Everyone experiences the common sugar high and crash, but if you are always lacking energy and have a few of these following symptoms, the sugar you should be worrying about is your blood sugar!
What causes the common sugar rush and crash?
A sugar rush is when you eat something that’s very high in sugar or carbohydrates and there’s a rush of sugar in your bloodstream. This will happen if you eat something high in sugar, such as candy or cake, quickly. The crash is because of the rapid loss of sugar in your bloodstream when it goes back to a normal level.
The pancreas puts out insulin and enzymes, enzymes break down the food you eat and insulin makes it possible for your body to absorb glucose. Glucose comes from the food we eat and is a main source of energy for your your body.
If someone has diabetes, they are not able to produce enough insulin causing their body difficulty in absorbing glucose or their body does not respond to the insulin that is naturally created. The glucose stays in the blood which raises the blood sugar levels. High blood sugar is AKA hyperglycemia.
In a way, sugar can be compared to some drugs. When you eat sugar, your brain releases dopamine and serotonin, which are feel-good chemicals. Your body will then continue to crave sugar to get another release of feel-good chemicals and you can become addicted to sugar, like some common drugs, but you won’t build up a tolerance.
Your pancreas will then release insulin to absorb the extra glucose in the blood but your body can build up resistance to insulin. Then your blood sugar levels go back to normal, by drastically dropping and that’s the sugar crash.
The difference between a sugar spike and high blood sugar is that a sugar spike is only for a certain amount of time, like when a kid eats candy is bouncing off the walls, crashes, but then is fine in an hour or two. High blood sugar is when you frequently “crash.”
How do I know if I have a high blood sugar?
If you are fatigued, have constant thirst and frequent urination, blurry vision, or headaches, you might have high blood sugar.
What causes high blood sugar?
A lack of sleep can cause high blood sugar, as well as stress. Stress causes your body to produce hormones that react poorly with insulin making it difficult to absorb glucose. For young adults, make sure to get an average of 7-9 hours of sleep each night!
Exercise is also a factor, too much can cause stress but too little can cause muscle cells to lose their sensitivity to insulin and allow more glucose to stay in the blood. Everything is good in moderation. So for young adults, a moderate exercise regime includes about 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes or vigorous exercise a week.
Weight loss can cause muscles to have an increased sensitivity to insulin and therefore, they will absorb more glucose and give you more energy!
Some medications, such as antidepressants, may cause your blood sugar levels to differ. Make sure to ask your healthcare provider before trying new medications if blood sugar levels are a problem for you!
Smoking is another cause for high blood sugar. Smoking is bad for anyone, in all aspects of life, but especially if you have high blood sugar levels.
Of course, foods that are high in carbs and sugars cause blood sugar increase. One would think that it makes sense that if one has high blood sugar, she should not eat foods that have a lot of sugar, and it does! By looking at those tricky nutrition facts on the back is a way to be able to tell how much that food item will affect your blood sugar. The glycemic index (GI) tells you how much a carb affects your blood sugar, a low GI is under 55 and a high GI is over 70, try to eat foods with low glycemic indexes.
Can blood sugar levels get too low?
Yes! Some symptoms include... dizziness, irritability, sweating, weakness, and a lack of coordination.
Why is it important to keep your blood sugar levels stable?
Long term effects of hyperglycemia includes heart disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, blindness, damage to the feet, skin, and gum/mouth infections, so it’s extremely important!
How can I keep my blood sugar levels stable?
Eat plenty of nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. They contain protein and fiber as well as “healthy fat.” The healthy fat slows down your body absorption of sugar, but be careful of how many you eat because they are high in calories!
Also eat plenty of whole grains or oats and veggies. Whole grains and vegetables have fiber which fills you up and veggies give you lots of nutrients, both prevents sugar spikes.
According to a study from the journal Annals of Family Medicine, cinnamon is linked to lowering blood sugar levels because it can stimulate insulin from the pancreas. According to a different study from Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives said vinegar can slow the absorption of sugar and improve insulin sensitivity.
It is also important to remember to NOT skip meals! An empty stomach can cause your blood sugar to get too low and eating too much food only once or twice a day causes more spikes in your blood sugar. It’s a good idea to eat more smaller meals than a few big meals!
You’ve probably noticed the trend by now...water fixes almost everything! Water can also improve the stability of your blood sugar because it can dilute the amount of insulin in your bloodstream.
Thank you for reading, make sure to check out my other blog posts to live a “happi” and healthy lifestyle!