In the interest of completeness, this article will finish off the topic of sugar by discussing the concept of blood-sugar regulation. Carbohydrate is a fancy word for "sugar", as all carbohydrates get broken down in the body into sugar. Even all those healthy vegetables like broccoli, kale, spinach, asparagus etc. get broken down into sugars to be absorbed by the body to be used as fuel for energy. Maintaining an even blood-sugar level is important for overall health. Many of today's major diseases like diabetes and heart disease, are directly related to a lack of blood-sugar regulation.

The body is always trying to maintain homeostasis (maintaining equilibrium); and is only happy with a small window of variation in blood sugar. If we eat a very sugary snack without any protein or fat to slow the absorption into the bloodstream, the blood-sugar level quickly rises above the body's comfort zone and the body responds by secreting large amounts of insulin (your fat-storage hormone) to quickly take the sugar level back down to normal by storing the excess sugar that can't be used as fuel, as fat. Often too much insulin is secreted in the body's panicked response to the sky-rocketing blood-sugar levels. As a result, blood sugar levels plummet, causing a crash in energy and a strong craving for more sugar in the body's desperate attempt to bring blood-sugar levels to within normal limits. So, we reach for that cookie, and the cycle starts all over again.

Some people cycle between too high and too low blood-sugar levels all day, and this is extremely hard on the body. Over time, you gain fat weight because the cells of the body can only use so much sugar as fuel at a time, so insulin is constantly asked to convert the left-over sugar to fat. More time passes and you become insulin resistant, because it takes more and more insulin to lower the blood-sugar, and finally the insulin stops working altogether, so your blood-sugar remains high, and you can develop Type II Diabetes. More time passes and you get the heart disease diagnosis, as the constantly high blood sugar makes the blood components sticky, and slowly destroys the structural proteins of the arteries.

It is important, therefore, to regulate your blood sugar by choosing carbohydrates that break down into sugar gradually. The best choices are organic above-ground vegetables, as they are full of nutrition, yet less starchy and sweet than the below-ground vegetables. Whole grains like brown rice, millet, quinoa etc. that have not been flaked or ground into flour are also healthy choices. Once grain is ground into flour, even if the fiber content remains the same, it turns into sugar much more quickly in the body, so instead, choose flourless breads made of sprouted grain, like Manna or Ezekiel breads. Consuming some quality protein and fat along with the non-starchy vegetables and whole grain is also very helpful in slowing the sugar rush into the blood. The more starchy or sweet the meal or snack, the more quality protein and fat is needed to balance it, so eat smaller quantities so you are not over-eating in the calorie department. It is due to the problems of blood-sugar regulation that consuming products that contain straight sugar is such a problem for the body and should be avoided by everyone. Alcohol creates an insulin response just as sugar does, so reducing alcohol consumption is also very important if you are trying to lose weight, avoid disease and improve your health.

Each person has different food needs – this is called Biochemical Individuality. Think of food as fuel – so for example a truck takes a different mix of fuel than say a sports car. Each person needs a different fuel mix, for humans our fuel mix is made up by carbohydrates, proteins and fat.

To understand your different needs, and blood-sugar regulation – Metabolic Typing – helps each person determine their proper fuel mix. The book Metabolic Typing Diet by William Wolcott explains this concept. Or if you want a more in depth approach fell free to contact me.

My next three columns will be on posture, stretching and resistant (strength) training – Movements that Matter!

Linda DeFever

Vitality, Inc.

Wauconda, IL

847.722.4376

Linda DeFever