Blood sugar 101
How to find your sweet spot
We all know that too much sugar can be bad for our health. But why? And how much is too much? This article outlines the importance of keeping our blood sugar balanced and offers some quick tips on avoiding blood sugar spikes that can undermine our health.
Not all sugar is created equal
First, let’s define what we mean by “sugar”, as different types of sugar have different effects on our bodies. Sugar is a carbohydrate found in natural foods like fruit, grains and vegetables. It comes in many forms, including fructose found in fruit and lactose found in milk. Our bodies have been designed to break down sugars and carbohydrates into a molecule called glucose because that’s the form our cells use for energy. It’s essential to human life! Glucose is the ‘sugar’ we refer to in ‘blood sugar’. These sugars are absorbed into our bloodstream at different rates, depending on how processed they are and whether they are mixed with other nutrients like fat, fibre or protein.
The sugar most quickly absorbed into our blood is called ‘free sugar’. Free sugar means that the sugar has been refined and processed, ‘freeing’ it from any other compounds (like fibre in fruit or protein and fat in milk). The presence of fibre, fat and protein in foods slows the absorption of sugar because our bodies take more time to process these other nutrients.
Free sugar is the type of sugar that will raise our blood sugar levels the most quickly and can cause the most damage.
Unfortunately, the food industry has taken full advantage of the fact that humans crave sugar. Many products have added sugar to improve taste, texture and, of course, the addictive quality that will make us crave and buy more. This overconsumption of sugar can come at a high price for many, as the modern rise in Type 2 diabetes and obesity has shown.
According to the NHS, Adults should have no more than 30g of “free sugars” per day, roughly equivalent to 6 teaspoons. Once you start reading labels and keeping track, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you reach this level.
Why blood sugar balance is key
Steady blood sugar is essential to achieve optimum energy, hormone balance, mood and weight. When our blood sugar is too high, our body releases insulin to store any excess as either glycogen (stored in our liver and muscles for quick release on demand) or fat (a long-term storage solution once our glycogen stores are full). A spike in blood sugar often leads to a blood sugar ‘crash’. If this happens, our blood sugar level can drop dangerously low. Our bodies use our stress hormone cortisol to raise it again quickly to protect our brains from being starved of energy.
Likewise, if we experience stress, cortisol rises to quickly release the sugar our bodies need for our 'fight or flight’ response. In pre-modern times, this was very important because fighting a wild animal or running away from one takes a lot of physical energy. Unfortunately, sitting at our desk writing an angry email does not use up the same amount of energy, so our blood sugar levels remain high, meaning our body is forced then to store the excess quickly again.
Many of us are on a blood sugar ‘rollercoaster’ without realising it. I know I used to think needing coffee or a 'sweet treat' as a pick-me-up was a necessary way to get through my day.
Our bodies prioritise storing excess sugar as quickly as possible because high levels in the blood can damage tissues. That’s why people with diabetes risked amputations or blindness before treatments with insulin or other drugs were available. Their tissues could not recover from the constant onslaught of sugar and eventually, the tissues would die. As you can see, managing your sugar levels is very important! This can be done through diet, lifestyle and exercise and, if you have diabetes, through medical treatment as well.
Five ways to manage sugar
It’s natural to crave foods with sugar – it’s one of our survival mechanisms. But it’s not 'natural' to be exposed to highly-processed high-sugar foods 24/7. Unfortunately, the food industry has hijacked our habits and health by exploiting this natural craving. Powerful advertising can brainwash us all to equate sweet things with being a ‘treat’ and something we ‘deserve’. This is especially true in children's foods, so we are programmed from a very early age
While I’m the first to admit that life would be dull without any sweetness, I am also on a mission to teach people that we can still enjoy the pleasure of natural sweetness in our foods without sacrificing our health.
Below are five top ways I like to manage my sugar consumption that you may find helpful.
1. Learn how to read labels
Unless you have unlimited time, energy, and budget, my guess is that you rely on some packaged food like the rest of us. Unfortunately, all packaged food has a risk of being high in sugar, even things we don’t think of as ‘sweet’ (baked beans and salad dressings are some examples). Learning to read labels is essential so you’re not tricked into consuming more sugar than you realise.
A good way to assess safe sugar levels is to read the nutrition label. Anything with 5g or less of total sugars per 100g is generally safe to eat without spiking blood sugar.
Another simple way to calculate the impact on blood sugar is to look at the ratio of carbohydrates to protein. Refined carbohydrates are quickly processed into glucose, so even some foods without ‘added sugars’ can spike our blood sugar. When carbs, protein, fat and fibre are consumed simultaneously, it takes our body longer to break down everything, including the carbohydrates. Research has shown that eating a carb-to-protein ratio of 4:1 will help keep your blood sugar from spiking too quickly. So, if the package lists 40g of carbohydrates and 10g of protein, you can assume it won’t spike your blood sugar too quickly.
Reading labels will make you realise quickly how many “healthy” foods are actually high in sugar. For instance, a well-known brand of organic fruit yoghurt for kids has 9.7g of sugar per 100g. So one tiny pot of yoghurt contains almost half of the recommended amount of sugar per day! This is mainly because the fruit in the yoghurt has been highly processed, ‘freeing’ the sugar in the fruit. It would be healthier (and cheaper) to buy a pot of organic full-fat yoghurt and top it with a few berries and a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup.
A word of warning! Beware of ‘low sugar’ or ‘no added sugar’ claims. These food products often have artificial sweeteners, which are known to influence our health and blood sugar levels negatively.
2. Retrain your sweet tooth
I can’t drive this point home enough: the food industry has taken advantage of our biological programming to prefer sweet foods. They know how addictive sugar can be and use this to sell more products.
It took me a while to adjust my own sweet tooth and habit of constantly ‘treating' myself, but it’s been worth it. Please be gentle with yourself and implement any dietary changes in a way that works for you. Some slowly wean themselves off as quitting sugar ‘cold turkey’ can cause unpleasant ‘withdrawal’ symptoms. For others, a quick and thorough change in habits is the only way to do it.
Be warned – cutting out the sweet stuff will be hard if you’re used to foods with added sugar! There are no studies to prove how long it takes to ‘retrain’ our taste buds to detect the natural sweetness in foods or to get over sugar dependence. However, most people report an improvement in as little as 3 or 4 weeks.
So keep the faith, and soon you’ll wonder why you used to like your usual ‘treats’ as they will taste sickly sweet once you’ve retrained your taste buds.
3. Smart Sugar Swaps
Many articles talk about the ‘glycaemic index’ or ‘glycaemic load’ of various foods, which can be very informative but can also get confusing quickly. I like to give my clients easy tips that will help keep things simple. Here are some simple swaps you can do to lower your sugar consumption without feeling deprived.
Swap this high-sugar food > better option
· milk chocolate, sweets > 70% dark chocolate
· white bread > whole meal bread (sourdough is best)
· white pasta > whole grain pasta
· white rice > brown rice or basmati rice
· fruit juice > flavoured water with mint, fruit, ginger
· dried fruit > fresh fruit
· high sugar fruits (e.g. mango, ripe banana) > low sugar fruits (e.g. berries)
· fruit yoghurt pot > greek yoghurt drizzled with 1tsp honey, fresh berries
· breakfast cereal > low sugar granola, porridge with berries and maple syrup
4. Exercise
Your blood sugar levels will decrease as you exercise because your body uses glucose to provide the energy your muscle cells need to move. The blood sugar balancing effect can last up to 72 hours after exercising, showing how effective a bit of movement can be in keeping us healthy.
You're lucky if you love exercising, but I know this is not always the case for some. A recent study showed that a short, 10-minute walk after eating could lower blood sugar by 22%! So, if you don’t like to exercise, I hope this simple fact will inspire you to do a bit more as even a tiny bit can have a significant effect.
The best exercise
The absolute best exercise you can do to keep blood sugar low and your moods high is the one you love to do the most.
Find which activity fills you with joy, and you’re more likely to do it. Find a walking buddy and go for a ‘walk and talk’ a few times a week. Have a kitchen disco and dance around while you make dinner (the only side effect may be severe cringing if you have teenagers in the house). Join a group exercise class or find a dog to walk. The most significant benefits come from doing at least 30 minutes of exercise weekly. Note that the 30-minute goal does not have to be all in one chunk. A 20-minute walk plus 10 minutes dancing around the kitchen would count!
5. Manage Stress
We've all heard that managing stress is essential for many aspects of health, and blood sugar is no exception. Just as low blood sugar can cause a release of your stress hormones, chronic stress can wreak havoc on your blood sugar levels.
I knew a client who wore a continuous glucose monitor to measure how her blood sugar levels responded to certain foods. She saw how eating high-sugar fruit, e.g. grapes, spiked her blood sugar a bit, which she expected. Surprisingly, her blood sugar went very high while she was on the phone with her bank during a very stressful financial matter. She could feel her stress levels rise, but she had no idea the glucose was also rising to give her the energy she needed for her ‘flight or fight’ response.
How you manage stress is up to you. Some may use knitting, and others may use kickboxing to help increase joy and lower stress. Just like exercise, finding the one that resonates with you the most is the one that will help. My biggest tip is that no matter what, always being kind to yourself (even when you feel like you're failing!) will help keep extra stress at bay. We can't control what happens to us in life, but we can control how we respond and treat ourselves.
Key Takeaways
I could write much more about blood sugar, but I like to keep things simple, accessible and actionable. Try the tips above and keep track of how you feel. Hopefully, you’ll start to feel an improvement in your overall energy and health once your blood sugar is balanced.
If you have any underlying health conditions, please talk to your doctor or health professional before changing your diet or exercise.
Please get in touch if you’re still finding it hard to tame your sweet tooth, manage your stress, or balance your blood sugar. Everyone is different, and I can help pinpoint the areas that will most likely benefit you with a personalised consultation.
