Lactose Intolerance or just Carbohydrate Sensitivity?

Wonder why one day you just stopped tolerating milk, cheese or ice-cream?  Often a new client will state they are lactose intolerance and add a sentence such as “I used to tolerate milk products just fine until the last few months or maybe even a year.  Then something happened.”

Those with true lactose intolerance have usually had it for quite some time and know how to gauge how much dairy their body is able to tolerate.  However, many individuals who think they are lactose intolerant are actually carbohydrate sensitive.

When someone with insulin resistance continues to eat a large percentage of their calories as carbohydrate, their body becomes more intolerant of all types of carbohydrate.  If they consume a lot of starches made up of strings of glucose molecules such as rice, pasta, potatoes, cereal, etc. the sugar does not readily get into their cells.

As a result, they have various symptoms such as gas, bloating, reflux, fatigue, etc. that go along with insulin resistance.  Add a sugar in the mix such as lactose and these symptoms become more of a problem.

Limiting starches and consuming carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds can easily calm down the symptoms of insulin resistance and allow one to consume dairy products without a problem.

If you find yourself with symptoms of lactose intolerance try cutting out starches and desserts for a week or two and see what happens.  I think you might be surprised at the results.

Understand Insulin Resistance so you can Avoid Diabetes

Insulin resistance is a term that came into being in the last decade. Gerald Reaven, M.D., a professor of medicine at Stanford University, was the first scientist to identify those individuals with a conglomerate of symptoms that he coined “metabolic syndrome” or “Syndrome X.”

Normally insulin, a hormone released from the pancreas, enables cells to remove glucose (sugar) from the blood stream to be used as energy. Approximately a third of the population inherits a resistance of their cells to respond properly to insulin. This results in higher circulating levels of blood glucose, which causes the pancreas to release ever-increasing amounts of insulin in an attempt to normalize blood glucose levels, which can eventually lead to diabetes.

Simply put, insulin is the key that unlocks the cell for sugar to get in, which in turn enables your body to use the food you consume.  However, somewhere along the line, the key either gets stuck or has difficulty getting into the lock.  Or, if it does get in, it cannot turn the lock, hence it was given the term “resistant.”  If your body develops a resistance to insulin, you are not able to utilize the food you take in, which can increase your fatigue and cravings for ever-increasing amounts of carbohydrate, which compounds the problem. 

This resistance sets up a cascade of reactions in the body which are not in your favor. It’s as if the sugar is outside the cell knocking to get in.  When it cannot get in, your body keeps craving more carbohydrate. Sort of like when you eat one slice of bread - then you want the whole basket.

The pancreas, which produces your insulin, gets a signal from the body that sugar is sitting outside the cells begging to get in so the cells can feel fed.  When the sugar cannot get in, the pancreas then releases more insulin.  Why is this a problem?  Well, increased amounts of insulin in the blood makes it easier for your body to store fat.  To compound this problem, the extra sugar that is not stored as fat or used by the cells as energy goes directly to the liver.  Increased levels of carbohydrate in the liver can lead to fatty liver, with the liver producing higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides (a storage form of fat).

Insulin resistance is associated with a host of adverse health effects you’d rather avoid. This includes, but is not limited to, weight gain, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides levels, diabetes, heart disease, and sleep apnea. 

There are varying degrees of insulin resistance with some people having a tendency and others having full-blown insulin resistance, which is adult onset diabetes.  There can be a thousand-fold spectrum of insulin resistance in any one individual, meaning different levels of insulin resistance exist.

Factors contributing to insulin resistance are:

• a sedentary lifestyle
• a family history of high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease
• a history of gestational diabetes
• a diagnosis of high blood pressure or heart disease
• elevated triglycerides and/or low HDL-cholesterol levels

The classic insulin resistant body belongs to someone who has thin arms and legs, and stores much of their fat in the abdominal region. This body type is also known as apple-shaped.  If you have a different type of body, or store your weight in other areas (also called pear-shaped), you may still be insulin resistant, but to a lesser degree.

In the past, insulin resistance was only seen in adults.  Now we are now seeing children as young as seven-years old with insulin resistance.  Research shows that the fastest growing population of new onset adult diabetes is in teens ages 11-17.

A Recipe for Life discusses insulin resistance in detail and outlines exactly how to balance your meals to calm this syndrome down and keep it at bay!

The Santa Claus Syndrome

This last week’s Health section of the LA Times had an interesting article called “Know thy enemy:  sugar.”  The writer, Kathy Price-Robinson, shares her story about being 275 pounds and the journey she went through in healing herself.  She went through therapy, support groups, and lost her weight.  She does not discuss how much she lost but impressively she did it without medication or surgery.  She worked on healing her relationship with food.

She discusses how she is not able to eat sugar and likens it to getting in the ring with Mike Tyson.  I would wholeheartedly agree.  For many individuals sugar or starchy carbohydrates are not safe.  When they eat these foods, their bodies release excess amounts of insulin which stores more fat and increase cravings for more sugar – like a fast speed train that one cannot exit.  I talk about this concept in A Recipe for Life by the Doctor’s Dietitian.

Simply put, insulin is the key that unlocks the cell for sugar to get in, which in turn enables your body to use the food you consume.  However, for some individuals somewhere along the line, the key either gets stuck or has difficulty getting into the lock.  Or, if it does get in, it cannot turn the lock, hence it was given the term “resistant.”  If your body develops a resistance to insulin, you are not able to utilize the food you take in, which can increase your fatigue and cravings for ever-increasing amounts of carbohydrate, which compounds the problem. 

This resistance sets up a cascade of reactions in the body which are not in your favor. It’s as if the sugar is outside the cell knocking to get in.  When it cannot get in, your body keeps craving more carbohydrate. Sort of like when you eat one slice of bread - then you want the whole basket.

This “Santa Claus Syndrome (SCS)” as I like to call it, can frequently happen over the holidays.  You attend a holiday party and start consuming some chips, crackers, or cookies.  Soon you find yourself eating a few more, and then the carbohydrate cravings go into full gear and you can’t seem to stop yourself from eating.  The next day you go to a holiday lunch where similar food is served.  Since your body has not recovered from the night before, it keeps telling you to eat more carbohydrate.  If you continue this cycle, the SCS will be in full gear, leaving you wondering how you got into this mess in the first place.

For many individuals if you want your body to run efficiently and stay in control, eating sugar and starchy carbohydrates is just not an option.  As the writer of the LA Times articles states “you can get knocked down, or you can stop getting in the ring.”  Sometimes keeping yourself safe requires not putting on the red suit.

Versatile High Protein Lasagna

With the weather being so hot sometimes the thought of being in a hot kitchen is the last thing you want to do after working all day or carting the kids around after school.  One way to circumvent this problem is to make a large amount of food over the weekend and have the rest as leftovers.

Our High Protein Lasagna is a versatile recipe that can be made with meat, chicken or vegetarian.  It tastes even better as leftovers as the flavors of the ingredients get better with time and can be frozen for later if desired.

We substituted eggplant or squash for the noodles so it is perfect for those with gluten intolerance or if you need to watch your carbohydrate intake.

High Protein Lasagna

 Serves:  8

Prep Time:  60-90 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1½ pounds of shredded chicken breast

1 medium eggplant, about 2 pounds

1 medium red bell pepper, cored and seeded

1 medium yellow red pepper, cored and seeded

2 medium zucchini

2 medium crookneck yellow squash

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese

2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

4 cups easy tomato sauce (see recipe)

Preparation:

Boil boneless skinless chicken breasts in a stockpot of water with a pinch of salt.  The longer you cook the chicken the more tender it becomes.  Cook on high for approximately 1-1.5 hours.  Rinse under cold water and shred apart with a fork.

Cut ends of eggplant off, and a slice into ¼ inch medallions. Slice squashes into ¼ inch medallions.  Thinly slice peppers.  Sauté or roast all vegetables in olive oil until soft.

Mix together mozzarella and ricotta cheeses in a separate bowl.

In a large glass pan (approximately 9.5 x 13.5), place 3 layers of ingredients.  First, put about 2 cups of sauce on the bottom of the pan.  Then layer one third eggplant, squashes, peppers (vegetables), shredded chicken, and cheese mixture. For the second layer use one cup of sauce, another third of the vegetables, chicken, and cheese mixture.  Top off with remaining chicken, vegetables and cheese mixture.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.  Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Variation:  In place of shredded chicken, can use baked chicken, cooked ground meat or poultry, or delete meat for a vegetarian dish. 

Per Serving

Calories                                     315

Protein                             22 grams

Total Carbohydrates     14 grams

Total Fat                          19 grams

Fiber                                3.5 grams

Sodium                              402 mg.

Crunchy Wheat-Free, Gluten Free Snacks

Years ago wheat-free snacks lacked taste and crunch. There has been an explosion of snacks in the last 2 years which are tasty, crunchy and made of nuts, seeds, vegetables and spices. These make an excellent snack choice for those with carbohydrate sensitivity, diabetes, celiac disease and other medical issues.

My favorite variety is Wheat Free Crusts by Mauk Family Farms. These “crackers” are made of sunflower, sesame and flax seeds along with spices and will make an wonderful substitute for crackers.

Another company that makes many varieties is Lydia’s Organics. These “crackers” are usually made of almonds, sesame seeds, vegetables and spices. The Luna-Nori, Italian and Sunflower “Bread” have a great taste and pair well with cheese or peanut/almond and cashew butters.

Finally Matter of Flax is a excellent choice that makes their “crackers” of flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and spices which make them each a little different – Italian, Mexican, and Indian are a few of the flavors.

They all have a little kick and will satisfy that carby crunchy need without breaking your “carb” bank.