I recently read the book, “Glucose Revolution, The Life Changing Power of Balancing Your Blood Sugar” by Jessie Inchauspe’ ” It was an incredible book that I highly recommend reading. She is also on Instagram as the “Glucose Goddess” Here is a quick summary of the book.
Basically too many glucose spikes in our blood are not good for our bodies. In fact, glucose spikes can cause oxidative stress and when oxidative stress becomes too much it becomes the driver of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and general aging. Also our bodies are toasting, meaning that when glucose molecules bump into other molecules they are damaged or glycated. It is an inevitable part of life and why we age however we can slow the aging process down or speed it up. The long-term consequences of glycated molecules range from wrinkles and cataracts to heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Slowing down glycation in your body leads to a longer life. Lastly, we have insulin who’s sole purpose is to stash excess glucose in storage units throughout the body to keep it out of circulation to protect us from damage. The main glucose storage units are the liver and the muscles. Once those 2 areas are filled, we store it in our fat reserves. There is way more science that goes into explaining all of this but I want to get to the good part….the hacks that Jess Inchauspe has come up with when we eat to decrease these glucose spikes.
- HACK 1: EAT FOODS IN THE RIGHT ORDER
Veggies, protein and good fats and then starch last
- HACK 2: ADD A GREEN STARTER TO ALL OF YOUR MEALS
Start every meal with a salad or green – the fiber is what slows everything down and flattens the curve rather than spiking it.
- HACK 3: STOP COUNTING CALORIES
It’s about the type of calories we eat (types of foods) rather than how many calories we eat.
- HACK 4: FLATTEN YOUR BREAKFAST CURVE
Go savory – include a good amount of protein, fiber, good fat and optional starch and fruit.
- HACK 5: HAVE ANY TYPE OF SUGAR YOU LIKE – THEY’RE ALL THE SAME
Basically all sugars will spike your blood glucose – so really minimize the sugar that you do have.
- HACK 6: PICK DESSERT OVER A SWEET SNACK
If you are going to have a sweet treat, have it at the end of a meal that includes fiber, protein, and good fats. If you have a sweet snack on an empty stomach your blood sugar will spike super high.
- HACK 7: REACH FOR VINEGAR BEFORE YOU EAT
Add a tablespoon of vinegar to a tall glass of water with in 30 minutes of eating (acetic acid is the ingredient that lowers blood sugar from spiking, it does not increase insulin levels which is good because increasing insulin increases inflammation which ultimately increases disease and weight gain)
- HACK 8: AFTER YOU EAT MOVE
With every new muscle contraction, glucose molecules are burned up and flattening our glucose curve. Just a 10 minute walk after a meal can help.
- HACK 9: IF YOU HAVE TO SNACK, GO SAVORY
This means not a starchy snack either – try apple slices with nut butter, bell pepper slices with guacamole, celery with nut butter, seeded crackers with hummus or a slice of goat cheese, a handful of nuts with a square of 90% dark chocolate.
- HACK 10: PUT SOME CLOTHES ON YOUR CARBS
Combine starches and sugars with good fats, protein or fiber such as adding avocado to your toast, spread nut butter on rice cakes.
Amy Heflin 