Feel and Look Better with Smart Carbs
If you have high blood sugar, then your body has trouble processing carbohydrates. Sadly, the standard American diet (SAD) has extremely high amounts of sugar and simple carbs, which damage your bloodsugar-handling system. When you choose healthier carbs, your body has an easier time processing sugar. This helps you lose weight and improves your brain, liver, and kidney function. There are lots of delicious meals that contain smart carbs. It takes planning and care to change your diet, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how tasty and satisfying your meals are, while boosting your metabolism and giving you more energy.
The foods that you eat can either prevent or cause diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, or insulin resistance. One part of your diet that you need to pay attention to if you have high blood sugar is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are a major class of food molecules that contain sugar, starch, and fiber. The body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, or sugar, which fuels your cells. Carbohydrates, along with fat and protein, power your cells, nourish your brain, and make all of the building materials necessary for a healthy body.
But not all carbs are created equal. Simple carbs, such as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, can overload your blood-sugar-handling system. Your body has to work harder to process simple carbs because they hit your system fast and send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. They also make you crave sweets even more. Refined carbohydrates are another kind of simple carb, (like wheat flour, for example) which have been processed to strip away all nutrients and fiber, leaving you only with empty calories.
In diabetes, the body cannot easily get rid of sugar. Insulin, the hormone that helps sugar get burned up or stored, stops working. Each time a person eats sugar, insulin spikes to try to clean up the excess sugar. Over time, as the person continues to eat foods high in simple carbs, insulin goes higher and higher. Until finally, it’s so high that the system stops listening to it. “Insulin resistance,” as it’s called, is the malfunction in metabolism that causes diabetes. With a steady stream of sugar and carbs, and no insulin to clean it up, sugar piles up in the bloodstream, damaging the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain. This leads to belly fat, heart disease, and fatigue.
You know your body is struggling with insulin resistance if your healthcare practitioner tells you that your blood sugar, or glucose, is too high. Or they may say that your hemoglobin Ale is too high. These are biochemical signals that climb higher as your body struggles to process sugar and bad carbs. When levels reach a certain point, it indicates insulin resistance, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes.
The good news is, when you choose smart carbs, you can completely turn the tides of diabetes, prediabetes, and insulin resistance! When you cut out sugar and simple carbs from your diet, your body doesn’t have to process so much sugar, it doesn’t need as much as insulin, and you don’t have a build-up of sugar and insulin in your blood. You won’t crave sweets as much, either.
Takeaway points
- You can reverse or prevent diabetes by choosing smart carbs instead of simple carbs
- Eat whole foods
- Cut out sugar and simple carbs from your diet
- Avoid processed, packaged foods
- Talk to our staff about the diet that is just right for you
Choose complex carbs or “good” carbs to reverse or prevent diabetes. These include beans, vegetables, fruits, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, and more. These carbs take a while to break down, so they are easier on your system. They release sugar into your bloodstream in a slow and measured way. This takes the stress off of your blood-sugar-processing system.
To prevent or reverse diabetes, you may need to take a weedwhacker to your diet. But never fear: People who eat low sugar and low carb can still eat delicious food! Protein, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, nuts, and seeds can make for truly satisfying and lip-smacking meals that enhance your metabolism, brain power, and heart health. Avoid sugar, simple carbs, and packaged foods. Choose whole foods, not packaged foods, for a healthier blood sugar.
Almost everyone benefits when they get simple carbs out of their diet. But low-carb diets are not right for everyone. Talk with our staff to customize the perfect diet for you. We can also help you find irresistible smart carb recipes to make the road to a healthier you even more enjoyable.
