article on insulin resistance and supplements for diabetes and insulin resistance.
1 Taubes, G. 2011. Is Sugar Toxic? The New York Times Magazine. URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all (accessed 10.28.2011).
Mayo Clinic. Diabetes and Alzheimer’s linked. URL: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-and-alzheimers/AZ00050 (accessed 10.28.2011). |