Are you on a blood sugar rollercoaster?
Do you experience a drop in energy after consuming simple carbohydrates such as bread and pasta as well as sugar products such as cakes, biscuits, sweets?
Do you find that you are craving sweet foods?
Are you always hungry?
Do you experience excessive thirst?
Do you experience night sweats?
Do you need to urinate frequently?
Have you found your vision becoming more blurry?
Do you sometimes get the shakes if you miss a meal?
Have you feelings of anxiety increased of late?
Common occurrences of some or all of these symptoms may mean that your blood sugars are dipping and climbing repeatedly during the day. It is important to be aware of the symptoms and take action to rebalance your blood sugars in order to prevent the onset of more serious health issues such as diabetes and heart disease.
We need sugar for energy but when we consume too much to quickly our bodies release a hormone called insulin to help disperse the sugar by directing sugar into our bodys cells where it can be used as energy at a later date. Insulin is made in our pancreas. If our pancreas is unable to make enough or our body doesn’t use it correctly we can become insulin resistant.
Insulin resistance is typically linked to being overweight but it can affect anyone at any weight if there are high fat stores around organic such as the liver and pancreas. Typically, insulin resistance is caused by dietary choices, medications, lack of physical activity. Insulin resistant can be temporary or chronic. When it becomes chronic our risk of diabetes becomes greater.
It is important to be aware of how you are reacting when you experience these symptoms. For example when your energy is low are you eating something ‘sugary’ to pick your energy levels up? Or If you are craving sweet food are you giving in to the feeling by eating something containing sugar? If we do this we are are experiencing the ‘blood sugar roller coaster’ ie putting more sugar than our bodies need into our system, feeling good for a short period of time and them crashing and experiencing symptoms and then we eat more sugar to ‘pick’ us up and the rollercoaster begins again.
How nutritional therapy can help
Working with a registered and qualified nutritionist will help you assess and understand the impact of the foods your are eating and work with you to tailor a nutritional protocol that is right for your bodies needs.
Everyone is unique and there is not a one diet fits all scenario, however there are some basic principles that are always applied. These include:
- Identifying key trigger foods and replacing them with healthy alternatives
- Eating the range of macro nutrients
- Ensuring consumption of lean and or plant protein, fibre, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates
- Ensuring certain foods are eaten together
- Staying hydrated – consuming at least 2 litres of water a day
- Planning meals to avoid the need for take aways / snacking
- Reviewing and supporting lifestyle changes as needed (including exercise!)