Sunday, November 8, 2015

The Secret Sauce to Controlling the Blood Sugar Drama

It's the perfect storm:  you slow down in the Activity Department, you eat an Unhealthy Diet, and the Tissues and Hormones in the body Experience a Communication Breakdown.
Blood Sugar Tolerance is a real issue, especially as we get older (and I will explain this as you read on).  Blood Sugar or Glucose comes from carbohydrates that we eat in our diets.  We need Carbs, just the right sources (Low-Glycemic fruits and vegetables, roots, and tubers - not packaged Crap marketed as food that makes you ride the above image).
Digestion breaks down these Carbs into individual sugar molecules that enter the bloodstream as Glucose.  The body wants to maintain a level of this Glucose in the Bloodstream, and that level is 5 grams - that's 1 teaspoon! (not much, right).  The body has to have glucose in the bloodstream, after all it's the only fuel source for the brain, and the brain needs to be working so you can survive (unless you want to live a life in Politics, I kid, I kid, HA!).  Okay, bad joke, maybe?  Anyways, The hormone Insulin, sometimes called the "Master Hormone", has the duty to regulate the glucose in the bloodstream.  It signals the muscles to take in and utilize this glucose as energy. And to an extent, both skeletal muscle tissue and the liver will take in glucose and store it in clumps known as Glycogen.  Once they have stored all they can, the glucose is transformed into Triglycerides and stored in Fat cells.  This type of stored fat is problematic as this goes on and on...... 
Something very important to catch here is the fact that Muscle Tissue is very tuned into the Insulin Hormone, it's SENSITIVE to it.  We want these two always on the same page.
A problem that comes up for us, especially as we age, is that we lose Muscle Tissue due to inactivity.  We stop moving, exerting ourselves, and challenging our muscle tissue.  For a lot of people the muscle tissue is replaced with FAT.  The muscle tissue becomes less sensitive to Insulin, the beta cells of the Pancreas in turn push more Insulin out into the blood to control the high Blood glucose levels. High Blood Glucose levels by the way can be Toxic, remember the optimal level is only 5 grams!
As this process goes on, the Beta Cells of the Liver tire out, they are overused - the communication breakdown occurs. The body can't make Insulin anymore and you've punched your ticket for Adult-Onset Diabetes (Type II).  Hopefully you catch this early and can manage it with proper diet and an exercise regimen.
2 things to point out:  It's natural as we age to lose SOME of our ability to manage blood sugar levels, the beta-cells get worn out due to years of eating sweet foods. We can help this by eating better sources of Carbohydrates in our diets and also making sure we get enough Fiber.  Fiber is dense, will satiate our appetite, and help make our Colon Healthier.  Another thing, how much fat we store above the waist-line is a key indicator on our Blood Sugar/Body relationship.  The more you have here (both men and women), the greater the risk for Diabetes.

So here's the Secret Sauce, the Keys to Take from this:

Muscle is the MOST METABOLICALLY ACTIVE tissue we have in our body.  Muscle tissue is very sensitive to the hormone Insulin.  I said earlier that inevitably as you age you lose a little glucose tolerance.  You can help this process by adding more muscle tissue, even as you age, where the opposite, losing muscle mass seems to be the norm.  Adopt a routine of Strength-building Exercise into your life.   The more muscle tissue, the more blood sugar gets stored as beneficial Glycogen and you will have the energy when you need it.   You have to keep the ratio of Muscle to Body Fat in check to avoid Diabetes.  This new exercise habit will hopefully burn some of that fat that has accumulated above the waist too.  You don't have to have the Blood Sugar Drama, and the key to controlling this potential drama is MUSCLE.