Treating Blood Sugar Problems With Nutrition By Eric Thorn At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The body must maintain blood sugar levels within a narrow range; otherwise, problems occur. For example, if the blood sugar level falls too low, energy supply to all tissues, particularly the brain, is impaired; and if blood sugar levels rise too high this is very damaging to arteries and the long term effect of arterial disease is heart disease and strokes. Clearly, keeping your blood sugar levels where they ought to be is important.

So, how can you control your blood sugar levels? The answer is through proper nutrition. The liver is the part of your body that controls blood sugar levels. It makes the sugar from energy stores inside the liver and releases sugar into the blood stream minute by minute in a carefully regulated way based on the body demands which may fluctuate from minute to minute.

This system of control works perfectly until it is upset by us eating the wrong thing. So what is the wrong thing? Well, for starters, eating excessive amounts of sugar at one meal, or excessive refined carbohydrate, which is rapidly digested into sugar, can suddenly overwhelm the liver's normal control of blood sugar levels.

Those who exercise daily and regularly can get away with more sugar in their diets without blood sugar issues because the excessive sugar in the blood is quickly burned off by vigorous exercise. However, for most us nowadays, we eat large amounts of sugar and refined carbohydrate and do not exercise enough to burn off this excessive sugar. The body therefore has to cope with this excessive sugar load by other mechanisms.

High blood sugar is extremely damaging to arteries, so the body fights back with insulin, and converts the sugars into fat. The problem is that oftentimes insulin converts too much sugar into fat and then the blood sugar levels in our bodies get too low. Low blood sugar is also dangerous to the body because the energy supplied to all tissues is impaired. Low blood sugar is called hypoglycemia. Most people try to make up for low blood sugar by eating sugar. Then they overdo it and send themselves on and up and down cycle of blood sugar.

Symptoms of hypoglycemia are many and varied; the brain symptoms include difficulty thinking clearly, feeling spaced out and dizzy, poor word-finding ability, foggy brain and sometimes even blurred vision or tinnitus. The body symptoms include suddenly feeling very weak and lethargic, feeling faint and slightly shaky, rumbling tummy and a craving for sweet things. The sufferer may look as if they are about to faint (and indeed often do) and have to sit down and rest. The symptoms can be quickly alleviated by eating something sweet - if nothing is done then the sufferer gradually recovers.

What causes hypoglycemia? For most people it is missing a meal or a snack and overdoing it with vigorous exercise, stress, or alcohol.

So what can you do about it?

You need to avoid all foods containing sugar and refined carbohydrate. However, even if you do this, it may take weeks, and possible months for the liver to regain full control of blood sugar and therefore the symptoms might still exist even while you avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates. When you change your diet you will get withdrawal symptoms and it may take many weeks of a correct diet before these symptoms resolve.

Also, it is important to realize that problems such as hypoglycemia are usually accompanied by micronutrient deficiencies. Chromium, for example, is a common deficiency. So, combat the likelihood blood sugar problems with nutrition. Make sure you are getting enough of the nutrients (vitamins) and micronutrients (minerals) that your body needs.

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