o fully understand how the foods we eat, and particularly the sugar we eat, affect our blood sugar and fat storage, you must understand a bit about human physiology. The endocrine system that orchestrates our blood sugar, cellular metabolism, and energy storage and consumption is amazingly complex and deserves our respect and attention!

f the glucose system is compared to a sports team, the players would be: the pancreas, the liver, and the cells (fat, muscle, liver, etc). The coaches would be the hormones: insulin, glucagon, and many others. A hormone is a chemical produced in the body that affects cells. Hormones "direct" the cells to perform a certain action, either by turning on or off a mechanism at the cellular level. Put simply, imagine a single cell in your body. This cell will mind its own business until it is told to do something by a hormone. Just as an enthusiastic worker will jump on a task as soon as the boss brings it up, the cells are wired to respond to the various hormones. Not every cell responds to every hormone, however. We were designed to have keyholes, or receptors, on the outer layer of our cells. These "keyholes" are where a hormone can bind to the cell, but only if the hormone fits in the lock. Some cells have receptors for one hormone, but not another. The susceptibility of a cell to a particular hormone depends upon whether the cell has a receptor for that hormone or not.

nsulin is a key hormone in charge of directing glucose, or sugar, where it needs to go: out of the bloodstream and into our cells. Insulin comes from the pancreas, a banana-shaped organ behind the stomach. When glucose passes from the stomach into the bloodstream (through the portal vein), the pancreas senses the glucose and releases insulin. The more glucose that is in the blood, the more insulin that is released.

When it comes to insulin, the cells that are most responsive are muscle and fat cells, followed by liver cells. The reason for this is because insulin serves to regulate our energy. We eat in order to consume energy, in the form of calories, which our bodies use to conduct the many mechanisms and regulatory processes. It takes energy for all of those biochemical reactions that we are not even aware of to occur! Humans, as well as other animals, are designed to conserve our energy "for a rainy day". In our relatively affluent society, it is hard to imagine a day when food is not constantly within arm's reach. But for much of our ancestors' existence, foraging was the means that food was obtained, not a drive-through window. In the winter when ice and snow covered the ground, or when a flood or drought withered the land, food was not easy to come by. Thus, in order to survive, our endocrine systems had to plan for these "famines" and have extra energy on hand. Because we are biochemically hard-wired for famine, our bodies are better at conserving energy than burning it (much to the dismay of modern-day dieters).

nsulin regulates our energy by determining what is to be stored. In general, insulin can be viewed as a "famine" hormone, because its primary responsibility is to store energy. It accomplishes this by directing glucose from the bloodstream into our cells. When insulin is present, our cells are told to "open up the door" for glucose to come in. Once inside, this glucose must be dealt with. The first bit of glucose is used for immediate consumption. Our muscle cells use it for energy so that we can run that mile, or hoist those groceries. But when there is excess glucose, as often there is, the excess must be "packaged into boxes, and placed in the closet or the attic", so to speak. This storage becomes adipose tissue, or fat. Because insulin is hard at work storing energy, it inhibits, or doesn't allow, the hormones that help us burn energy. This is why insulin-resistant diabetics have so much difficulty losing weight. In the presence of insulin, our cells are biochemically instructed not to let go of that energy (otherwise known as fat)!

At this point, we have basically vilified insulin, blaming it for our fat deposits! But what you must remember is that our bodies' homeostatic mechanisms exist for a purpose. If it weren't for insulin, the human race would not exist today! As any insulin-dependent diabetic will tell you, insulin is a lifesaver! We need insulin to ensure that our muscles receive the glucose that they need to function. Our muscles primarily operate on the fuel of glycogen (which is stored sugar). That's why marathon runners talk about "carb loading" before the big event. The idea is to give their muscles as much glucose (which is converted to glycogen) so that when they are running, their muscles will have plenty of energy to get them to the finish line.

Insulin also ensures that the glucose in our blood is taken up by our cells so that the bloodstream doesn't become flooded with sugar. Sugar acts as a "free radical" when present in the bloodstream, causing glycation of, and damage to, the cells and blood vessels. That is why long-standing, poorly-controlled diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney failure, heart and vessel disease, and stroke. Insulin is needed to keep our blood sugar in check and prevent hyperglycemia, which means high blood sugar.

If insulin is chronically present in the bloodstream, or is present in high amounts, then the body is stuck in a "famine" mode. Chronically high levels of insulin lead to insulin resistance, a pre-diabetes state meaning that the cells "resist," or ignore, the insulin, and do not respond appropriately to the hormone's directions. This forces the pancreas to produce more and more insulin, inundating the bloodstream with insulin until the cells can no longer ignore it. Insulin resistance usually correlates with obesity because the resulting high levels of insulin instruct the cells to store energy, and inhibit fat burning. Insulin resistance causes a vicious cycle of higher and higher insulin levels until eventually the pancreas burns out and can no longer produce the insulin. When this occurs, the person transitions from an insulin-resistant diabetic to an insulin-dependent diabetic. It's a complicated syndrome, but the take home message is that glucose management is essential to a healthy life. The best way to prevent (or reverse) diabetes is to keep the blood glucose, and the resulting insulin levels, controlled.

he popular "high protein, low carb" diets are banking on this insulin premise. In theory, it seems plausible that by not eating carbohydrates, insulin would not be released, and therefore less fat would be stored. However, the catch is that carbohydrates are not the only nutrients that cause the release of insulin. Protein and fat also stimulate the release of insulin by the pancreas. This biochemical detail is left out of the "high protein diet" books! While protein and fat usually cause a smaller release of insulin than table sugar, large quantities of high-fat protein (from dairy, beef, pork, and dark chicken) are likely to have greater insulin-stimulating affects. It is worthwhile to note that high protein diets often include consumption of large amounts of high-fat animal protein. And despite what proponents of high protein diets claim, studies demonstrate that as the consumption of animal protein increases, so do rates of diabetes. This provides evidence that there is more to diabetes than the consumption of carbohydrates.

Another highly misunderstood concept is that all carbohydrates are created equal. There is a huge difference in the nutritional profile of blueberries versus a fruit roll-up, and the body knows this. Blueberries are packed full of anti-oxidants, minerals, and fiber, and thus the amount of glucose that ends up in the bloodstream is much less than would be expected based upon the pure sugar content of blueberries on a Nutrition Facts label. Therefore, eating blueberries does not cause as significant of a rise in blood sugar as eating a sugared product containing table sugar, or high fructose corn syrup, or any other sweetener. This insulin-evading phenomenon that high-fiber, natural foods posses is reflected by the glycemic load. The glycemic load of a food is the grams of carbohydrate contained in the food, multiplied by the glycemic index of the food, divided by 100. This is the mathematical way to say that the glycemic load estimates the extent to which a typical serving of a food will raise blood sugar. The glycemic load takes into account serving size, which is an important distinction. The more fiber that is in a food, the lower the glycemic load (thus the less the food increases blood sugar).

1. Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Make your portions "snack size", but eat the nutritious food of a meal.
2. Pair a small amount of protein or healthy fat with a "sweeter" food: peanut butter with fruit; walnuts or almonds sprinkled in oatmeal; beans with rice; guacamole or avocado slices on whole grain tortilla or pita; tofu crumbled on pasta or baked potato; spinach sautéed in small amount of olive oil; baked apple or pear with cinnamon and warm glass of soymilk; low-salt lentil soup garnished with cilantro and shredded carrots
3. Opt for the "fiber food" instead of the sugary alternative. For example, grapes instead of grape juice or wine; raw carrots instead of carrot juice; brown rice instead of white; shredded wheat or Grape Nuts instead of Frosted Mini-Wheats or granola.
4. Eliminate dessert as previously defined, and create your own healthy desserts: oven-baked fruits; fruit-sweetened porridge; frozen grapes and bananas; roasted almond wrapped in a dried apricot or date; apple and orange slices dipped in melted peanut butter; cooked pumpkin and allspice with splash of soymilk; shredded coconut sprinkled on fruit salad; champagne glass-sized fruit smoothie with ice, fruit, nut milk, and almond extract; "sorbet" made from frozen fruit blended with ice
5. Substitute whole grains for refined flour: whole wheat buns, 100% whole grain bread, corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas, brown rice, and wheat pasta. Avoid pizza crusts, muffins, donuts, pastries, rolls, cookies, pancakes, crackers, and chips. At a restaurant, ask the waiter not to bring the basket of rolls or breadsticks to the table.
6. Decrease or eliminate consumption of fried, fatty foods. This is especially true for the high-fat meats and dairy, and the cream-based sauces. Remember: the more fat and animal protein you eat, the more insulin that is released.
7. Exercise! Exercise naturally lowers blood sugar and insulin levels by pulling the sugar out of the bloodstream and into the muscles for energy. Even walking can significantly improve glucose control. Get in the habit of taking a stroll after eating, even if only for 5 minutes. If you are lucky enough to have a lunch break at work, eat for half of the time, and walk for the rest!
8. Goodbye liquid calories. There is no nutritional need for liquid, sugary drinks. Ideally, all sodas, punch, and other sport drinks should be poured down the drain and no longer at your fingertips! For most adults, there is also no need for fruit juices (unless a small amount is used in cooking, in a healthy smoothie, flavoring water, or 4 oz. is sipped at the end of a meal instead of wine). If you are diabetic, or wanting to lose weight, then you should really consider eliminating fruit juice. Soymilks and nut milks, on the other hand, contain protein and healthy fat, so the glucose spike is lessened. These may be consumed in moderation, but it is not recommended that calories from drinks be a staple in anyone's diet. Instead, make "no-calorie" substitutions such as herbal teas.
9. Read the labels. Regardless of whether you are diabetic or wanting to lose weight, learning to read the ingredient list to scan for added sugars is an essential tool in eating healthy. Sugar is given a multitude of nicknames to "hide" its presence, so you should familiarize yourself with these names and avoid products that contain the following on the ingredient list: high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, sucrose, maltodextrin, glucose, sorbitol, mannitol, cane sugar, brown sugar, crystallized sugar, corn syrup solids, maltose, lactose, and more. Honey, molasses, maple syrup, cane juice, rice syrup, malted barley, agave nectar, stevia, and fruit juice concentrate are often found in "healthy" packaged foods, and are considered sugar alternatives. This is a bit of a misnomer, as they provide sweetener to the product and will also affect blood sugar. However, some nutrition experts believe that these "healthier" sugars are more natural, and do not spike blood sugar as much as concentrated sweeteners such as corn syrup do. Regardless, all sweeteners are just that-sweeteners--and can adversely affect blood sugar and insulin levels. For optimal health, you should avoid all added sweeteners whenever possible, and use the truest sweetener of all, naturally sweet fruits (and some vegetables), to satisfy your sweet tooth.

<< Back to Healthy Shopping        Continue to Meal Ideas >>