Both
of these conditions are a collection of very similar symptoms and very similar
results if left untreated: Type 2 Diabetes.
In
a normal person, the digestive track converts food into nutrients that are
ready to be absorbed by the cells, and to glucose. Glucose is what the cells
use for energy and is, on a molecular level, a sugar. Extra glucose is stored
later as fat.
The
body releases insulin when it knows there is food present. Insulin is the tool
the body uses to take the glucose into the cells.
Type 1 Diabetes (“Juvenile Onset Hyperglycemia” or “High Blood Sugar”) is
when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, so the cells can’t absorb the
glucose, and the sugar in the blood just gets more and more concentrated (like
syrup). This can be deadly, and is treated with diet and medicines.
Type 2 Diabetes (“Adult Onset Hyperglycemia”) is when the cells become
resistant to insulin. They actually refuse to use it. This means they can’t
take in glucose (and the body then turns that extra glucose into fat and saves
it for later. This is why people who start having blood sugar issues start to
get fat. Blood sugar problems come FIRST and fat is a symptom that something is
wrong). In some ways, this is actually an immune system dysfunction. The cells
treat insulin like a foreign invader to fight against. Untreated, the ultimate
result is the same as with Type 1 Diabetes; poor circulation, starvation of the
body (such as feet falling off, the pancreas being too damaged to produce insulin,
and eyesight being lost), and ultimately, death.
Sometimes
this can be treated with drugs, but all drugs have side effects and these are
often worse in the long run than the disease.
Pre-Diabetes (or as it’s now being
called “Metabolic Syndrome”) is when the body begins to have trouble processing
insulin but not yet at the level to qualify as Diabetes. It’s a warning shot
and will progress into full-blown Diabetes if left unchecked.
Hypoglycemia (or “Low Blood
Sugar”) is when the body kicks into
overdrive and produces too much insulin, resulting in too-quick absorbance of
glucose and a roller coaster effect on energy, moods and brain function.
Diabetes
has been diagnosed since 500BC, but there is a definite upswing in cases
today. Where it used to be a rare disease, now 1 in 3 Americans have some sort
of blood sugar issue. We don’t know quite what is causing this, though the
leading suspects are:
·
Vaccinations
(we know that every country that institutes a vaccination program, especially
including the Measles, Mumps, Rubella shot, has a diabetes problem within a few
years).
·
High
Fructose Corn Sugar- it’s in EVERYTHING (checked the label on your sweet corn
lately?), and is just not processed like real sugar. HFCS is the main sweetener
in our sodas. It is a well-known fact that the higher you soda consumption, the
more likely you will develop blood sugar problems
·
Real
sugar (again, it’s everywhere!)
·
White
flour- one of the chemicals used to bleach flour white is also used to GIVE lab
rats diabetes in order to search for a cure.
·
Vitamin
and mineral deficiency- we do know diabetics tend to be lower in some of these
than non-diabetics, but we don’t yet know which comes first; the deficiency or
the disease.
·
Sedentary
life styles- our bodies were made to move. Sitting for hours on end is not
natural.
Genetics
do play a role, but are obviously not the full cause.
Symptoms for both
Pre-Diabetes and Hypoglycemia are:
·
Weakness
or fatigue
·
Poor
concentration
·
Poor
coordination
·
Anxiety
·
Sweating,
chills and clamminess
·
Shakiness or Trembling
·
Pale
skin
·
Confusion
·
Headaches
·
Hunger
and nausea
·
Irritability
or impatience
·
Nervousness
or anxiety
·
Anger,
stubbornness, or sadness
·
Lightheadedness
or dizziness
·
Blurred/impaired
vision
·
Nightmares
or bad dreams
·
Sleepiness
·
Pounding
heart; racing
pulse
·
Tingling
or numbness in the lips or tongue
·
Passing
out
There
are two different kinds of blood tests used for official diagnosis; blood
glucose and A1C.
The
blood glucose tests are either fasting or not and measure the amount of glucose
in your blood at this minute. Sometimes they have you fast overnight, take
blood, drink a special, super sweet drink, wait 1-5 hours, and take you blood
again to compare how your body is processing glucose.
The
A1C measures the amount of glucose your blood cells have been exposed to over
the course of that last three months. I really think the A1C is the far better
picture of what is really going on in your body.
Many
doctors still don’t recognize Hypoglycemia as a real condition. But I have
known too many people who have had the above symptoms (while not having test
result indicating diabetes) and had dramatic improvement from changing to the diet
I list below for me to not believe in it.
Both
high and low blood sugar are best treated with diet. Though there are some
medications often prescribed for pre-diabetes, they tend to speed up the
detrition towards full-blown diabetes.
The
advice given by doctors to treat Hypoglycemia is to carry candy in your pocket
and when you feel bad, pop a few in your mouth. This sounds logical; your blood
sugar is low, so you eat sugar to bring it up. The problem is that doctors are
not nutritionists. In fact, nutrition is not a required course to become a
doctor. Many have no more nutrition knowledge than anyone else who watches the
evening news. In other words, as knowledgeable as they might be in doctoring,
this is not their area of expertise and this is bad advice.
Eating
sugar when you blood sugar is low will cause even wilder swings in your
symptoms, and will put even more stress on your body, wearing it out that much
quicker. There is a better way to treat your symptoms.
Diet
When
choosing what to eat, the general advice (blood sugar problems or not) is to
pick those things that do not have ingredient labels (i.e. roast, fresh spinach),
over things that do have labels.
When
you must choose foods with labels, choose the one with the smallest ingredients
list. For example:
·
Adam’s
Peanut butter
§ peanuts
§ salt.
·
Jiffy
Peanut butter
§ roasted peanuts
§ sugar
§ molasses
§ fully hydrogenated
vegetable oils (rapeseed and soybean)
§ mono and diglycerides
§ salt
The
more ingredients you understand the better, too. In the above lists, I know
what sugar, molasses, peanuts and salt are. I don’t know what “fully
hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides” are (at least, I didn’t without
Googling it).
These
are just basic, “eat healthy” guidelines. If you are having blood-sugar issues,
however, you have a few more guidelines you need to follow; a more careful diet
to watch.
1.
You
will eat protein every two hours throughout the day to keep your blood sugar
level. Protein digests slower than sugars do and keep your sugar levels even
longer. No more roller coaster.
2.
Eat
the same amount of carbs as protein at meals (half a cup of rice? Eat half a
cup of chicken, too).
3.
Eliminate
sugars and as many breads and grains as possible. When eating bread, eat 100%
whole grains if you can. It digests slower and has less effect on glucose
levels.
This
can be hard, since those with blood sugar problems often crave sugar worse than
other people do. But it is important to view sugar as the low-level poison that
it is to our systems. It might taste good in the short term, but it will make
us sick later. Pay attention to how you feel half an hour after eating a desert
and you will notice this.
All foods fall
into one of these categories:
Protein:
Eat
one every two hours, beginning when you first get up (preferably before your
feet touch the floor), hungry or not. View it as medicine and choke it down
however you can. Proteins are:
·
All
meats (dead animals, fish or land)
·
Eggs
(high in GOOD cholesterol).
·
Dairy
that doesn’t have “cream” in its name (milk, yogurt, cheese, etc).
·
Nuts
and legumes (these are so high in carbs they are borderline. Some people
process them like proteins and some like grains. Pay attention to how you feel
half an hour after eating them to know which one you are.)
It
doesn’t take much, just a tablespoon of peanut butter, one small slice of
cheese, half an egg, etc. About 3-5 grams of protein, actually.
Make
a habit of carrying protein with you everywhere you go:
·
Put
a pack of peanuts in your purse
·
Carry
little, wrapped cheeses in your pocket
·
If
nothing else, carry high-protein meal bars in your glove compartment (these are
often high in carbs/sugars as well as protein, and the protein is usually
derived from soy which is a phyto-estrogen [not good for men or women with
estrogen-overload symptoms]. However, they are better than nothing in an
emergency and keep well for long term. They can also make a nice alternative
for desert when everyone else is having cake or cookies.)
Veggies:
All
you want.
·
Anything
that is green straight out of the garden except sweet peas. If it is green
because of food coloring (such as M&M’s and Skittles) it doesn’t count. J
·
All
squashes.
·
Anything
else that counts a real vegetable
Breads
and grains:
Eat
the same amount or less at each meal as you eat protein (i.e. if you eat one
cup of potatoes, you must eat one cup of
steak).
As
much as possible, eat whole grains, not white flour (white flour is listed as
flour, wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and enriched flour on labels. Whole
wheat is always listed as “100% whole wheat”). “White” grains (including rice)
are digested almost as fast as sugar and so affect glucose levels much the same
way. Whole grains (including brown rice) are digested slower and so don’t send
your blood sugar levels onto a rollercoaster. These include:
·
All
breads of any type (including tortillas, chips, breading on chicken nuggets,
etc)
·
All
grains (rice, corn, oats)
·
Sweet
peas
·
Most
people process root crops (potatoes, carrots, sweet potato) like breads, though
a lucky few treat them like veggies. Watch how your body responds when you eat
them. Do you feel tired or cranky half an hour after eating them? Or can you
see any difference?
Fruits:
God’s
natural deserts. These are full of natural sugars. Natural or not Hypoglycemia/pre-diabetes
process them like manufactured sugars. Some Hypoglycemia/pre-diabetes can eat
one or two a day. Some can’t eat any, ever without getting sick.
Fats:
Actually
not a concern to Hypoglycemia/pre-diabetes. Fats help to regulate the
metabolism and slow the processing of blood sugars, making it easier to control
how you feel. These include:
·
Butter
·
Anything
with cream in its name (except ice cream which has enough sugar to move it to the
sugar category).
·
Anything
with oil in its name.
·
Lard,
shortening
Now,
the God-made fats (butter, olive oil, naturally occurring animal fats, coconut
oil) are healthier. They have vitamins and minerals necessary for good health.
Man-made fats (shortening, veggie oils) are bad for you. They are lacking in
vitamins, clog your arteries, and raise your risk of cancer. So choose healthy
fats, but don’t worry about limiting them in your diet.
Sugars
Sugars
are like poison to a Hypoglycimic/pre-diabetic. Avoid them as much as possible
(though a very small serving once in a while won’t really hurt. Life is too
short to not have a small piece of cake at your child’s birthday party. Just
leave off some other bread in the same meal). They are listed on labels as:
·
Sugar
·
Anything
with syrup in its name
·
Anything
with –ose in its name (dextrose, maltose, etc. Look at the label on your salt.
Sugar is added to some salts to keep them from clumping.)
·
Maldextrin
·
Molasses
·
Agave
nectar
·
Honey
Actually,
all carbs (sugars and breads) badly affect blood sugar. They digest quickly and
raise the glucose level too fast for the body to really handle.
Not
all carbs are created equal, though. Sugars enter the blood instantly. Breads
and grains more slowly, whole grains the slowest, though still much faster than
proteins or fats. This “roller coaster” effect of carbs puts undue stress on
the pancreas and the rest of the body. It wears it out.
Artificial
sugars (Equal, Sweet-N-Low, Splenda, Sucralose, etc) aren’t much better. They
make you crave even more sweets and mess up your metabolism while raising your
risks of cancer.
Stevia
is, at present, an unknown. This is a plant from South America that has been
used by the natives for years. They don’t have any higher rate of blood sugar
problems or cancer than the rest of us. Coke Cola is using it in a line of
their sodas now in Japan. So far there doesn’t seem to be any side-affects, but
it’s too early to really tell yet.
Conclusion
Blood
sugar problems can be scary and frustrating to deal with sometimes, but it is
possible to control them.
My
grandmother had a non-cancerous tumor on her pancreas that prevented it from
producing insulin. This diagnosis came at forty years of age. She lived to be
eighty, a full, long life, by following this diet.
My
mother was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia while in her thirties. Through diet
alone she has controlled her blood sugar and is no worse today (at age seventy)
than she was in her thirties. There has been no further decay. She still tests
a having normal-to-low blood sugars.
I
was diagnosed as pre-diabetic with my eighth baby. A strict adherence to the
above diet led to no complications related to blood sugar (except that she was
10.8lbs! Birth was fairly easy though).
With
my ninth child, I stayed very strictly on the above diet from the very start. I
also had A1C tests every three months beginning at my first pre-natal visit. My
test results went from borderline between pre-diabetic and diabetic to very
nearly “normal” by his birth. He was my smallest baby (8.0lbs) and had no
blood-sugar-related complications. I also weighed 20lbs less by my six-week
post-natal checkup than I did before I got pregnant.
Today,
three years later, though I’m not as strict as I was while pregnant, I am
keeping my A1C numbers and my hypoglycemia symptoms fairly normal through this
diet.
I
have witnessed many, many people who were very sick talk with my mother about
their blood sugar, change their diet, and immediately (sometime within minutes)
drastically improve their health (i.e. 6 month long headaches disappearing
immediately after eating their first protein snack).
You
see, it is possible to control your blood sugar through diet. It is possible to
lead a normal, healthy life.
And
you are worth it.
