In this blog, Epsom, Surrey based Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist and functional medicine test expert, Natalie @ NatNutHC, discusses whether blood glucose management is only relevant if you have diabetes?

Poorly managed blood glucose fluctuations can lead a multitude of ill-health concerns including:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Migraine
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Mood disorders
• PMS
• Poorly managed perimenopause symptoms
• Disrupted sleep
• and, many more

 

Firstly, diabetes is when your blood glucose, measured as HbA1c is consistently above 48 nmol/l, while prediabetes is when your blood glucose is consistently between 42 and 47 nmol/l.

However, blood glucose management isn’t necessarily just about a consistently high level of glucose in the blood, its more about a consistent steady level within a healthy range, without major fluctuations e.g. without sudden glucose spikes and then sudden glucose crashes.

When blood glucose spikes and crashes, in other words when it goes up and down like a roller coaster it plays havoc with your internal physiology and biochemistry.  It can drive cravings, and mediate mood elevations and mood lows.  When blood glucose spikes and then crashes so does your dopamine, this effects our desire to feel good about things, our motivation and our ability to not be interested in things.  At more extreme levels it can also affect our addictive tendencies and our desire or perceived need for alcohol consumption for example.

Poor management of blood glucose can lead to fluctuations, i.e. with spikes and crashes which can impact perimenopause symptoms including the ability to get a good night’s sleep, energy levels, and can also impact a women’s mood.  This is why if you’re a female in her 40s with perimenopause symptoms you may find yourself waking up in the night when you have had an evening of drinking wine, why?  Because wine is a high sugar product and will cause blood sugar levels to spike, but then later while you sleep those blood glucose levels crash and wake you up.

Yes I know it sucks, as a women in her 40s herself, I can no longer drink alcohol like I did in my 20’s and 30’s without feeling like total crap and many of my female patients have the same experience.  This is why at NatNutHC we have developed our very own herbal peri-punch recipe.

Our Peri-Punch is a great swap for wine, it can be made in batches, de-cantered into empty wine bottles and stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks (if it lasts that long!) and served over ice in a wine glass.  Alternatively it can be mixed with sparkling water.

View our NatNutHC Peri-Punch Recipe blog now to help reduce your alcohol intake, experience reduced perimenopause symptoms with improved vaginal health.

Refined carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates such as white bread, white pasta, oven chips, pasties, Danish pastries for example will also have a much larger impact on blood glucose fluctuations compared to complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, quinoa and oats for example.  The difference is their glycaemic load, meaning the simple carbohydrates will spike your glucose and crash it faster, causing more of a roller coaster ride, while complex carbohydrates will create a steady and sustained balanced glucose level.  This will also have an impact on cravings and thus in turn upon weight management.

If you are filling yourself with refined and simple carbohydrates at breakfast, lunch and dinner you may find glucose levels spiking straight after those meals, but then crashing fairly fast afterwards.  This will likely lead to the desire to snack or get a glucose fix in between meals.  While meals containing complex carbohydrates and sufficient protein and fibre levels will help inhibit the roller coaster affect and create more stable glucose management levels, as well as a reduced desire to reach for snacks between meals, which in turn will better support weight loss and maintenance.

Our blood glucose levels are also important for cardiovascular health.  This is especially important for women as they go into perimenopause and menopause, because oestrogen is cardioprotective, and thus as our oestrogen levels drop the risk of cardiovascular disease increases.

There’s an abundance of misinformation about a high fat diet, with a push for low fat diets to support cardiovascular health, however unfortunately this information is incorrect.  When you thoroughly review the evidence there are numerous health benefits of consuming a low carbohydrate, high fat diet.  See our blog on the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet compared to the keto diet.   

The truth is, we need fats in our diet, they help us feel full, our brains are made mostly of fat, thus fats are important for cognitive function.  Our hormones are also made from cholesterol, as is our cortisol (the stress hormone), thus fats are also important in perimenopause, for managing premenstrual syndrome, for fertility, for a healthy pregnancy, and for our developing children during puberty because they are important for hormone synthesis, brain development and cognition, and stress hormone synthesis.

The right type of fats are also important for increasing our high density lipoprotein levels (HDL), which takes cholesterol away from our peripheral tissues (our fingers and toes for example) and back to the liver for recycling, where they are re-used to create sex and stress hormones.  For more information about the right type of fats to consume, please see our blog on the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet compared to the keto diet.

Skipping meals will also cause mis-management of glucose balance, and may drive migraines, binge eating, the desire to reach for poor food choices and poor energy metabolism leading to fatigue and brain fog.

Poorly managed blood glucose levels with refined and simple carbohydrates can also be damaging to cardiovascular health.  Consistently high blood glucose levels can damage the glycocalyx layer of the arterial wall by increasing advanced glycated end products, which reduce nitrate oxide (responsible for dilating (opening up and relaxing) blood vessels), increase blood pressure, inflammation and oxidative stress, which all further damage the arterial wall.  Once the glycocalyx layer of the arterial wall is damaged it creates a vicious circle of lipid oxidation and inflammation and allows calcium and cholesterol to deposit in the arterial wall, which can build and lead to atherosclerosis, as well as increase the risk of stroke and ischaemia.

Diet is not the only area that can impact our blood glucose fluctuations, its important to note that stress and over-training can also spike blood glucose, because the body thinks it needs to be alert and vigilant in times of stress and fear (historically stress would have meant running from the lion for example) and thus our bodies will convert stored reserve glucose and pump it into the blood stream to make us temporarily alert and able to run fast.

 

Is blood glucose management only relevant if you have diabetes?

Managing your blood glucose fluctuations and ensuring a consistent balanced level throughout the day is more than just dietary, minimising stress and not over-exercising will also play a big part.

We have supported numerous clients throughout London and the South of England especially those living in Surrey including Cobham, Weybridge, Woking, Hersham, Oxshott, Kingswood, Twickenham, Esher, Epsom, Kingston, as well as Sussex and the A3, M3, M23 and M25 corridors including Basingstoke, Hickstead, Horsham, Crawley, Burgess Hill, Guildford, Godalming, Haywards Heath, Brighton and Hove, and along the South Coast of England to reduce their blood glucose roller coaster and create more balanced glucose levels.  This in turn has resulted in numerous health benefits for our clients including reduced migraine frequency and severity, reduced perimenopause symptoms, improved sleep, improved mood, reduced anxiety and depression, reduced weight, better managed premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and improved blood markers in our cardiovascular and cancer patients.

If you would like more information on the best diet for your particular needs, how to manage your blood glucose levels effectively, what type of fats or carbohydrates you should be eating for the most beneficial health outcomes, want help with your health concerns, or simply want to be proactive and take a preventative approach to your health risks get in touch today info@natnuthc.co.uk.

 

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