Sugar and Spikes and All Things Insulin Resistance

We’re probably all walking around with a smattering of understanding of the way our bodies utilise the energy available in our food.  Memories of sweaty school science lessons have equipped us with some key vocabulary like glucose and insulin, maybe even glucagon and endocrine gland.  Could we put these key words in a sentence and describe the process?  Possibly not.  Or, we might be proud of our buffed up science certificates and remember, albeit through a modern day stressors fug somedays, that we learned insulin means our cells can absorb blood sugars so that we have energy.  

Whatever our knowledge of sugar and insulin, the truth is that we’ve probably never had to think much about this whole energy delivery system since we last put on a school uniform.  That is unless we have had the medical profession warning us that we are in danger of becoming a Type 2 Diabetic or one of our family has ended up there.  It seems there is no middle ground when it comes to all things sugar - either we give our insulin levels little thought at all because everything seems to be working fine, or we are at the other extreme of either being told we need to guard against Type 2 Diabetes via health news sections on the TV, or, more concerningly, by our doctor who warns us we must monitor everything we eat for its sugar content.  Time for some middle ground, me thinks!

Clearly, we need energy to live and, obviously, we get this energy through the food we eat.  If all things are equal, our bodies break down food, carbohydrates break down particularly readily into glucose, which enters the bloodstream.  Insulin, secreted by the pancreas, nudges cells to open their doors and let the glucose in.  Cells need this delivery of energy for cellular respiration to occur.  Lots of other systems in our bodies rely on cells being able to onboard glucose.  So far, so good.  Our bodies prefer the amount of glucose in our blood to be stable.  When levels drop, the body produces the hormone glucagon to release stored glucose in the form of glycogen, from muscle and liver cells, and when blood glucose levels are high, insulin is produced so that cells can take up the glucose and either use it or convert it to glycogen - a storable version of glucose.   Again, so far, so tickety-boo.  The whole system works like a well-oiled merry-go-round. 

However, when we regularly eat sugar, we spike our blood sugars.  The spike is over quickly and it brings lethargy and hunger in its wake.  To quash the lethargy and hunger, the body actively seeks out more sugary foods again.  If our blood is often awash with glucose, and, as a result, our pancreas is constantly producing insulin, in an attempt to bring our blood sugar levels down, our cells can start to become resistant to insulin.  Insulin, instead of unlocking the door to let the glucose into cells, suddenly no longer holds the right-shaped key and finds that the cells, much like a bitter ex-, have changed the locks.   Or, our over-tasked pancreas simply can’t produce enough insulin in the first place to keep up with demand.  Either way, the blood is now carrying too much glucose with nowhere to go.  Unfortunately, over time, too much glucose in the blood can damage the tiny blood capillaries.  This is especially dangerous for the capillaries in our eyes, kidneys and lower limbs.  

 It’s worth exploring why they’ve become your brain’s go-to for a quick boost.  Sugar wakes our dopamine up.  Dopamine is one of your brain’s neurotransmitters which goes knocking on all the doors of reward in your brain, asking pleasure and satisfaction to come out to play.  We aren’t getting a sugar rush, we’re getting a dopamine rush triggered by sugar.  Dopamine also means that we are more likely to reinforce a behaviour to keep the pleasure bus on the road so you’re more likely to have that second piece of cake, you know, that piece you didn’t cut because you were aiming for just a little bit of what you fancied?  Apparently, dopamine didn’t read that email!  Before you can say Battenburg, you have yourself a sugar addiction.  From the moment sugar and dopamine shake hands, you’re officially on the Carousel of Carbohydrate Cravings!

Exercise will always help the body to use up blood sugar.  We can gently aid ourselves by moving more so there is less chance of blood sugars lingering in our blood stream because we have simply expended the energy.  The body will always choose the easiest fuel source available, so if you have blood glucose available, it will use that first.  Remember, your role is to help your body to keep its blood glucose system in moderation and exercise can help.

Keto diets focus on high good fats, moderate protein and low carbohydrate intake.  This type of diet shifts the body’s primary fuel source from glucose, which it would always choose to use first, over to ketones and so helps to stabilise blood sugar levels.  Ketones are produced by the liver when it breaks down fat and the body uses them for energy.  This will help improve insulin sensitivity as the blood glucose system is not so reliant on energy from glucose.  This may help cells rebuild their willingness to open their doors to insulin over time. WillPowders Keto Creamer could be just the ticket for crushing cravings and, unlike sugar, it will support gut health, rather than wreak havoc with it.