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About Blood Sugar

August 2005

It's important to know about blood sugar levels and how important blood sugar stabilizing is for reducing stress and lessening feelings of anxiety.

As defined in the dictionary, blood sugar is the glucose in blood that rises and falls depending upon what we eat. All carbohydrates are ultimately converted to glucose to be used by the body as fuel for the brain and muscles. When we are feeling low on energy we often crave sugar or caffeine. Caffeine appears to release stored glucose. Instinctively we know that these substances will raise our energy (or sugar) level quickly.

So, what's wrong with that? The problem is that this high concentration overloads the system, causing the levels to swing up above normal giving us a lift, then fall rapidly to way below normal. Then we feel even more tired and crave more sugar or caffeine...so, we have another cup of coffee, glass of coke, sugary snack...our energy swings up again and crashes down again...over and over! Riding on the chemical roller coaster leads to irritability, depression, anxiety, confusion and fatigue. It actually becomes an addiction cycle! We are not nurturing and taking care of ourselves when we are in this pattern.

Ideally we want a strong, steady level of energy all day long. We want to avoid the swings up and down by eating healthy food in healthy amounts. We need to avoid sugar and caffeine, and instead eat whole foods that are digested slowly. These are complex carbohydrates: fruits, vegetables, grains. These foods slowly release their energy into the body. As a Natural Health Consultant I suggest most people need to eat three meals a day and two to three snacks, so your body is receiving quality energy all day.

• I suggest that you start by replacing sugar with fresh fruit. Whenever you crave something sweet try eating an apple. Apples are nature's fast food-easy to carry with you and easy to eat! You may feel deprived at first, but you will adapt and eventually find those sugary snacks too sweet.

• Start kicking coffee by using good quality decaffeinated coffee. You will have the taste without the caffeine. If you are a heavy coffee user, wean yourself off by cutting the number of cups you drink daily. Caffeine withdrawal produces bad headaches and other side effects that may give you an excuse to give up. Go slowly, this is a process of loving yourself, not punishing. Try herbal teas. There are hundreds on the market, buy sample packs and find your favourites. Try coffee substitutes, you may find you like them.

• And drink water! At least six glasses daily. Don't like water? Try fizzy spring water with ice and a slice of lemon in a beautiful glass. Put some pleasant tasting chlorophyll into the water-Nature's Sunshine has a spearmint oil added. Take a 1.5 litre bottle with you in the morning and promise yourself you'll finish it by bedtime, then finish it by noon and feel pleased with yourself!

If you would like to learn more about "Eating Well as Part of Loving Yourself" and integrating good eating habits into your life, give me a call or drop me a line and we'll set you up with an appointment and get you started on a personalized wellness Program.