Managing Your Blood Sugar

by Kris Pitcher

Managing your blood sugar levels might not be top of mind for you, but it's a really good idea. You know how you feel when you haven't managed well. Let's say you have that pumpkin spice, white chocolate, mocha choke-ya, latte along with a couple of those doughnuts that place on the corner makes hot and fresh every morning.

Healthy fats slow digestion...

Sure, at first the rush feels great! Then you start to sweat, feel jittery, light headed and a little nauseous even. All that sugar gets dumped into your system and your body kicks into overdrive to equalize or normalize your blood sugar level.

To do this, your pancreas sends out a spike of insulin to shuttle that glucose out of your blood and into your muscles and cells for storage.

Usually our system over compensates and we feel the crash. Our blood sugar is too low and we feel hungry and crave more carbs and sugar. We have found ourselves on the sugar roller coaster.

This is a lot of work on our system. And for people who eat sugary things over and over, it takes a toll. In fact, pretty soon the pancreas can't keep up, and you need to take insulin. You guessed it, you've turned yourself into a diabetic.

So managing your blood sugar just seems smart. We feel better when our systems don't go through these swings. It's easy to do by eating foods, particularly carbohydrates, that are considered complex. Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest, creating a timed-release effect on our blood sugar. The oatmeal you have in the morning is a great choice for a stable blood sugar throughout the mid morning.

Pair your complex carbohydrates with protein and healthy fats and you've got the perfect combination to manage your blood sugar. The protein and fat further slow the digestion, and thus the release of sugar into your bloodstream. Your system can deal with it nice and easy.

This is also why we want to eat frequently through the day. Maintaining a continual flow of fuel every two to three hours helps us manage our blood sugar. Our systems want things nice and easy, no big swings. Keep your brain happy and your body healthy by managing your blood sugar.

You don't have to be a diabetic to pay attention to your blood sugar. Eating smart throughout the day will keep you right where you want to be.