Blood Glucose Control

IMPROVING GLUCOSE TOLERANCE

Never before have there been as many low fat or fat free products available and yet Western society is more obese than ever.  One key issue is that many of these low fat foods are high in sugars.
Keeping fat intake low, whilst controlling carbs, is the path to a sustainable reduction in body fat.
A diet that is high in sugar and refined carbohydrates will lead to an increase in body fat. 

After eating:

  • the gut breaks down carbohydrates into glucose.

  • the glucose is absorbed from the gut and it is burnt for energy or stored.

If the carbs you eat require little digestion, glucose becomes rapidly available in the gut and is absorbed quickly.  The level of glucose in the blood is controlled by insulin, insulin acts to ensure that blood glucose levels do not rise above the normal range.  It moves glucose from the blood into cells.  The faster blood glucose rises the more insulin is produced

POOR BLOOD GLUCOSE CONTROL = DYSGLYCEMIA

Ever felt:

  • tired in a meeting after lunch?

  • irritable?

  • swinging moods?

  • heavy legs when you try to train?

  • unable to lose body fat despite training and eating well?

  • unable to get stronger?

  • poor sleep patterns?

  • stressed?

WHAT GOES WRONG……

Poor blood glucose control occurs for a number of reasons.  The most common and most important reasons are consumption of rapidly absorbed sugars, over stimulation of the pancreas and nutrient deficiencies, which reduce the impact of insulin in the body.

Some good tips are:

  1. Match your energy input (food you eat) with energy output (energy you burn), this is achieved by portion control and increasing physical activity and exercise. Reducing food intake instead will lead to muscle loss instead of fat loss.

  2. Choose foods that will break down slowly so the body can burn it rather than have to store calories as fat. Foods that are absorbed slowly also have the added advantage of making you feel full and decreasing appetite.

  3. Eat carbohydrates in expectation of activity. Do not eat large volumes of carbohydrates before bed when requirements are low

THE GLYCEMIC INDEX

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a key to this way of eating.  The GI is a number that is given to carbohydrate foods to show how fast blood glucose will rise.  GI is only relevant to carbohydrates.  The higher the GI the more disruption to blood glucose is caused.  The lower the GI the slower the food is broken down.  We can therefore use the GI as a guide to which carbohydrate foods to eat when.

Click here to view the GI Index for certain carbohydrates.

There are four factors that effect blood glucose levels after a meal.

GL refers to glycemic load. Some foods have a higher GI but a low GL as it’s hard to eat enough of them to significantly raise your blood glucose. Carrots are an example of this kind of food.

  1. The GI of the carbohydrate

  2. The volume of the carbohydrate

  3. The presence of protein in the meal, which slows down the rate at which carbohydrate is digested.

  4. The fibre content of the food (slows down absorption of the glucose)

Click here for simple, healthy, enjoyable suggestions for breakfast, lunch, evening meal and snacking.

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© 2012 7Futures Ltd. Please note that, at 7Futures, our role is to help educate and encourage our clients to take positive responsibility for their wellbeing. We are not medical doctors and are not able to offer individual medical advice. We always recommend you should discuss with your GP or other medical professional before making any changes you hope will impact your wellbeing, or that of your current/future family.  7Futures Ltd offers generic information which is for educational purposes only. The information we provided is not a prescription system and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. As such our materials, videos products and communications are for general information purposes only and should not be read as a personal recommendation for specific changes in lifestyle behaviour, nutrition, or exercise. Please click here for a clear description of our services and the relationship with you as a client. You should not participate in any of our services until you have studied this link...it is for your benefit.

Mark Davies