The Single Most Important Thing You Can Do to Improve Your Health: Blood Sugar Balance

Published on Fri Oct 30, 2015 - 2 min read

Published by: Bryan Bradford

By Bryan Bradford, Chief Nutrition Officer of Sunflower Shoppe Natural Foods

October 30th, 2015

So, you went to the doctor and had blood work done. Your glucose level was within normal range. Great! Nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. You can have unstable blood sugar levels negatively impacting your health and not even know it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 10 percent of American adults have diabetes and that 86 million adults over age 20 are prediabetic.

Together, hyperglycemia (blood sugar that is too high) and hypoglycemia (blood sugar that too low) are referred to as dysglycemia. Dysglycemia weakens and inflames the gut, lungs and brain, imbalances hormone levels, exhausts the  adrenal glands, disrupts detoxification pathways and impairs overall metabolism leading to unwanted weight gain. Each of these effects significantly weakens thyroid function. There is no system of the body that is not affected when our blood sugar levels are not stabilized within a healthy range. The best news is that we can do something about it. You can control your blood sugar levels and the outcome.

Three key areas to focus on:

1. Diet.

1. Portion control – overeating causes spikes in blood sugar.

2. Never eat carbohydrates alone. Always include protein, fiber and a small amount of fat

3. Eat before you get too hungry. Eat every 2-4 hours based on how many calories you had at your last meal or snack.

     2.  Exercise.

1. Include in your program both strength training and cardio.

     3. Supplements.

1. Gymnema

2. Chromium

3. Alpha Lipoic Acid

At Sunflower Shoppe, we are committed to helping our customers achieve their health goals. If you would like to learn more about the single most important thing you can do to improve your health – balancing blood sugar – visit us at Sunflower Shoppe. One of our nutrition specialists is ready to help you navigate your way to better health.

SOURCES

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/10/26/451985740/task-force-urges-screening-of-overweight-adults-for-high-blood-sugar

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2015/10/elevated-blood-sugar-levels-in-pregnancy-tied-to-babys-heart-defect-risk.html

http://chriskresser.com/thyroid-blood-sugar-metabolic-syndrome/

http://www.doctoroz.com/article/balance-your-blood-sugar-lose-weight

http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/05/20/5-steps-to-reversing-type-2-diabetes-and-insulin-resistance/

The content and opinions expressed in this “Shoppe Talk” blog are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any illness or to provide medical advice. We are not medical doctors and we do not prescribe medication. If you have any questions about the relationship between nutrition and supplements, we recommend that you seek the advice of a qualified and licensed health practitioner. Our opinions are based on the literature and data from a variety of medical doctors, chiropractors, naturopathic physicians, biochemists and other professional researchers. You are encouraged to make your health care decisions based on your own research and the advice of a qualified health care professional.