Welcome to our holiday edition of BIC Body Update. The staff and I would like to thank you for trusting us with your health and referrals this year. Our success comes from your referrals and patronage, and we are truly grateful for your support. We wish you peace during the holiday season and a happy, healthy and prosperous new year. 

Blood Sugar Epidemic 

The diabetes epidemic continues to grow in America. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 16 million Americans suffer from diabetes, and the annual cost of treating the disease is more than $100 billion. Diabetes is not limited to adults; more and more adolescents, and even children, are developing blood sugar irregularities.

Individuals who have problems with blood sugar control typically have a number of characteristics in common. They crave sugar or sweet foods and beverages; they tend to gain weight; their bodies have a “pear” shape; and they have marginally elevated blood pressure and cholesterol levels. They may feel they can’t control their weight no matter what diet they try.

Long before diabetes can be diagnosed, poor management of blood sugar and insulin can alter body function and produce a wide range of difficulties. Women may experience menstrual irregularities, while men may lose libido and experience erectile dysfunction. Loss of elasticity in connective tissues may make the body stiff and susceptible to injury.

Blood pressure disorders and weight gain are closely related to poor blood sugar control. Obesity and diabetes could easily become the preeminent US public health problems of the twenty-first century.

Glucose is the essential source of energy for the human body, and insulin controls how the body’s cells convert glucose to energy. The illustration below shows how this process works.

The carbohydrates we eat are broken down and converted into glucose. This glucose circulates in our blood, along with insulin released from the pancreas. On the surf ace of muscle and fat cells in the body there are receptors (or doors) that allow insulin to enter the cells. Once inside the cell, insulin creates a chemical process that pushes glucose doors through the cell wall. Glucose doors are also pushed through the cell wall by aerobic activity. When the glucose door is in place, glucose can enter the cell where it is converted into energy to power bodily functions.

The ability to control blood sugar and insulin levels varies widely from person to person. These differences and the individual’s efforts to compensate for them by changing diet, environment and lifestyle are major factors in the risk of developing age-related diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, gout, arthritis and hormonal difficulties.

In the past the health care profession believed that all problems related to diabetes could be alleviated with regular administration of insulin. Now we know that people with onset diabetes suffer not from too little insulin but from their body’s insensitivity to the insulin they produce. This condition is called insulin resistance.

In functional medicine individuals with poor blood sugar control are now described as having “switched metabolism.” In effect, the switch controlling how the body converts calories from food into metabolic energy is turned off. This switched metabolism causes glucose to be stored in fat cells rather than being burned as energy.

Switched metabolism is caused by eating too many simple carbohydrates over a period of years. While complex carbohydrates stimulate a slow, steady release of insulin, simple carbohydrates cause a sudden release of insulin. Over time the continual sudden release of insulin overworks the glucose receptor sites (doors) so they no longer operate effectively. The chemical process inside the cell is compromised, and the glucose doors do not allow the proper amount of glucose into the cell for energy conversion.

Obesity is another factor in insulin resistance. Stored fat is stored energy that is not being utilized. Even worse, stored fat blocks the insulin receptor sites, making it difficult for insulin to reach the sites.

The Good News – You Can Regain Control!

Insulin resistance and switched metabolism can be corrected with diet modifications and exercise. As mentioned above, aerobic exercise is a key component in opening the cell doors for glucose to be used. Rather than exercising to lose weight, I think it is best to consider exercise as a way to regain control of your blood sugar level. You’re exercising to enable your cells to function properly, specifically to help them use glucose more effectively. Don’t focus on the scales. In time your metabolism will switch back to normal and the weight will come off.

Diet modification is the second component for correcting insulin resistance. Changing your diet and using specific supplements proven to help manage blood sugar are both important tools. Many blood sugar management diets have been developed, and no single diet is right for everyone. Your diet should be tailored to your individual needs.

For most people, the following basic program can reduce individual risk factors for diabetes:

• Eat a diet high in unrefined foods, including starchy vegetables, whole cereal grains,  dried legumes and soy foods every day.
• Limit consumption of fruit juices and foods high in sugar.
• Avoid fried foods, partially hydrogenated oils and fast foods.
• Include protein in the form of beans, fish and poultry without the skin.
• Limit fat-rich spreads, dressings, whole-fat dairy products and fatty meats.
• Engage in 20 to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 to 6 days per week.
• Reduce your stress level.

The next issue of BIC Body Update will contain more information on specific supplements and food choices that help to regulate blood sugar and enable overused insulin receptors to function normally.