Why Everyone Should Know This Information about Blood Sugars?
Regardless if you are a person who has any condition that relates to blood sugars or absence of any medical conditions, knowing how to regulate your blood sugars is going to be tremendously helpful for your well being. Let’s dive into 4 concepts explaining why:
1) What is blood sugar?
2) How are blood sugars related to our health?
3) How does nutrition play a role in keeping blood sugars regulated?
4) What impacts blood sugars to be irregular or unstable?
**Please Note: This blog is not intended to replace professional individual medical advice. In order to receive care for your specific needs, please refer to a health care provider to discuss any particular questions related to your medical condition.
What is blood sugar?
Blood sugar is the glucose, a.k.a the sugar that is in our blood and used as fuel for our body and cells. Whenever we eat food, particularly foods that contain carbohydrates such as starches, fruits, or drink sweetened beverages, these break down into a glucose molecule that is released into our bloodstream which hence the word: “Blood sugar.”
Our bodies are in need of energy and regular supply of glucose/sugar for us to function properly with all of our bodily functions on a daily basis. So our body has developed a system as glucose is roaming around our bodies' arteries. A hormone from your pancreas, insulin, is released in response to the higher levels of glucose. Insulin comes in (I like to visualize insulin as little hormones or molecules floating in a person on their way to their regular work shift) and assists glucose to be absorbed into the cells of our body such as the liver, muscle and fat tissue. As insulin supports transportation of glucose to various parts of the body, blood sugar levels decrease as a regulatory response.
TO THE LEFT:
Picture to the left shows the brief summary of the food to glucose process.
In step 1: Foods with carbohydrates are digested and broken down into their molecule form, which is glucose.
In step 2: Glucose gets released into bloodstream and blood sugar levels go up.
In step 3: Hormone insulin is released from pancreas as a response to blood sugar levels being high.
In step 4: Insulin transports glucose from bloodstream to organs and cells in body such as liver and muscle. In response, blood sugar goes down.
2. How is blood sugar related to our health?
For an individual absent with any disease related to blood sugars, the sugar levels are expected to rise after eating and lower after insulin is released into the body. However, this regular process can be impacted from physical stress, mental stress, imbalanced nutrition, lack of sleep, infections/illness and more. When the glucose maintenance process is impacted, this usually means there is an excess amount of glucose in the blood. In result, there is dysfunction in regards to regulating the glucose levels back to previous maintenance levels due to those insulin hormones “working overtime.” Progressively, this can result in the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. More blog posts covering diabetes mellitus coming soon!
We want to avoid our blood sugars being too high or too low because these extremes can put our health in danger. For too high sugars (hyperglycemia), this can result in toxicity in our blood and lead to medical complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, vision loss, blindness and more. For too low sugars (hypoglycemia), this can be quickly fatal and lead to seizures, loss of consciousness and death. Therefore, the task of regulating blood sugars are to help maintain consistent levels that are optimal for our health and roughly are in the range of:
70-99 mg/dL fasting for patients without diabetes
80 to 130 mg/dL fasting for patients with diabetes
>140 mg/dL 2 hours after meal for patients without diabetes
>180 mg/dL for 2 hours after meals for patients with diabetes.
Please note: The numbers in this post are from general recommendations with references below. Please ask your healthcare provider for your individualistic numerical recommendations.
3. How does nutrition play a role in keeping blood sugars regulated?
Nutrition does have a significant role in our blood sugars, yes! With regular intake of meals, snacks and beverages, there are many opportunities for our blood sugars to be impacted from the breakdown of our food and liquids.
Now that we understand how blood sugars impact our health if they are too high or low, let’s discuss why we would want to keep our sugars regulated. When blood sugars are regulated and within the appropriate range for our bodies, the following can occur:
Our energy levels are likely to be more steady.
More cognitive brain function related to our brain using glucose for nerve cells and help process information.
Prevention of disease and damage to our arteries, nerves, and organs.
Carbohydrates (starch, fruits and sweetened beverages) are one of the food groups that heavily impact our blood sugars because after they are broken down they present as sugar in our bloodstream. Carbohydrates are not meant to be forbidden or eliminated. In fact, they are quite important to consume since they are our bodies main fuel source of energy. However, we can assist our bodies blood sugar regulation by balancing out our meals and snacks with the following other food groups:
Protein: Protein is found in animal meats, fish, eggs, cheese/dairy, nuts and legumes. Protein can assist in balancing your blood sugars due to low carbohydrate content in their foods. They are also able to blunt a sugar spike due to the body needing the time and effort to process and breakdown protein into their smaller molecules called amino acids.
Fiber: Fiber is found in non-starchy vegetables (leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables and more), whole grains (whole oats, wheat, quinoa, buck wheat, barley or whole wheat bread) and beans/legumes. Fiber is another helpful nutrient to prevent blood sugar from spiking and dipping low really fast due to fiber slowing down blood sugar from being processed in the body. Furthermore, fiber helps with satiety in meals and regulating bowel movements.
Fat: Fat can be best remembered as foods you usually cook with like oils, butter, dressing, fish, and nuts as well. Similar to the nutrients listed above, fat is going to help prevent blood sugar from spiking because the body needs the time and effort for breaking fat down into its broken down molecule form of fatty acids.
TO THE RIGHT:
Figure A represents a general example of blood sugar levels with lack of “pff” or protein, fiber and fat. Blood sugars are at risk of spiking high and fast and dipping low and fast.
Figure B represents a general example of bloof sugar levels with balanced nutrition and combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat in meals/snacks. Blood sugars slowly increase with a lower peak than figure A and decrease slowly.
4. What impacts blood sugars to be irregular or unstable?
What impacts blood sugars to be irregular (too high or too low) is really dependent on the individual. It is important to remember that there are external factors that impact blood sugars not including food/beyond what we eat. Things such as the following can impact blood sugars in a negative way:
Chronic illness/Being immunosuppressed (Some sickness such as infections or other physical stress stimulates blood sugar to be released for energy to support physical healing)
Mental stress (Our nervous system unfortunately does not understand the difference between physical stress or struggling with mental stress for example, generalized anxiety and etc)
Lack of sleep (Lack of sleep results in extra cortisol, a.k.a stress hormone, being released which promotes more blood sugar being released from storage home, liver.)
Genetics (Genetics are not the sole determining factor however, definitely play a role in the increased chance of developing insulin resistance from lack of blood sugar regulation)
Socioeconomic status (Lack of education and lack of access to positive lifestyle treatments such as variety of fresh produce at grocery stores, lack of medical access for medications and doctor visits or lack of safety in neighborhoods for outside physical activity such as walking)
When it comes to nutrition, there are several factors that can play a role in unstable blood sugars and can exacerbate some of the external non-nutrition risks listed above:
Skipping meals or eating inconsistently (This can cause unstable sugars and result in high/low levels)
Lack of protein, fat and fiber in meals
Consistently eating an imbalance ratio of carbohydrates, protein, fat and fiber in meals
Remember that carbohydrates are not meant to be removed from our diets and are a significant part of our daily calorie needs (45-65%). However, if you are someone with prediabetes, or diagnosed diabetes, receiving nutritional counseling is a critical piece of treatment and understanding what is the best intake of carbohydrates for your life since everyone has different needs!
Additionally, for someone who struggles with an eating disorder or disordered eating and is also wanting more information on how to balance blood sugars, it is important for me to acknowledge the challenge that some of these diabetes recommendations might have on those individuals.
When working with individuals who have a history of disordered eating or eating disorders, it's crucial to approach blood sugar management recommendations with sensitivity and caution. Standard diabetic dietary advice, while beneficial for many, can inadvertently trigger or exacerbate disordered eating behaviors in individuals.
For instance, recommendations to meticulously track food intake, focus on specific macronutrient ratios, or adhere to rigid meal timing can be problematic for someone struggling with disordered eating. These practices may reinforce obsessive thoughts about food, promote restrictive eating patterns, or lead to feelings of guilt and shame around eating.
Therefore, it's essential to tailor blood sugar management strategies to the individual's unique needs and circumstances, taking into account their history with disordered eating. This may involve collaborating with a registered dietitian who specializes in eating disorder and focuses on prioritizing a compassionate, non-judgmental approach to nutrition and health.
In Summary:
Blood sugar is the glucose, a.k.a the sugar that is in our blood.
We want to avoid our blood sugars being too high or too low because these extremes can put our health in danger.
With regular intake of meals, snacks and beverages, there are many opportunities for our blood sugars to be impacted from the breakdown of our food and liquids.
When it comes to nutrition, there are several factors that can play a role in unstable blood sugars such as skipping meals or eating lack of protein, fiber and fat in meals.
Carbohydrates (starch, fruits and sweetened beverages) are one of the food groups that heavily impact our blood sugars/
Protein, fat and fiber foods help balance blood sugars by slowing down the blood sugars from spiking high due protein, fiber and fat taking longer for the body to process/absorb.
There are several other factors that can impact blood sugar like mental stress, lack of sleep, genetics and socioeconomic status.
For indivduals struggling with an eating disorder and diabetes, working with a specialized dietitian could be helpful to navigate stabilizing blood sugars and healing relationship with food.
What did you take away from this reading?
This blog was edited and some sections were revised by dietetic student, Karis Nietz from Texas A&M University. Final copy was completed by Licensed and Registered Dietitian, Alex Cisneros.
References:
1.The relationship between blood sugar level and GI. Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/health-and-illness/glycemic-index/glucose-level/
2.CDC. Manage Blood Sugar. Diabetes. Published May 21, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/treatment/index.html
3.Wu S, Jia W, He H, et al. A New Dietary Fiber Can Enhance Satiety and Reduce Postprandial Blood Glucose in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial. Nutrients. 2023;15(21):4569-4569. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214569
4.Jing T, Zhang S, Bai M, et al. Effect of Dietary Approaches on Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review with Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials. Nutrients. 2023;15(14):3156. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143156
5.Schulze MB, Martínez-González MA, Fung TT, Lichtenstein AH, Forouhi NG. Food based dietary patterns and chronic disease prevention. BMJ. 2018;361:k2396. doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2396
6.Pil Lindgreen, Willaing I, Clausen L, et al. “I Haven’t Told Anyone but You”: Experiences and Biopsychosocial Support Needs of People With Type 2 Diabetes and Binge Eating. Qualitative Health Research. Published online January 5, 2024. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/10497323231223367
7.Muley A, Deshmane A, Mahajan A, Shah J. Eating Disorders: Assessing Its Prevalence and Pattern Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes. Cureus. Published online January 17, 2024. doi:https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.52425