Diabetes

To decrease your sugar:

• Eat more green vegetables

• Eat more lean protein- chicken and fish

• Switch from white to wheat carbs (bread, tortillas, rice, pasta). Limit your portions of these foods.

• Limit portions of starchy foods: potatoes, corn, beans/peas.

• Limit cakes, sweets, cokes, and alcohol.

These foods also contain sugar, so limit or avoid these:

• Juice, dried fruits - raisins, prunes, apricots

• Tropical fruits - banana, mango, pineapple, watermelon

• Salad dressing

• Ketchup/ Tomato sauce

• Crackers

• Cereal

• Milk

• Marinades/ Sauces

***Remember to look at your FOOD LABELS. Try to avoid foods with more than 7 grams of total carbs and any added sugar.

Diet and exercise are important in managing diabetes, but medicines are often needed.

Different medicines act in different ways and each only brings your sugar down a certain amount. Depending on how high your sugar is, multiple medicines may be needed to get your blood sugar down to goal.

(see below to learn more about the science of diabetes and how it affects your health)

Diabetes: the Science and Your Health

Your body breaks food down into glucose to use for energy.

Starchy and sugary foods, milk and dairy products, and fruit are all broken down into glucose within our digestive system. This glucose then goes out into the bloodstream to be taken up by cells all over the body to use as energy.

When there is too much glucose in your blood, inflammation increases and your mitochondria get worn out - your body does not like high amounts of sugar.

To decrease your sugar level, your pancreas releases the hormone insulin to help bring glucose into your body’s cells and out of your blood.

Our glucose levels drop between meals. The liver and muscles can release stored glucose out into the bloodstream to increase our blood glucose levels.

The body wants to keep glucose at a certain level. This balance is achieved by the food we eat, insulin release, and glucose sent out by the liver and muscles.

But this balance can be disturbed. Over time, If we eat too much sugar, our bodies become resistant to insulin. It then takes more insulin to bring our glucose levels down. This is insulin resistance.

With insulin resistance, our glucose and insulin levels are both higher than our body prefers them to be. Over time, this increases the risk of developing diabetes type 2.

With diabetes, our bodies cannot use and store glucose effectively. This causes high levels of glucose in the body. All of our cells and organs are negatively affected if there is too much sugar present.

Glucose Revolution: the Science

******Listen to this podcast : On Purpose with Jay Shetty, March 18 episode with Jessie Inchauspe

The information below comes from this podcast as well as Jessie Inchauspe’s books - Glucose Revolution (heavy on the science) and Glucose Goddess Method (overview with recipes and a 4 week planner)

The information below is easier to understand after listening to this podcast, but if this is too much science, skip to the next section, Glucose Revolution: the Plan.

Why should you care about your sugar?

- 88% of Americans have dysregulated sugar levels, with sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day.

- These sugar spikes can cause a variety of symptoms including low energy, poor mood/irritability, poor sleep, brain fog/trouble concentrating, weight gain/unable to lose weight, headaches, stomach symptoms, poor immune system functioning/frequent colds, increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, infertility …

- These extreme fluctuations in sugar also cause cravings and difficulty losing weight.

Sugar in Nature

Plants combine carbon dioxide and water, in the presence of sunlight, to make glucose. They use glucose as energy. This process is photosynthesis.

On cloudy, rainy days and at night, when plants do not have access to sunlight, they cannot perform photosynthesis. During these times, plants have to use stored glucose. They store glucose as starch in their roots - potatoes, turnips, parsnips (root/starchy vegetables).

Plants can also store sugar as fiber. Our bodies can’t break fiber down into glucose, so it won’t spike your sugar. Eating more fiber can help control diabetes.

Plants use amylase to break starch down into glucose for energy. Plants can break off pieces of glucose from the starch chains in their roots to have instant energy without photosynthesis. Humans also use an amylase enzyme to break down the sugar we eat.

Other stored forms of sugar in plants are fructose and sucrose. Fruit flesh is fructose. Sucrose is the most compact form of sugar stored in plants. These are the forms of sugar that are broken down the fastest, so they will spike your sugar more than starches. It is important to limit intake of fructose and sucrose.

Nature intended us to consume glucose in plant-form. Plants contain fiber with the other forms of sugar - starch, sucrose, fructose. Fiber naturally slows down our body’s absorption of glucose. When eaten in its natural form, sugar doesn’t have the same effects on our bodies as when it is eaten in processed form.

Our cells use glucose for energy. When glucose is low, our liver makes glucose/ gluconeogenesis. When glucose is even more limited, we can use fat as fuel/energy. But if we constantly supply our body with sugar, we will not use these reserves and will not be able to enter fat-burning mode = unable to lose weight.

Processed foods

Fiber cannot be frozen and then thawed, so many food industries strip fiber from processed food products. The food processing industry also often adds sugar to our foods. When we eat a diet high in processed foods, we are not eating sugar as nature intended - in its plant form.

(Plants contain fiber and lower concentrations of sugar compared to processed foods, including fruit juices and dried fruits).

Processed foods are low in fiber and high in concentrated sugar which causes higher glucose spikes.

Craving sweets?

Our brains developed to have cravings for sweet foods because they are packed with calories/energy. This was important when food was scarce. Sweet foods were important for survival in our hunter/gatherer days. For these reasons, we still get a dopamine rush and experience pleasure when we eat sweets. Our brain’s dopamine response can lead to addiction and cravings.

Mitochondria, Free Radicals, Inflammation, and Insulin

Mitochondria turn glucose into usable energy in our bodies, but they have an energy production limit. They can’t make extra energy if they are given extra glucose. When we eat more glucose than the energy we need, the mitochondria become overwhelmed and free radicals are created. When our mitochondria are overwhelmed, they also become less efficient.

When we consume more glucose than our mitochondria can process, our mitochondria become overwhelmed and less efficient. This leads to less energy physically - fatigue - and mentally - stress. When our mitochondria are not able to process all of the glucose in our system, this leads to a glucose spike. During a glucose spike, this excess glucose is stored in our muscles and liver and also converted to fat. When we constantly overload our system with too much glucose, we gain weight.

Free radicals are a normal product of the necessary chemical reactions within our cells. Anti-oxidants, exercise, and stress relief can all counteract these free radicals.

Oxidative stress increases when we consume fructose. Fat cells also increase oxidative stress. Oxidative stress causes heart disease, diabetes, dementia…. The combination of free radicals, oxidative stress, and excess glucose leads to inflammation. Inflammation causes acne, psoriasis, eczema, arthritis, food allergies/sensitivities...

When our mitochondria can’t handle all of the glucose, our pancreas releases insulin to signal cells to pull glucose out of our bloodstream. Glucose can then be stored in the liver and in our muscles. When these organs reach their capacity, all extra glucose is stored as fat. Fructose can only be stored as fat. Fat stored in our liver causes liver disease. Fat stored in our blood stream raises our cholesterol leading to heart disease and stroke. Fat stored in our fat reserves causes weight gain. Once insulin is released, it takes about 2 hours for our insulin level to come back down. If you are eating every 2 hours, your insulin level will remain high. This leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Unable to lose weight?

Our body stores excess glucose as fat when our insulin levels are up. Insulin levels must be low for our body to burn our fat reserves. Weight loss cannot occur while insulin levels are up. In order to lose weight, we must use and burn our reserved energy - glycogen in the liver and muscles and our fat reserves.

Repeated glucose spikes and high insulin levels also change our hunger hormones. Leptin signals “fullness/satiety” and ghrelin signals “hunger”. With glucose spikes, insulin levels stay up, and ghrelin “hunger” is more active and blocks the signals of leptin “fullness/satiety”.

Flattening our glucose curve, preventing glucose spikes, is necessary to decrease our insulin levels so that we can lose weight, feel better, and stay healthier.

To learn more: Follow Jessie Inchauspe @glucosegoddess

Read her books - Glucose Goddess Method

Glucose Revolution

Glucose Revolution: the Plan

Listen to this podcast: On Purpose with Jay Shetty, March 18 episode, with Jessie Inchauspe

The information below comes from this podcast as well as Jessie Inchauspe’s books - Glucose Revolution (heavy on the science) and Glucose Goddess Method (overview with recipes and a 4 week planner)

How to lower your sugar spikes/ flatten your glucose curve/ lower your insulin

1. Eat Fiber first, then Proteins/Fats, then Starches/Carbs/Sweets

• Fiber doesn’t break down into glucose, so it doesn’t raise our glucose levels. Fiber also slows down the process of sugar entering the bloodstream. It does this by temporarily slowing down the activity of amylase, the enzyme that breaks down sugar. This slows down the rate that sugar enters our blood stream. Fiber also decreases the absorption of glucose into the blood stream. This also slows down the rate that sugar enters our blood stream.

• Protein and fat also slow down the absorption of glucose. Make sure your meals contain these.

• Eating these foods before carbs/starches/sweets will decrease glucose spikes and flatten the glucose curve. This keeps our insulin levels lower and our hunger hormone less active. If we eat starches first, ghrelin/our hunger hormone returns to pre-meal levels within 2 hours, which makes us eat again, keeping our insulin levels high. If we eat more fiber and eat our starches last, ghrelin takes 5-6 hours to increase again, so we feel fuller for longer, and our insulin level has time to drop.

Eating food in this specific order: FIBER then PROTEINS/FATS then STARCHES/CARBS/SWEETS will keep your glucose and insulin levels lower.

An easy way to do this is to eat some chopped vegetables or a salad while preparing the rest of your meal.

(ideas to start your meal with fiber) - eat these while food prepping or eat these an appetizer before your meal:

•Salad with oil and vinegar dressing

•Chopped raw veggies with oil and vinegar dressing

•Pickled veggies, but make sure there is no sugar in these

•Cucumbers with guacamole or hummus

•Tomato with mozerella cheese or guacamole or hummus

•Carrots or peppers with hummus or guacamole or salsa

•4 marinated artichoke hearts (from jar)

2. Go savory for breakfast/first meal of the day

• Our stomach is empty when we eat our first meal of the day, so sugar will be processed faster. This causes our sugar to spike, which is followed by a sugar crash, and the cycle continues. This means a day full of hunger, cravings, brain fog, irritability, and fatigue. A sugary breakfast will also leave us hungry in about 2 hours. Eating a breakfast of protein and fat will not spike our sugar and can keep us full for 5-6 hours.

• If you want a sweeter breakfast: Add apples to oatmeal instead of sugar; Add berries to yogurt instead of honey; Consider adding these other options to your breakfast - cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa, unsweetened coconut, and unsweetened nut butters (instead of honey or sugar)

(savory breakfast ideas)

•Apple or pear with nuts and cheese

•Full fat greek yogurt with whole peach and cinnamon

•Full fat Greek yogurt with 2 tbsp nut butter and berries

•Avocado with hummus

•Smoked salmon with avocado and tomato

•Toast with nut butter

•Avocado toast

•Breakfast burrito- eggs, black beans, avocado, and salsa

•Hard boiled egg with salsa and avocado

3. Savory snacks/ instead of sweet snacks

This is the same concept. Eating sweets/sugar on an empty stomach leads to a sugar spike.

(better snack ideas)

•Cucumbers with guacamole or hummus

•Tomato with mozerella cheese or guacamole or hummus

•Carrots or belpeppers with hummus or guacamole or salsa

•Celery with nut butter

•Nuts and cheese

•Nuts and 1 piece dark chocolate

•Full fat Greek yogurt with nuts or nut butter

•Cheese

•Hard-boiled egg

•Apple with cheese or nut butter

4. Vinegar before meals

The acetic acid in vinegar temporarily slows down the activity of amylase - the enzyme that breaks down sugar. This slows down the process of sugar entering our blood stream which decreases sugar spikes.

Top raw veggies with vinegar or make a salad dressing containing vinegar to eat before your meal. All vinegars have the same effect so use the vinegar that you prefer: red wine, apple cider, rice, balsamic, sherry, or white wine vinegar…

5. Movement after meals

• When we move, our muscles contract; these contractions require energy; glucose is used for energy. When you move after a meal, the glucose enters your leg muscles instead of your fat reserves.

If we are sedentary after meals, glucose floods our system and overwhelms our mitochondria. This creates free radicals and inflammation. The extra glucose is stored as fat, leading to weight gain.

When we move after meals, our muscles contract and use glucose, lowering our glucose, and keeping our mitochondria functioning well.

Glucose levels usually reach their peak about 60-70 minutes after we eat, so it’s best to move within this time frame. 10 minutes of light physical activity within 60-70 minutes of meals is recommended.

6. Eat sweets as a dessert/not as a snack

When we eat sweets/sugar on an empty stomach, this leads to a sugar spike.

If we eat sweets/sugar at the end of a meal - after fiber, protein, and fat - the sugar will have less of an effect.

(Additional tips)

1. Minimize Fructose and Processed Foods

The negative effects of sugar occur 10x more with fructose compared to starch. Starchy carbs are less damaging than sweet carbs.

Processed foods have less fiber and more concentrated sugar compared to whole foods. Diets high in processed foods cause higher glucose spikes.

2. Clothe your carbs

Eating carbs alone causes glucose and insulin spikes, which lead to fluctuations in our hunger hormones, which makes us feel hungrier sooner.

Add fiber/fat/protein to your carbs. Eat veggies and nuts before a meal on-the-go or before going out to eat. Add greek yogurt or nuts to dessert/sweets. Top toast with avocado or cheese or butter. Eat some nuts before your croissant. Add nut butter to toast. Add nut butter to banana. Combine fruit with nut butter, nuts, cheese, egg, or full fat yogurt.

3. Food labels

Brown sugar, honey, coconut, and agave are not any healthier than white sugar. They all have the same effect on your glucose curve. All sugar comes from plants. All sugar is natural, so don’t be fooled by packaging. Dried fruit and fruit juices are concentrated, so we consume much more sugar than nature intended when we eat/drink these. Juices and dried fruits cause large glucose and fructose spikes.

Vegan, organic, and gluten-free can still spike your sugar. Look at sugar, total carbs, and fiber on label. This ratio should be <5 when possible. Remember- fiber slows down the absorption of sugar.

4. Cravings? Wait 20 minutes

Remember that when we were hunter-gatherers, a decreasing glucose level signaled danger. This meant that we hadn’t eaten in a while. The brain learned to signal the desire for high calorie, often sweet, foods. And rewarded us by increasing our dopamine levels to give us pleasure while we ate these foods. Today these decreasing glucose levels don’t mean that we’re famished or in any nutritional danger. Most of us have plenty of energy in reserve, but our brain still sends those same signals- telling us to eat high calorie foods. The decreasing sugar levels that cause our brains to give us these signals- “cravings”- usually occur after a sugar spike. If we eat high calorie foods in response to this craving, our sugar will spike and crash again, putting us on a roller coaster of cravings. If we wait 20 minutes, our liver will release glycogen, our sugar levels will return to normal, and our craving will usually disappear.

If you still have a craving after 20 minutes, try drinking some water or eating a healthy savory snack. Or grab a sweet to save and eat after your next meal. But if you just have to eat that sweet right now: 1. eat some veggies with vinegar or drink a vinegar drink (vinegar decreases sugar absorption), 2. eat 5 almonds or 5 olives or an egg or some cheese or a spoonful of greek yogurt or nut butter (protein+fat decreases sugar absorption), 3. then eat your sweet without guilt/ enjoy it, 4. and try to get some movement within the next hour (muscle contraction will lower your sugar levels)- All of these things will prevent a sugar spike, which will prevent continual cravings.

If you are taking medicines for diabetes, talk to your doctor first before making any major diet changes. You may need to make some medicine adjustments to prevent hypoglycemia with these diet changes.

To learn more: Follow Jessie Inchauspe @glucosegoddess

Read her books - Glucose Goddess Method

Glucose Revolution