Pre-Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, and Overweight Issues
Here's how it works: You eat something and the stomach and intestines breaks the food down into glucose. The cells need glucose for energy, but for the cells to be able to use glucose they also need insulin which the pancreas emits in the response to glucose.
The body, however, can become resistant to using the insulin if there are certain factors occurring, in particular excess fat. So the glucose stays in the blood, which makes the pancreas secrete more insulin. Eventually the pancreas gets tired, very tired and gives up. That's when pre-diabetes becomes diabetes. What a bummer.
Keeping glucose sugar levels balanced also helps promote weight loss as having low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) will trigger binge eating, which causes the rebound effect of high blood sugar or glucose. The body will rapidly store this high blood sugar as fat.
With a few tricks up your sleeve, you can easily control your glucose levels and avoid more serious health problems.
Ready? Read on!
Contents
- All About High Blood Sugar
- Order a Glucose Monitor
- Eat Small, Eat Often
- No Highs Or Lows
- Get Your Muscles Involved
- Burn, Baby, Burn
- Get Up Off of That Couch!
- Get Rid of the Belly Fat
- Belly Fat and Stress
- Dr. Oz on Creating Health
- Prevention's Flat Belly Diet
- Choose The Right Sweets
- Keeping That Sweet Tooth Happy and Healthy
- Know Your Food Friends and Enemies
- Keep Your Friends Close...
- Get Your Cholesterol In Right Balance
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Check Your Thyroid
- Your Doctor Won't Tell You This
- Secret Weapons
- Super Helpers
- What's Your Favorite Help In Lowering Blood Sugar?
- Get Informed
- Great Squidoo Lens
- Advice From Others
- Reader's Wisdom
- I'm Twitter-pated!
- I'm a maven...
All About High Blood Sugar
High blood sugar is called hyperglycemia versus low level blood sugar called hypoglycemia.Blood sugar levels are considered high when they're above 110 mg/dl first thing in the morning (assuming you weren't midnight snacking). You can get a simple kit to monitor your blood sugar and find out what foods might be affecting you negatively and what your fasting blood glucose level is.
Besides high blood sugar making you feel wonky, it can negatively affect many organs over a longer period of time.
Hyperglycemia can cause damage to the vessels that supply blood to vital organs, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, vision problems, and nerve problems.
In this lens, natural solutions to balancing or lowering blood sugar are listed in the orange boxes, with explanations following. These are tried and true solutions and extremely powerful.
Order a Glucose Monitor
Home Diagnostics True Track Smart System Blood Glucose Monitor
Amazon Price: $19.99 (as of 12/02/2008)
Eat Small, Eat Often
No Highs Or Lows
The body does much better eating smaller amounts of food, more often throughout the day. It's easier on the intestines, the pancreas, and the digestive enzymes.Depending on your caloric intake you could eat 4-6 meals, of 400-600 calories each. Eat at least every four hours.
Also increase your water. Being chronically dehydrated is hard on the blood, the carrier of not only the blood sugar but also insulin itself.
Get Your Muscles Involved
Burn, Baby, Burn
If Americans are the biggest consumers in the world, muscles are the glucose consumer equivalent. Getting physically active is one of the easiest ways to use up glucose and "force" the body out of insulin resistance. Exercise vigorously for 20-30 minutes a day to get optimal benefits. Get Up Off of That Couch!
Richard Simmons Walks it Out
Richard Simmons Walk it Out video. www.dickbird.org
Runtime: 3:18
125506 views
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Get Rid of the Belly Fat
Belly Fat and Stress
Belly fat increases heart disease and insulin resistance. It is particularly hard to get rid of by women in their menopause years.Belly fat can increase dramatically under acute and chronic high stress because of the hormone release of cortisol from the adrenals. Exercise helps reduce stress levels as does massage, meditation, yoga, relaxing baths, etc.
The recommended waist measurement for men is less than 40 inches and for women, less than 35 inches.
The following two books are excellent for targeting belly fat.
Dr. Oz on Creating Health
You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management
Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 12/02/2008)
Prevention's Flat Belly Diet
Flat Belly Diet
Amazon Price: $17.13 (as of 12/02/2008)
Choose The Right Sweets
Keeping That Sweet Tooth Happy and Healthy
Refined sugar and corn syrup dramatically increase your blood sugar, forcing the pancreas to secrete large amounts of insulin. The insulin tells the body to remove blood sugar fast (where it is stored as fat) which then causes a dramatic drop in blood sugar. Eventually the pancreas can't create insulin (diabetes) or the body becomes insulin resistant (like the boy who called wolf, too many times).There are sweeteners that can be used that don't dramatically increase the blood glucose level. Some have additional health benefits as well. All can be found in health food stores.
Stevia: This ancient herb from Paraguay adds no calories and is thought to help with obesity and blood pressure. It is mostly found in health food stores as a dietary supplement.
Agave Syrup: Forget tequila...use the syrup made from the same cactus! This sweetener needs to be consumed in between meals to maintain its low glycemic value (not raising the glucose or blood sugar levels). Agave comes in different "flavors" such as light or dark.
Xylitol: This natural substance found in many foods not only delivers a "sugar like" product that doesn't raise glucose or blood sugar levels, but it also helps protect teeth from decay.
Know Your Food Friends and Enemies
Keep Your Friends Close...
And Your Enemies Out The Door
Which brings us to the first food friend:
Fiber: Eat foods high in fiber including apples, oatmeal, whole, unrefined grains, bulky vegetables, nuts and seeds. Take a digestive aid such as Zypan (made by Standard Process), if your digestive system has a hard time digesting lots of fiber and wants to make gas instead.
Protein: If you just can't resist that Krispy Kreme donut, eat it with a slice of cheese or a hard boiled egg. The protein will slow the break down of the carbohydrates into glucose. Not recommended for cheating every day, but it can help you cheat once in a while!
Get Your Cholesterol In Right Balance
Metabolic Syndrome
Lots have been written about cholesterol and its effect on the blood vessels, if certain cholesterol is too high (while others are too low). HDL is the "good" cholesterol and trigylcerides are the bad.High cholesterol (of the bad sort) is part of a group of symptoms that together have been labeled metabolic syndrome. This condition is the precursor to heart disease and a host of other problems including diabetes.
Technically speaking, getting your cholesterol in right balance doesn't really lower your blood sugar levels. It does speak to overall improved health and less likelihood of becoming insulin resistant (which does affect high blood sugar).
Chinese tonic herbs are very beneficial for helping the body to come into balance. Two in particular are "kings" when it comes to health benefits for the body including balancing cholesterol.
Gynostemma: This herb is widely used in China and Japan specifically for its cardiovascular health benefits. Studies from around the world indicate that Gynostemma has the following cardiovascular-related actions in humans: cardiovascular protecting, cholesterol regulating, lowers blood and body fat, platelet regulating, anti-obesity, and triglyceride (bad cholesterol) lowering.
Reishi. Numerous clinical researchers in China, Russia and Japan have reported that Reishi has cholesterol-lowering properties. In one relatively large study, the effective rate was about 86% for 3 to 6 months of treatment. Reishi has an inhibitory effect on cholesterol biosynthesis and absorption. One mechanism of action is due to Reishi's ability to inhibit an enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway.
Reishi also helps reduce the effects of stress (which lead to belly fat).
Both of these products have been combined into one product called CardioPro 2000 and can be ordered from Dragon Herbs.
Check Your Thyroid
Your Doctor Won't Tell You This
There is a link between your thyroid and your pancreas. If your thyroid is not working properly, it can create a pancreatic imbalance which leads to insulin resistance in the body.Get it checked and get the thyroid balanced. Women, as they age, seem to lose more of their thyroid capability.
Secret Weapons
Super Helpers
Two food/dietary supplements are stand out helpers in improving blood sugar levels.Salacia: This aryuvedic herb from India helps normalize blood sugar and insulin levels, and supports healthy blood lipids. Salacia contains two potent alpha-glucosidase inhibitors that may help regulate carbohydrate-metabolic imbalances. Salacia will bring down glucose levels within 20 minutes after taking. It's best to use this super helper as needed versus every day. Salacia can be ordered from Dragon Herbs
Cinnamon: This wonderful tasting spice has been shown to lower fasting blood sugar levels AND balance cholesterol levels. A fabulous two-fer! Cinnamon is recommended at amounts of 1 gram a day and if taken for 40 days will continue to promote benefits for an additional 20 days. One delicious way to take cinnamon is to make tea with cinnamon sticks (boiling 2-3 sticks in 4 cups of water for 20 minutes). Or just add it to oatmeal, smoothies, or cinnamon toast (use whole grain bread such as Ezekiel and one of the recommended sweeteners above).
What's Your Favorite Help In Lowering Blood Sugar?
Vote on these or add your own.
Get Informed
Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You About Diabetes
Amazon Price: $13.45 (as of 12/02/2008)
Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad
Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 12/02/2008)
The Metabolic Syndrome Program: How to Lose Weight, Beat Heart Disease, Stop Insulin Resistance and More
Amazon Price: $15.61 (as of 12/02/2008)
It Must Be My Metabolism
Amazon Price: $12.71 (as of 12/02/2008)
Outsmart High Cholesterol
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/02/2008)
Great Squidoo Lens
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Type 2 Diabetes
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Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common every year in Western societies. There are many factors for this ranging from diet, lack of exercise and genetics. With the help of your doctor and nutritionists, it can be a manageable disease. In type 2 diabet...
Advice From Others
- Ebook The metabolic syndrome - Free Download PDF Ebooks Files
- Ebook The metabolic syndrome - Free Download PDF Ebooks Files, the most comprehensive source for free download PDF Ebook on the Web. Includes E-book Fictions, Adventure, Crime, Erotica, Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Science Fiction, ...
- Therapeutic treatment for metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes ...
- In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a method for treating a patient suffering from a metabolic disorder such as the metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, or prediabetes, and the metabolic sequale of these ...
- Metabolic Syndrome Signs, Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and ...
- Metabolic syndrome risk factors include high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance. Prevention and treatment include lifestyle changes and medication.
Reader's Wisdom
If you're not new to the problem of insulin intolerance, you've probably learned a few tricks of your own. Please share those with us.
aj2008 wrote...
Good, important lens. I used to be married to a diabetic and I know how difficult it can be to stabilise your blood sugar.
Posted November 23, 2008
Ener-G wrote...
in reply to sandyspider That's a good question, good question, good question : ) which unfortunately I don't know the answer to. However, in the featured lens above on Type 2 Diabetes there is a source for cinnamon in capsule form that really addresses this super helper. That's what I'd use.
Posted November 21, 2008
Jewelsofawe wrote...
Wow! Great info. I have hypothyroidism and for years had hypogycemia and am just now feeling better with it and have started eating fruits again which I did not eat for years. Also my blood sugar seems to have stabilized... It came about during a stressful time and seems to be getting better now...
Posted November 16, 2008
sandyspider wrote...
My blood sugar has always been good, which is funny when you consider my diet.
Being a Squidoo addict doesn't make good exercise either Good source of information.
Posted November 13, 2008
Levi wrote
sorry for the now...erm triple post :-) but i actually meant cassia bark, not acacia bark, sry. question still stands though
Posted November 12, 2008
Levi wrote
regarding Cinnamon - just wondering if it's only true cinnamon that works, or if acacia (sp?) bark, which is what most "supermarket" cinnamon is, works the same way
Posted November 12, 2008
Levi wrote
regarding Cinnamon - just wondering if it's only true cinnamon that works, or if acacia (sp?) bark, which is what most "supermarket" cinnamon is, works the same way
Posted November 12, 2008
Levi wrote
regarding Cinnamon - just wondering if it's only true cinnamon that works, or if acacia (sp?) bark, which is what most "supermarket" cinnamon is, works the same way
Posted November 12, 2008
redsecond wrote...
The tyroid bit is very informative. I just knew that!
I was thinking though, you haven't mention about nopal when you mention natural alternatives to lower blood-sugar levels. Nopal made from opuntia cactus can be one alternative that can be used to lower blood-sugar.
More success to your lens! It's very well-written.
Posted November 06, 2008
flighty02 wrote...
Thanks for a very informative lens. My partner was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes so this was of particular interest to me. 5*****
Posted October 20, 2008
Ener-G wrote...
I'm honored, Frankster, to have you as a fan. My apple photo is rather deceiving looking. Tough subject for a photo (blood? sugar? needles?).
Posted October 11, 2008
Frankster wrote...
Oops, Freudian slip -- I just realized your intro photo is of apples NOT candy corn! lol
Posted October 11, 2008
Frankster wrote...
Excellent source of info. Thanks for sharing. 5 stars, favorite and I'm a FAN! Bear hugs, Frankster
Posted October 11, 2008
Portable_eBay wrote...
I really need to lower by blood sugar. I won't even mention how high it is. Some of you may faint. :-) 5*
Posted September 27, 2008
MrMarmalade wrote...
great lens have forwarded your lens to a friend
Thank you
Posted September 26, 2008
I'm Twitter-pated!
@sanderson325 mine does that sometimes... It might be low blood sugar... Idk
Having a blood sugar crash....OH AN OREO! yum! Prolly not the best thing to eat..oh well!
Blood sugar drama today. Got to work high 338 took 35cc of insulin and crashed to 56. Stablized now.
