Entries in glucose (3)

Wednesday
Jul282010

Do you Have Pre-Diabetes or Diabetes?

DateWednesday, July 28, 2010 at 12:35PM

On an initial consult I ask my clients to bring a copy of their most recent blood work. As I glance at the numbers I may ask "when did you get diagnosed with diabetes?" I usually get a look of astonishment with the client saying, "my doctor told me my sugar was a little high and that I am pre-diabetic but not diabetic."

How do you know if you have diabetes? The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has clear-cut guidelines. However, I find these guidelines are not known or acknowledged by many health care professionals.

There is a blood test called the glycosylated hemoglobin A1C. Basically, this is a fancy word showing what your blood sugar has been averaging over the previous 3 months.

Laboratories across the United States have differing normal values, but the average normal for A1C is 4.0-6.0. Once you go above 6 you are technically diabetic, not pre-diabetic. It is like you are pregnant or not, not just pre-pregnant or a little pregnant.

Another way to diagnose whether you are diabetic is to look at your blood sugars 2 hours after eating a meal. If your values register over 126 on more than 2 occasions the ADA guidelines state you are diabetic.

I look at my patient’s fasting blood sugar levels as well. A fasting blood sugar in the 100-115 range could indicate diabetes or that one is on the verge of diabetes. Because these values fall into normal range your physician may not alert you to your level.

Obtain a copy of your blood results and look at your values over time so you have control over your health and knowledge of what is happening in your body.

A diagnosis of diabetes is not a death sentence. If your A1C goes over 6, altering your diet and exercise program can quickly put you back into the normal range. However, your lifestyle will need to be maintained. Diabetes requires daily management.

Knowing your values and the definitions gives you awareness of your health. Hopefully if you hear your health-care professional state "you have diabetes" it will not come as a surprise.

AuthorSusan Dopart | CommentPost a Comment |
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Saturday
Jun262010

Lactose Intolerance or just Carbohydrate Sensitivity?

DateSaturday, June 26, 2010 at 4:23PM

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.

AuthorSusan Dopart | CommentPost a Comment |
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Friday
Apr032009

High Fructose Corn Syrup, Leptin and Weight: Avoiding the Slippery Slope

DateFriday, April 3, 2009 at 6:21PM

Recent media ads informing you HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is safe might lead you to believe consuming a soft drink made with HFCS poses no health risks. When you look at the current research, nothing could be further from the truth.

To understand the truth, we need to look a little at the chemistry of different sugars and hormone interactions. HFCS was developed in the 70’s from cornstarch that is made from genetically modified corn. This process results in a product that is less expensive than sugar, and is used by the major food companies to sweeten their products – anything from sodas to jams, ketchup, juices, and processed packaged foods.

Table sugar is composed of 2 sugars – glucose and fructose. All the cells of our body can readily metabolize glucose, but fructose is only metabolized via the liver. Large amounts of fructose going to the liver causes fatty liver leading to high cholesterol and triglycerides.

Since HFCS contains more fructose than sugar, the fructose is more readily available since it is not bound up with glucose, as is the case with natural sugar. Therefore it has a straight shot to the liver.

Now enter the hormone leptin. Leptin is one of the main hormones regulating appetite. I like to state that leptin lowers your appetite. Several recent studies revealed a diet high in HFCS increased the level of triglycerides, which blocked the brain’s response to leptin.

Therefore, if your body becomes insensitive to leptin, and in fact, develops a leptin resistance, the brain will continue to signal your body it needs more food and continue to store fat.

Judith Altarejos, Ph.D. a researcher at Scripps states “obesity results when the brain becomes ‘deaf’ to the leptin signals.” If your brain is continuing to tell you to eat, you will have a hard time losing weight.

Turning this situation around is not as hard as you might think. Consuming protein at each meal and snack, along with healthy sources of carbohydrate like fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and healthy fats will do wonders for turning on the leptin switch. Keeping refined processed sources of carbohydrate out of your diet is essential and necessary to keeping or restoring balance to the body.

So look for HFCS on labels and stay clear of the slippery slope. Your body and arteries will thank you.

AuthorSusan Dopart | CommentPost a Comment |
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