Arete Warriors – spirit, mind, body strong

Nutrition

The Blood Sugar Craze

Dear Reader,

Blood glucose has been on my mind all my life as I have an older brother who is Type 1 Diabetic. Blood sugar was a life or death matter in my house.

Ironically, when I was young, the health advice out there was to eat low fat, so we consumed plenty of carbohydrates.

I remember the day (I was in college) when I first heard that spaghetti noodles might not actually be good for us. I remember exactly where I was sitting when I read that pasta might have “too much sugar” in it.

I was disgusted at the idea. 🙄 “What WILL they think of next?”

😂

I can’t remember how long it took for me to finally be convinced, but my whole adult life I’ve eaten pretty low carb.

I don’t recall when I first learned I feel better eating less carbs. I even spent 9 months eating Keto & realized 6 months in that I had not taken an allergy med in 6 months, which was HUGE for me at the time.

Keto (no sugar) is anti-inflammatory for me.

But that doesn’t mean I want to eat that way forever. I LOVE my mom’s maple bars 🤩, chips, fries, & a big bowl of buttered, salty popcorn. (We’re on a bit of a kick here lately.)

In fact, when I first went off Keto & started eating carbs again, I couldn’t believe how much better I slept & recovered. I wear the Whoop so I had actual evidence of this, not just a feeling.

For years I’ve been curious about my own blood sugar. I’ve poked myself to test my blood & peed on sticks to measure here & there but as you will see from the picture below, your timing has to be pretty amazing to catch the quick fluctuations.

Ali is ramping up his health lately & started using the Stelo (a continuous glucose monitor). I was jealous so bought 3 months for myself (which cost $252).

Let’s Prepare – the warm up

When we eat carbohydrates our bodies digest them down to glucose (sugar). If we consume more than we immediately need our blood sugar goes up & the pancreas releases insulin to help cells take up – use or store – the glucose.

It is to our benefit to keep our blood sugar relatively stable. In the short term, blood sugar spikes can cause excess hunger, cravings, moodiness, fatigue, difficulty concentrating & can negatively impact sleep.

That’s reason enough right there to want to keep it steady, but the long term consequences of riding too high, too often are even more detrimental.

Here is an example of one of my days where I stayed in the suggested 70 – 140 range.

There are a variety of factors that can influence our blood sugar, beyond just how many carbs we consume. I will go over a few of the biggest ones here.

• Consuming simple carbs (candy, fruit, juice, etc.) alone will spike your blood sugar more than if you have Protein, Fat or Fiber with (ideally BEFORE) you eat the sugar.

It costs the body more work & time to digest Protein, Fat & Fiber. If you want to have some sugar, it’s better to have some dessert, than it is to eat the ice cream all by itself, especially for breakfast.

• In the morning, we are more prone to glucose spikes so it is best to start your day with less sugar.

This is another reason why I like my first meal of the day to have at least 30 g of protein in it.

Hormones influence our blood sugar levels. Cortisol & growth hormone increase in the morning, which tells the liver to release stored glucose. This happens whether you consume carbs or not, AND whether your morning is stressful or not!

• Stress triggers the Fight or Flight response which releases sugar into the blood stream in case you need to run. It also increases adrenaline & cortisol which inhibit insulin’s effectiveness.

Ali coached Nadia’s basketball team & they made it to the playoffs. His blood sugar would soar during those intense games. 😆 It was actually pretty cool to see. I love when we get to SEE the science happening in our bodies.

Interestingly, high intensity exercise will sometimes have the same effect. (It’s stress, which activates the sympathetic nervous system.)

However, the opposite happens when we exercise less intensely.

• Using our muscles will decrease blood sugar (obviously) so if you consume a meal higher in carbs, go for a walk, or do some squats, push ups or calf raises.

​This article explains that even if you are sitting down, you can do seated calf raises (soleus pushups) after a meal & this will positively affect your blood sugar!

Here’s one more trick for you.

• Consuming 1 tablespoon of vinegar (either on your salad or in water), ideally 20 minutes before a meal, can reduce your blood glucose spike by up to 30%.

The Glucose Goddess has devoted her career to studying & explaining the importance of blood sugar regulation. Jessie Inchauspe is a French author, mathematician & biochemist who created The Glucose Hacks, a list of proven tips to reduce glucose spikes.

Interestingly, she got into this line of work when she learned how leveling out her blood sugar improved her mood & health immensely.

Let’s Work – the exercise

I wore the Stelo monitor for just under 2 months. I learned less than Ali is learning but he has always eaten more carbs than I do so he has more “areas of opportunity”. 😁

As a bit of a self-proclaimed Human Body Nerd, I enjoyed watching what would happen when I ate certain things. For example, this was the day I dove into some candy in addition to popcorn after dinner. 🤭

Everyone is different. For me, I was surprised to learn the rise happened later than I expected. (My blood sugar doesn’t immediately go up.) I think I’d had the sugar about an hour prior to this.

I learned that I CAN have my big ‘ol bowl of buttered popcorn AFTER a protein & fiber filled dinner, without a spike, but I can’t eat nearly the amount of tortilla chips I’d like to. ☹️ This could also be because when I eat chips it’s often BEFORE (or at least at the beginning) of my meal.

Sometimes I would spike when I ate my no sugar, high protein yogurt with grain free granola & a handful of blueberries on top for breakfast. This surprised me but it was in the morning & after an intense workout, so those probably contribute.

This brings me to another note… Sugar is sugar. Yes, a blueberry might at least provide some fiber & vitamins, but it is essentially digested the same as honey, table sugar, or maple syrup.

Alcohol is not sugar, unless you add sugar to the liquor. Having a glass of wine before or with dinner will actually likely lessen the blood glucose response. But before you go celebrate this news with that cocktail, just know it’s only because it’s essentially poisoning your liver. 😬

I’ll be honest. I still drink, but I’m a lot more selective these days. I don’t drink as much or as often, & I make sure I will have plenty of time to sleep off all the nagging effects. I also consume some slower burning carbs & maybe some electrolytes for added insurance.

My blood sugar average for the time I wore it was 98. I spent 98% of my time in the target range (& some of that was below the recommended 70 bottom.)

The last thing I’ll add is you can still gain weight with your blood sugar in a “good” range. I didn’t lose weight when I did Keto.

Blood sugar is important, not just for weight, but our overall health. If you’re not going to wear a monitor, at least follow the general guidelines above for a while & see if you notice a difference in your energy level, mood, cravings, sleep & hunger.