Blood Glucose

Blood glucose, or sugar, helps your body function.  But when your body doesn't product enough of a hormone called insulin, or it forgets how to use it, all sorts of stuff can happen.  Find out a bit about blood glucose levels, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.

Music composed and performed by V. Karaitis

Transcript

Hey!  Thanks for listening!  I’m Chris Wagenti, and this is Who Gets It, Naturally.  Music was composed and performed by V. Karaitis.  I’m not selling anything, diagnosing anything; offering any cures or replacing your doctor.  I’m just sharing my passion for natural products.  If you’re pregnant, please consult your doctor before trying anything new.  Everyone is different so you may need to tweak the recipes a bit to work for you.  Always start with the least amount of essential oils…you can always add, you can’t take away.  Remember, these remedies don’t last forever, you need to reapply as needed.  If you are allergic to any of the ingredients I use, please substitute for something you’re not allergic to.  Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean you can’t be allergic to it.

One of my good friends was recently diagnosed with adult onset Type 2 Diabetes.  She’s having a rough time because they’re still in the “try this and see if it works” stage (see, even modern medicine takes a bit of “try this and see”).  When she told me I had just finished my magnesium episode, so I mentioned that.  She knew it helps regulate blood sugar levels, among other things, so she had already increased her daily intake, but it wasn’t enough.  I mentioned cinnamon, because that’s another one I remembered helps control blood sugar, blood pressure and lots of other stuff. (still trying to find the right combination to improve the memory!).  So I told her I would research specifically for this, and let her know what else she could try…so here it is.

First, what is diabetes?  Diabetes is a chronic condition that signifies your body is having issues breaking down and/or using blood glucose, or blood sugar.  Already there’s a lot to unpack.  Let’s make this as basic as possible.  What’s the big deal?  Glucose is the type of sugar found in your blood.  It is used to fuel your body.  But, your body can’t do this without insulin.   The sugar not used right away by the body is stored, and turns into fat.  When your body can’t do this efficiently anymore, it’s called Diabetes.  There are 2 types of diabetes; Type 1, also known as Juvenile Diabetes and Insulin-dependent Diabetes - the pancreas does not produce insulin, or not enough insulin, to convert glucose into energy, so you have to take insulin every day; Type 2, also known as Adult Onset or Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes - the pancreas does produce some insulin, but the body doesn’t know what to do with it.  This is also called “insulin resistance”.  I found a pretty basic explanation at the Beth Israel Lahey Health Joslin Diabetes Center website at https://www.joslin.org/patient-care/diabetes-education/diabetes-learning-center/difference-between-type-1-and-type-2.  QUOTE:  “Blood sugar, or glucose, is the body’s main source of energy. This glucose comes from food—mostly carbohydrates, but occasionally from proteins, too.

In a healthy body, carbs are all broken down into glucose.  That glucose leaves the intestine, travels through the liver, and eventually makes its way into the blood stream. Its final destination is the body’s cells, where it is used to create energy. Insulin comes into play here, at the cells’ entrance. The hormone acts as a doorman, allowing glucose to come inside.

Insulin is produced in the pancreas by little clusters of cells, known as beta cells. Beta cells sense when there is an excess of glucose in the blood stream, such as just after a meal, and they send insulin out to meet the glucose at the cell’s doors. When working properly, this interplay between glucose, insulin, and beta cells maintains glucose levels between 70 and 140 milligrams per deciliter of blood. In both types of diabetes, this balance gets interrupted in some way.

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body is unable to properly use and store glucose.
 When you have diabetes, glucose builds up in the bloodstream, causing your blood glucose to rise too high, which, if not treated and managed, can cause damage to various parts of the body over time.

In type 1, the body’s immune system starts attacking and destroying parts of itself—specifically, its own beta cells. Fewer beta cells means less insulin secreted into the body. And less insulin means that glucose is locked out of cells, and stays in the blood stream. As type 1 diabetes progresses, it’s thought that beta cells are completely wiped out (though some early research suggests there may still be some faint activity of beta cells in some people with type 1).

Most people with type 1 diabetes need to start injecting insulin as soon as they are diagnosed. They do need to be careful of what they eat, so to avoid causing spikes in their blood glucose, but type 1 cannot be controlled solely with diet. The necessity for treatment with insulin is why type 1 is classified as insulin-dependent.

In type 2, some insulin is released but the locks on the cells are damaged. Insulin’s keys no longer fit, and the cells refuse to unlock. Because the door isn’t opened, glucose can’t enter, also resulting in heightened blood glucose levels. This is called insulin resistance—since the cells are resistant to the influences of insulin.  Genetics certainly affect susceptibility to insulin resistance, but another major factor is obesity. The greater your BMI, the harder your body has to work to make insulin effective. So it’s no coincidence that the global epidemic of type 2 diabetes coincides with rising rates of obesity.

In early stages, it’s possible to control type 2 with diet and exercise. Losing just 7 to 10 percent of your body weight can make the insulin your body produces more effective; meal planning helps you eat according to the amount of insulin available in your body, and exercise helps to increase insulin sensitivity.

And for a while the body can overcome the cells’ resistance. But over the course of type 2, particularly when it’s poorly managed, the body stops being able to make enough insulin to force its way into the cells. When this happens, people with type 2 also need to start insulin injections.

Type 1 and type 2 are different in their root causes, but the effects are eventually the same. Problems with insulin interrupt the finely honed system and glucose in the blood rises, which, if left untreated, may result in complications like nerve and eye damage.”  END QUOTE

Ok, so, insulin is a hormone.  I’ll get into hormones in another episode.  Out of control blood sugar can wreak havoc on the body, and cause lots of other issues…nerve damage, on the extreme side, it can cause blindness and even death.  Some serious stuff you shouldn’t take lightly.  You need to work with your health care professional, because some alternative processes can interfere with medication commonly used to control diabetes.  If you’ve been diagnosed with Type 1, odds are you are already on insulin.  You need to make sure that anything you do to help maintain your blood sugar levels, and anything else you need to take care of, doesn’t interfere with your insulin intake.  If you’ve been diagnosed with Type 2, and aren’t on insulin yet, do what you can to avoid having to take insulin.  Same if you haven’t been diagnosed with diabetes, but are at a high risk for it.  It’s going to be trial and error to find what works for you, but you do need to keep your health care professional aware of what you are doing.  So, with all of that said, here are some alternatives to keep your blood sugar levels in check.

Exercise helps keep your BMI low and increases insulin sensitivity.  Walking can work wonders!  And it’s easier than you think to increase your daily steps.  Park farther away from the entrance - wherever it is you are going; if you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator; go up and down every aisle at the supermarket, even if you don’t need anything in that aisle; if you’re at the mall, stay to the right, and follow the outside wall (for example, when there’s an off-shoot to an entrance, make the right, then the left across the doors, then left again to go back up towards the main walkway, and make the right to pick up where you left off); get an hour for lunch at work?  Take ½ hour to eat, and spend the other ½ hour walking around the building (inside or outside, weather permitting); have a dog?  Take it for a walk instead of letting it run around the backyard alone.  

Be mindful of your carb intake.  Your body turns carbohydrates into sugar.  If you take in more carbs than your body can handle, you run into issues.  This doesn’t mean to cut out carbs completely.  You need to find what works for you.  Sometimes, eating a carb with a protein or a healthy fat helps your body metabolize better.  Healthy fats are avocados, extra virgin olive oil, salmon…and so on.  Proteins can be legumes, nuts, seeds…not just beef.  

Soluble fiber helps to maintain blood sugar levels - women should be eating about 25 mg a day from fruit, vegetables, legumes and grains.  Hmmmm…are ya starting to notice you can kill 2 birds with one stone?

Stay hydrated.  Water is so important to the human body.  Not just because water makes up 55 - 60% of a human body.  But because among other things, it helps flush out toxins and regulate blood sugar levels.

Because it can help maintain weight, implementing portion control into your meals can also help maintain blood sugar levels.  

Eat foods with a low glycemic index.  Ok, so what’s the big deal about glycemic index?  It measures how quickly carbs break down during digestion and how quickly your body absorbs them.  The lower the glycemic index, the better the food is at helping you keep your blood sugar low.  

Manage your stress levels.  Stress is a beast.  It interferes negatively with just about every system in your body.  It’s just evil, like donuts.  Controlling your stress not only helps you maintain your blood sugar levels, it helps the cardiovascular system, the nervous system, the digestive system, the endocrine system, improves sleep.  One of the reasons I’m always talking about meditating, Tai Chi, Yoga, and finding your way of de-stressing.  

Increase your magnesium intake.  This is easier than it sounds…incorporate magnesium rich foods into your diet, like dark leafy greens, tuna, dark chocolate, squash, pumpkin seeds, whole grains, beans, bananas and avocados.

Chromium is another micronutrient found to be lacking in patients with high blood sugar.  Add things like meats, nuts, fruits, veggies and whole grains to increase your chromium intake.

Other foods that help maintain blood sugar levels are apple cider vinegar, green tea, berberine, which is a compound found naturally in many plants, yellow colored and bitter tasting, that has many health benefits I’ll discuss in a later episode, and fenugreek, which is an herb used in Indian and Mediterranean cuisines, that has a taste similar to maple syrup.   Stay tuned for more info on that!  Some other herbs that help maintain blood sugar levels are Rosemary, Ginger, Ginseng, Sage, Oregano, Basil, Aloe Vera and Gumar. A few spices that help lower and maintain blood sugar levels are Cinnamon, Garlic, Cloves and Turmeric.  If you don’t already, start cooking with some or all of these!  Lowering blood sugar levels isn’t the only benefit they offer!

Eating healthy snacks throughout the day helps keep your blood sugar levels from spiking throughout the day.  What’s a “healthy snack”?  Nuts, fruit, unsweetened yogurt (add your own cinnamon, blueberries, etc).  

Speaking of yogurt, as long as it contains live cultures, it falls under the next category of probiotic rich foods…basically foods that have been fermented like kimchi, sauerkraut and tempeh, have been proven to lower blood sugar levels as well as other benefits for those with Type 2 diabetes.  

Keeping track of your blood sugar levels throughout the day, although daunting, and somewhat painful, can aid in finding the right combination for you.  

Some Essential Oils that can help lower and/or maintain blood sugar levels include Coriander, Cinnamon, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Clove, Eucalyptus, Black Seed Oil, Black Pepper, Peppermint and Frankincense.  They can be used topically, orally (if they are therapeutic grade or, the new term I’ve noticed being used a lot, culinary grade), and aromatherapy.  Just like for anything else, you can mix them with a carrier oil and massage them into your skin; add to your shampoo, conditioner, body wash, handsoap, body lotion, etc; use them while cooking; diffuse them any way that works for you.  As with the herbs and spices, you also get all the other great benefits each essential oil offers.  

There’s lots of options, and even more combinations.  Don’t let this intimidate you.  Stick with what you know.  Eliminate anything you are allergic to or don’t like, then go from there.  As you can probably tell, I have my favorites.  They work for me, I don’t have any reactions to them, and I truly like them…like Cinnamon.  I recently made more toothpaste, and added 5 drops of Cinnamon Bark Essential Oil to the recipe.  It’s just enough to give it a hint of Cinnamon, and I’m getting all the added benefits.  Next time I’ll try 10 drops.  

There are numerous studies on the effects of essential oils on diabetes.  If you want to dive into the nitty gritty, just search “essential oils and diabetes”, or “what essential oils help lower blood sugar”, or something along those lines.  You’ll see lots of sites with lots of information.  I’ve come across several UK websites with lots of info as well.  Diabetes isn’t just a western problem.

There’s a few other issues that kind of go hand in hand with diabetes that I want to mention…hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.  

Hyperglycemia is when your blood sugar levels are high.  Hypoglycemia is when your blood sugar levels are low.  Does having hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia mean you have diabetes?  No, you can have hyper- or hypo-glycemia without having diabetes, but, either can lead to diabetes, and it’s uncommon to have hypoglycemia without diabetes.  Hyperglycemia causes increased thirst and urination, blurred vision and unexplained fatigue.  Hypoglycemia can make you dizzy, irritable, anxious and shaky.  It also makes you feel cold all the time.  If you do experience these symptoms, get with your medical professional.  They’ll take all sorts of blood for tests.  Normal blood glucose levels are between 70 and 140 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) - fasting levels, meaning, you haven’t eaten anything before having your blood taken.  If your blood test is within a few hours of eating, the normal range is adjusted to account for normal spikes after eating.  Hypoglycemia kicks in when your blood glucose falls below 70 milligrams per deciliter, and hyperglycemia is considered anything over 141 milligrams per deciliter of blood, fasting.  Depending on where your levels are, your health history, and family history, they may try to get your blood sugar under control with diet, exercise and some of the other things I discussed.  If that doesn’t work, then they play let's find the right combination with drugs and insulin.  Trying to find the right combination of anything can be daunting, and disenfranchising.  But don’t give up.  You’ll find the right combination that works for you.  Keep a journal and be consistent. Am I starting to sound like a broken record?

As always, If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to email me at vobyjypsee@usa.com … You can follow me on X and Instagram … @vobyjypsee; or LinkedIn…search either Chris Wagenti, Who Gets It, Naturally or Voice Overs by Jypsee.  Please download this episode, and make Who Gets It, Naturally a favorite on your preferred channel so you don’t miss an episode.

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