Blood Sugar Regulation, Food Sensitivities and Metabolism

“The simplest illustration of how inflammation relates to the organism’s resources was an experiment in which blood glucose was varied, while an animal was exposed to chemicals that varied from mildly irritating to potentially deadly. When the animal had very low blood sugar, the mildest irritant could be deadly, but when its blood glucose was kept very high, even the deadly antigens were only mildly irritating. Varying the blood sodium concentration had similar, but weaker, effects. The mere concentration of glucose and sodium in the blood (and of thyroid, and many other substances that aren’t considered to be part of the immune system) can make a tremendous difference in the degree of immunological reaction. ”

— Ray Peat

“The mere concentration of glucose and sodium in the blood (and of thyroid, and many other substances that aren’t considered to be part of the immune system) can make a tremendous difference in the degree of “immunological” reaction.”  Other wise known as proper blood sugar regulation.

What this means…

If you are;  calorie counting, not eating frequently enough, not eating the proper food ratios or serving sizes of each (protein, carb, fat) or eating low quality foods, you’re setting yourself up for a food sensitivity and eventually develop the potential to slow your metabolism over time.

Not regulating your blood sugar properly can also lead to elevated levels of inflammation and a slower rate of healing, regeneration and repair in the body.  So if you are increasing your exercise load or any stress for that matter it’s essential to increase your calorie intake.

When increasing your frequency of eating I recommend always increasing your calorie intake with organic whole foods that support the thyroid.

For more information about what those foods are and  how to heal your own metabolism,  check out my nutritional coaching sessions.

5 Simple Tips To a Healthy Metabolism

When I talk to a client for the first time I always ask them, “How frequently are you eating?” They usually answer with, some days I wait up to 5 hours without eating.  I'm always blown away by this and at the same time share compassion.  We live in a busy time, this is why some people put off eating or taking care of themselves to get things done.  

But can you really get things done when you have no energy?  Nourishing yourself has to be a top priority if you're going to strive to have more energy and a healthy well functioning metabolism.  Contrary to popular belief, your body needs food on a regular basis in order to regulate your blood sugar and keep all systems functioning optimally.  

If you have trouble losing or gaining weight you may want to start by nourishing the body on a daily basis.  Eating a small meal every two hours then tapering off once your metabolism begins to function more efficiently.

Even though food frequency seems like such a simple solution, I find it’s the most underestimated factor in most people's nutrition program.  People are just not doing it.  Maybe it’s because of our busy stressful lives or maybe it's because calorie counting has been drilled into our psyche as the best way to lose weight and get healthy.  Whatever the reason, at some point our bodies are going to slow down if we’re not giving them enough fuel.

I think eating clean organic foods is really important, but if you’re not eating frequently enough to balance your blood sugar each day, you’re simply not going to be able to meet your body’s metabolic needs, thus slowing your metabolism down and storing more calories as fat. 

This can also sets the stage for hormonal imbalance and thyroid slow down which can make it basically impossible to lose weight.

The goal is to heal the metabolism first.  Excess weight will come off when the metabolism and thyroid are healed and working efficiently again.  You can do this simply with the right foods in the right amounts and at the right times.

5 Simple Things You Can Do To Heal Your Metabolism

1. Eat every 2 hours.  When you’re training your body to run on glucose instead of adrenaline it’s really important to eat every 2 hours until your body is able to run more efficiently.  If you go too long without food you run the risk of going into an adrenaline mode and your body can go into it’s cortisol reserves.  Doing this too often can slow down your thyroid which is what regulates your metabolism.  You want to avoid this hormonal fluctuation by eating frequently enough to meet your body’s metabolic needs.  This will depend on the person.

2. Eat food with your coffee in the morning.  It’s ideal to eat food with your morning coffee to avoid a blood sugar spike.  I also recommend adding organic heavy cream and/or gelatin to your coffee to slow down the effects of the caffeine.  The nutrients you get from the heavy cream and gelatin will help your body metabolize the coffee.

3.  Be prepared.  Plan ahead for your meals and snacks for the week.  You can easily avoid moments where you realize you have nothing to eat.  Because you waited so long to eat your body rebounds by overeating at the next meal.  You can avoid this by simply planning ahead. Shopping on the weekends and having enough snacks on hand to keep the blood sugar regular throughout the day.

4.  Eat balanced ratios of macronutrients in every meal.  What are macronutrients?  It's your protein, fats and carbohydrates.  Each one should be represented at every meal to avoid blood sugar fluctuations.

5.  Eat before, during and after your workout.  Exercise can create inflammation and lactic acid in the body as well as cause a temporary drop in blood sugar.  In order to minimize this response I suggest eating a small meal 30 minutes before your workout.  You could even sip OJ with gelatin added to it during your work out and eat a meal right after.

Is Caffeine a Nutrient or a Drug?

Caffeine is commonly classified as a drug in mainstream nutrition, but I believe this can only be true if taken in by itself without the right nutrients. 

According to Dr. Ray Peat, any essential nutrient used in isolation, can be used as a drug for any specific effect on the person that wouldn’t normally be the case if eaten with other foods. 

So, if used differently, could caffeine become a nutrient?

Ray states, The main reason coffee gives people the “jitters” is because they drink their coffee without any fat, like milk or cream and without food.

According to Ray Peat , “The bad effects of coffee are usually due to drinking large doses in a short amount of time” Drinking coffee on an empty stomach increases the cellular consumption of glucose and then causes an increase of adrenaline. Over producing adrenaline can then lead to exhaustion, a less efficient energy metabolism (slow down) and a depletion of glycogen stores. 

The liver requires glycogen to convert hormones so that your thyroid use the hormones your liver converted to produce energy. Your thyroid and metabolism depend on this process to work optimally.

So what does this all mean? 

Caffeine can be really beneficial to your metabolism and increase your energy if taken with milk, heavy cream and by eating food with your coffee. 

It’s all about how you use it.

Benefits of caffeine:

• Increases progesterone concentration and production

• Balances blood sugar

• Protects the liver from alcohol

• Increases metabolic energy

• Improves mood

• Highly protective against cancer, including estrogen induced breast cancer

• Lower incidence of thyroid disease

• Provides magnesium and vitamin B1

• Improves athletic performance

• Protects against stress induced cell death without interfering with normal cell turnover

• Can prevent nerve cell death

• Prevents free radical damage

How I take my coffee:

• 2-3 Tbsp Organic Heavy Cream

• 1 Tbsp Great Lakes Gelatin

• Sugar to taste

You can also add...

4 Sigmatic mushroom hot cacao mix