How do you feel after meals?
Tired? More Energy?
Either way, it can be a sign of blood sugar dysregulation.
Have you ever heard of Insulin Resistance and what is Insulin anyways? Let’s take a look at this important hormone – because it is extremely important.
Your body wants to maintain a constant supply of easily-accessible energy in the form of blood glucose sugar (like a fuel line to an engine). Just as you do not want to flood your engine, your body is careful to keep blood sugar levels in a narrow optimal range. “Flooding the system” with high amounts of sugar or refined carbohydrates triggers the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin. INsulin tells all your cells to take IN and store excess energy, effectively removing it from the bloodstream. Insulin also turns off glucose production in the liver and fat burning in cells (there is no need to pull from savings if you have sufficient income).
How does someone become Insulin Resistant?
If your diet is high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, your body is constantly pumping out insulin to keep your blood sugar in the optimal range.
Over time, your cells can become desensitized to insulin constantly “knocking at the door”. Like the boy who cried wolf, cells stop responding to insulin’s signals, a phenomenon called insulin resistance. This leaves the excess sugar in the bloodstream, where it can damage the blood vessels (and contribute to inflammatory diseases). Similarly, the signaling pathway that controls production of new glucose in the liver is disrupted, resulting in unnecessary sugar production to add to the already elevated levels in the blood.
This vicious cycle continues unless insulin sensitivity is restored through diet (reduce carb/sugar intake) and lifestyle (movement, sleep, regular meals, etc).
Did you know?
According to experts, having a meal should never cause an increase in energy or a drop in energy. Eating should only cause hunger to dissipate or stop altogether. If you feel fluctuations in your mood or energy before or after eating, it is likely a sign of poor blood sugar function.
Choosing the right foods can help resolve insulin issues and fiber is extremely important when it comes to blood sugar regulation. Fiber acts to slow digestion and prevents blood sugar spikes that promote over production of insulin. And, most of us don’t get enough fiber.
Be sure to gradually increase your intake of fiber, don’t necessarily jump in with both feet. Increasing fiber too quickly can cause you to feel bloated among other things.
General guidelines for daily fiber intake range from 25-35 grams daily – men generally benefit from more fiber than women but everyone is unique.
One of the most important things to understand about Insulin is that it is rarely evaluated or monitored via blood work. Conventional medicine will generally use Glucose as a baseline for determining if someone is moving towards Type 2 Diabetes, likely due to our failed insurance system guidelines. However, increased insulin or Insulin Resistance is a precursor to the development of Type 2 Diabetes. Insulin is a relatively inexpensive way to check for early signs of blood sugar dysregulation but, in our current health care (really it would be better named “sick care”) system one would actually need to be diagnosed with and already have Type 2 Diabetes for a practitioner to begin looking at Insulin levels. And most of us don’t know how best to advocate for ourselves in a doctor’s office, from a preventative perspective.
If you experience any of the symptoms listed above, my recommendation would be to push to have Insulin be a part of your regular, routine bloodwork, even if you have to pay out of pocket.
If you think you may have issues with blood sugar dysregulation, reach out today and schedule a consultation!