← Foods That Lower Blood Sugar How to Lower Blood Sugar Fast! → The Dangers of High Blood Sugar Levels Posted on May 13, 2013 by Steve More people are now becoming aware of the dangers of high blood sugar levels. Previously it was thought that concentrated carbohydrate sources were okay to consume in substantial quantities. In fact, governments, health organisations, dietitians, and conventional nutritionists actively promoted this style of eating, which is now being shunned by experts around the world! The style of eating in question suggested the consumption of large quantities of high-density carbohydrates. These include: bread, pasta, rice, cereals, etc. Whilst these foods aren’t bad when consumed in small quantities, they can have dire consequences when consumed in the amounts that have been recommended in the past. Dangers of High Blood Sugar It is no wonder that the rates of obesity, diabetes (and insulin resistance), heart disease, cancer, and various other diseases are the direct result of these nutritional recommendations and their resulting impact on our blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, the truth is that sugar and concentrated sources of carbohydrate can do far more harm to our bodies than we first thought! The problem we have is that society’s beliefs about the safety of sugar and other concentrated carbohydrate sources have been created by clever marketers within the food industry, particularly from the companies who sell these products! To make matters worse, these large food manufacturers also influence government recommendations, provide funding to universities (so academics spout the same incorrect nutritional recommendations) and pour millions into marketing their products under the loosely veiled guise of ‘healthy’! At the same time they suppress and criticise information that covers the potential dangers that their products may pose! In this article our goal is to expose the truth about high carbohydrate diets, why you must carefully control your carbohydrate intake, especially if you have insulin resistance, what happens in your body when you eat too much carbohydrate, and the long-term impact a high-carbohydrate diet has on your overall health and body functioning. What the research says about the dangers of high blood sugar levels Over the last 60 years thousands of research studies have been conducted on laboratory animals of virtually all species with reference to calorie restriction in combination with adequate nutrition, i.e. the animals had low food intakes but high nutrient intakes. The researchers found that, without exception, the animals were able to live far longer by following this nutritional approach. Furthermore, studies on centenarians (people who live to be over 100 years old) support these findings. In fact, the only things that all the centenarians have in common are: relatively low blood sugar levels, low triglycerides, and low insulin levels. What happens when you eat carbohydrates Whenever you consume foods containing carbohydrates your blood sugar level increases. This increase in blood sugar stimulates the pancreas to release insulin into the blood stream. Insulin is a storage hormone and is designed to take nutrients, including glucose, from the blood stream and store them in body cells. Unfortunately though, every time a body cell is exposed to insulin the receptors on the cell membrane become a little more insulin resistant. This means that it becomes harder for glucose in the blood stream to be transported into cells (which can then damage blood vessels and nerves) and the level of insulin in the blood stream also remains high. High Blood Sugar Levels High blood sugar and high insulin levels are classic symptoms of type 2 diabetes! Of course, sugar and other concentrated forms of carbohydrate result in the largest increase in blood sugar and therefore, insulin response as well. As we will cover in a moment, it is so important from a health perspective that most people focus on keeping their blood sugar level as stable as possible. For people with insulin resistance it is important to keep their blood sugar level as low as possible in order to help them reverse the insulin resistance condition. In both cases insulin should also be kept as low as possible. If you consider the nutritional recommendations that have been promoted by many nutritionists, dietitians, doctors and even governments over the years, you’ll see that concentrated carbohydrate sources like, bread, pasta, rice and cereals have formed the foundation of their recommendations! Furthermore, these recommendations have contributed to the exponential growth in the number of health-related conditions and diseases, including insulin resistance, that we see in today’s society. Here are some of the dangers of high blood sugar levels: High blood sugar levels and high insulin lead to obesity! High blood sugar levels stimulate insulin release. Since insulin is a storage hormone, if its level in the blood stream is high the body cannot access and use fat as a fat source. Fat burning stops! Plus, the body has a limited capacity for storing carbohydrates (which includes sugar). It can store some in the liver and muscles (as glycogen) but once these storage sites are full the rest of the carbohydrate gets stored as body fat! Of course, if this is combined with some degree of insulin resistance these effects are magnified even further. High blood sugar levels may slow down your metabolism The thyroid gland produces two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). These hormones are responsible for increasing the metabolism of all body cells. T3 is about 5 times more powerful than T4. Furthermore, the thyroid gland mainly produces T4 and only a very small amount of T3. Most of the T4 goes to the liver where it is converted into T3. However, the liver cells are the first cells in the body to become resistant to the action of insulin. Since glucose is required for the conversion of T4 into T3, insulin resistance impairs this process, resulting in the body’s metabolism slowing down. High blood sugar levels depress the immune system Vitamin C is required by white blood cells in order to destroy bacteria and viruses in the body. However, since vitamin C requires insulin in order to be taken up into the white blood cells, it competes with glucose (which has a similar structure to vitamin C), in order to be delivered into the cells. Therefore, a high blood sugar level severely lowers the ‘phagocytic index’ of white blood cells, which means their ability to destroy a virus or bacteria is compromised. High blood sugar levels increase heart disease risk High blood sugar levels may increase heart disease risk through several mechanisms. Firstly, high blood sugar induces insulin secretion and insulin reduces the production of nitric oxide in the endothelium (the inner lining of blood vessels). Since nitric oxide is responsible for dilating blood vessels, less of it means that the blood vessels are more likely to be restricted. This problem is made worse if the body has some degree of insulin resistance. Magnesium is responsible for relaxing muscles and requires insulin in order to be delivered into the cells. If insulin resistance is present magnesium can’t be delivered into the cells and is therefore lost in the urine. This results in further blood vessel constriction, which increases heart disease risk. Insulin (which remains high in the blood stream if there is some degree of insulin resistance in the body) also causes endothelial proliferation (growth), which further restricts the passage of blood through the blood vessels. High blood sugar levels may increase cancer risk Since insulin promotes cell proliferation and division, there is an increased risk of developing cancer, which is, in essence, uncontrolled cell proliferation and division. There is research showing a strong correlation between insulin and the incidence of breast and colon cancer. High blood sugar levels may damage body cells Excess sugar in the blood stream has a greater likelihood of reacting with body proteins, which results in glycated proteins (oxidised or damaged body proteins). These glycated proteins (‘sticky’ body proteins) become extremely difficult to turn over, as normal body proteins should, and they accumulate in the body and may even transform into harmful free radicals. Furthermore, white blood cells may ‘mop up’ these glycated proteins and when they do, an inflammatory reaction is set up, which may lead to arthritis, headaches, and many other health conditions that result from inflammation in the body. Low blood sugar levels and low insulin is the ‘secret’ to a long, healthy life! If you are interested in living a long, healthy, and disease-free life then the first thing you must do is find ways to keep your blood sugar level low initially (if you have insulin resistance) and then stable thereafter once the condition is reversed. It is also imperative that insulin is always kept low. By doing so, you can avoid the various health problems that result from high blood sugar levels and high insulin levels and therefore have a much better chance of living a long, healthy, disease-free life! Also, it has been shown that chronically elevated insulin suppresses growth hormone release and growth hormone is one of the body’s most powerful anti-ageing hormones! Strategies for avoiding the dangers of high blood sugar levels and insulin levels Nutritional strategies In order to keep your blood sugar level low you must follow these nutritional strategies: Eat small, regular meals. Avoid eating high-density (concentrated) carbohydrates. These include: bread, pasta, rice and cereals. Have a moderate intake (2-3 serves a day) of medium-density carbohydrates. These include: most fruits, starchy vegetables and most dairy products. Have a high intake (6-8 serves a day) of low-density carbohydrates. These include: fibrous vegetables like, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, etc. Have a small portion of protein with every meals. Ensure you have an adequate intake of fat in your diet, particularly the ‘good fats’ (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like fish oils). Exercise strategies Exercise is an important part of reducing your blood sugar level and avoiding the dangers of high blood sugar levels because it keeps insulin low and makes the body cells more receptive to the action of insulin. Furthermore, resistance training has been proven to be the most effective form of exercise for increasing insulin sensitivity, which can help to reverse insulin resistance. As a result, a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise is the best for reversing insulin resistance by lowering blood sugar and reducing insulin secretion. It is best to perform some form of exercise every day. Supplementation strategies There are various supplements that are beneficial in helping to reduce your blood sugar level as well as keep insulin low. Firstly, fish oil supplements are great to use simply because most people simply don’t consume enough omega-3s in their diet. Since all of our cells membranes are composed of fats (phospholipid membranes), the higher the quality of fats we eat, the higher our quality of cell membranes. Omega-3s make our cell membranes more ‘fluid’, which means it is easier to transport nutrients into and wastes out of the cells (insulin sensitivity improves). Dangers of High Blood Sugar Levels Also, there are a group of compounds called glucose disposal agents (GDAs) and these are designed to shuttle nutrients in to cells (insulin mimickers) as well as assist insulin in its function (insulin co-factors). One of the best GDAs on the market is Nature’s Bounty High Potency Cinnamon Plus Chromium. Overall, there is no doubt about the dangers of high blood sugar levels in terms of our health and well-being. Therefore, if you are serious about your health and about reversing insulin resistance if you have then you must be willing to follow the strategies outlined here. If you would like more detailed information about how to lower your blood sugar level and reverse insulin resistance, then get a copy of Your Complete Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Plan. Click search to go to the Insulin Resistance Category from The Dangers of High Blood Sugar Levels Click search to go to the Insulin Resistance Diet Home Page This entry was posted in Insulin Resistance and tagged blood sugar, high blood sugar, insulin resistance, lower blood sugar. Bookmark the permalink. ← Foods That Lower Blood Sugar How to Lower Blood Sugar Fast! → Fat burning furnace What is diabetes Exercise Program Diabetes blood sugar levels About Diabetes Type 2 diabetes Fat Burning
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