Author: prediabetesandme

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Prediabetes and COVID-19

wear a mask

Viruses, including COVID-19, prefer a glucose-rich atmosphere[1] for robust growth.

Prediabetics have elevated blood sugar levels. Our bodies are rich with glucose and are walking bull’s-eyes for COVID-19 looking to take up residence in the nearest fertile host.

We’re not more likely to become infected with COVID-19 if we’re prediabetic, but, once infected, we are at increased risk of harm from the virus.

Another piece of bad news is that infection with COVID-19 might lead to development of type 2 diabetes.[2] If someone is prediabetic, their risk of developing T2D is already elevated. Pile on a COVID-19 infection, and the risk goes up even more.

The good news is there are protective steps that can be taken.

Talk to your healthcare provider about changes you can make in your diet. Cutting back on carbs is probably the first step.

Start now, with a healthy lunch or supper, wherever you are in your meals for the day. No need to wait until next week or next month.

The goal is to reduce the amount of excess glucose floating around in the blood.

You may end up infected with COVID-19, but by reducing your blood sugar levels, you can make it a harder battle for the little parasites.

Remember: wear a mask, clean your hands repeatedly throughout the day, and maintain six feet of separation.

[1] Journal of Metabolic Syndrome, COVID-19 World Tour: Glucose fan-support, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59ae01e849fc2b19c93fbb46/t/5efcf0ef32279f4883d085f0/1593635055436/Covid19+World+Tour%2C+Gucose+Fan+Support.pdf, (July 27, 2020).

[2] Nature, Mounting clues suggest the coronavirus might trigger diabetes, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01891-8, (July 27, 2020).

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Goodbye Coronavirus Blues!

gardening

COVID-19 knocked our lives for a loop, didn’t it?

Has your life turned sideways this spring? Ours did.

We’re all facing a grab bag of fears right now. There’s little purpose to listing those fears, since they constantly run through our minds. Let’s focus instead on the other thing we have in common—prediabetes.

Prediabetes isn’t high on that list we’re not mentioning, but it’s in that bag somewhere.

For the most part, the problem is our eating habits have taken a turn toward the unhealthy.

We used to shop regularly for fresh foods and add in canned goods as needed. We rarely brought home processed or prepared foods.

Now, like everyone else, we’re eating a lot of processed and frozen prepared foods. Plus, the carbs are just everywhere.

This weekend, it finally began to feel like we’re getting accustomed to this (hopefully temporary) new life.

Let’s support each other as we begin to make choices that steer us back toward healthy living.

If you’re older and/or have underlying conditions, reach out to a younger or healthier family member or friend and arrange for fresh food to be delivered twice a week. If you have no one to do this for you and can’t afford a frequent delivery charge, then let’s talk about other choices.

Cookies and pies and plates of spaghetti all mean comfort food for many of us, but it’s time to turn away.

We don’t want to get through the age of coronavirus to find we’ve moved from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Wouldn’t that be a rotten outcome!

Let’s make a pact to set aside those foods that make our blood sugar spike, and instead focus more on canned or frozen veggies, and chicken, eggs, pork, or whatever proteins we have around.

There’s another choice we can make: exercise.

Those of us with dogs can walk them. A lot.

Does the lawn need tending? We can pull weeds, dig up dead plants, rake out moss, mow the grass, and clean up the weed whacker for a go at cutting down the parts the mower can’t reach.

Plant a garden. Let’s break up the ground and map out a fresh food repository.

Let’s dust off the elliptical machine and use it, or simply get down on the floor and start stretching.

None of us should do anything new that we haven’t run by our healthcare professional. We can email their office to check on an activity, then enjoy.

We’re all in the same place. Let’s help each other get safely to the other side of this pandemic.

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Understanding Food Choices

seafood

Prediabetics come in a variety of shapes.

We’re plump, willowy, healthy heft for our height, bursting out of our clothes—let’s face it, we’re all over the scale when it comes to weight.

Prediabetes is increasing in the population, as is abdominal obesity. But the increase in waist size in this country cannot be blamed for all cases of prediabetes.[1]

Keep that in mind when you’re thinking about your lifestyle and what needs to change. If you’re a person with normal BMI (body mass index) and a healthy waist size, but you’re prediabetic, you still need to look at your diet.

[Check with your healthcare provider and nutritionist before making changes to your way of eating.]

All of us living with prediabetes need to look at our diet. By definition,[2] we’re considered prediabetic because our blood sugar levels are higher than normal, and that sugar comes from the foods we eat.

Don’t waste time looking for the definitive guide to eating healthy and getting out of prediabetes land. We’re individuals with varying genes. What works for one person may not work for another.[3]

That doesn’t mean you give up on adapting your diet. There is a path to healthy eating with your name on it, and you will find it.

What’s On The Menu?

Here are a few rules that apply to all of us:

  • leave sweets (pie, cake, cookies, candy, donuts, etc.) out of the grocery cart, try berries or fresh fruit
  • pass by the white rice, instead pick up brown or wild rice
  • say no to soda pop and fruit juices, drink more water
  • don’t add sweeteners to your foods or drinks, such as white sugar, brown sugar, agave nectar, maple syrup, or honey
  • hold off on eating foods made with white flour, such as bread, pizza crust, and dinner rolls

Other no-nos are out there, but it’s a good starting point.

How many carbs, and how much protein and fat should you eat each day? That depends on how your body handles food.

First, talk to a nutritionist/dietitian who also has experience or training in diabetes education. They’ll create a game plan for you that will get you started on a healthier way of eating.

Second, buy a meter and “eat to your meter.” The nutritionist will give you a guide that applies, in general, to lots of people. It may be adapted somewhat to meet your specific medical needs, if you have any.

But without doing genetic tests on you, and conferring with a geneticist to interpret the results, the pamphlets or info sheets the nutritionist hands you won’t drill down to your body’s specific needs.

We want our blood sugar levels to be normal, not elevated. To get there, we must test the foods we eat to find out what our dietary triggers are . This is why we strongly recommend that for the first six months or so of adapting to your new way of eating, you use a meter to test your blood sugar levels before and after eating and first thing in the morning.

Eventually, you’ll recognize what foods work for you and what foods send your blood sugar bouncing up. It’s going to go up after you eat, but you want it to come back down within a certain range after a couple of hours.

Where to start? Carbohydrates, or carbs, are a good starting point. They’re the fuel we use to power our bodies, but we want the good fuel, not the crappy hard-on-the-body fuel.

Generally speaking, complex carbs are good, simple carbs are bad.

The dietitians we’ve interviewed recommend looking at the kind of carbs you’re eating, and cutting back on simple carbs. These are the carbohydrates that break down quickly in the body, sending a rush of sugar into your bloodstream.

Simple carbs include but aren’t limited to:

  • Fruit juice and sweetened beverages such as soda pop
  • Candy
  • Pie, cake, cookies, donuts, and the like
  • Table sugar and syrup
  • White rice
  • White bread
  • White flour

Packaged foods with words that end in “ose” on the nutrition label, particularly if the “ose” words are close to the beginning of the list of ingredients, are a no. The “ose” words are chemical names for sugar and include words such as glucose, maltose, sucrose, dextrose and, well, you get the idea.

Simple carbs can be found occurring naturally in foods such as milk, fruit, and vegetables. They still raise blood sugar levels faster than complex carbs, but they’re better for you, as they have fiber and other things your body needs. They’re not empty calories like candy, which does nothing for the body but add weight.

Complex carbs will send sugar (fuel) into your bloodstream, but at a slower rate, giving your body a chance to use up some of the sugar before it overloads the body.

You don’t want to completely remove carbs from your diet. You want to eat complex carbs and leave as many simple carbs as possible on the table.

Complex carbs include but aren’t limited to:

  • Whole grain breads
  • Quinoa, and brown or wild rice
  • Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and squash
  • Beans and pulses (the dry edible seed inside a pod, such as chickpeas, lentils, and dry beans)
  • Plain popcorn

What we’re hearing from dietitians is that carbs are OK as long as they’re not simple carbs, and you don’t consume large amounts of any carbs. After all, both simple and complex carbs are sugar.

Your body only needs so much fuel each day. If you constantly overload it, diabetes may be in your future.

The exact number of carbs you should eat will depend on your body. Choose a number and if your meter is showing your fasting blood sugar remains in the prediabetes range, try reducing your daily intake of carbs.

Of course, exercise is part of the lifestyle overhaul, but the key is adapting your way of eating toward healthier choices.

A Healthy Way of Eating: Getting There From Here

The Mediterranean diet, or way or eating, is considered a healthy choice by almost everyone who has an opinion.

It’s more plant-based than meat lovers are used to, but it is healthy and it does include some meat, so not to worry.. The trick is figuring out which Mediterranean diet to follow.[4]

The following food pyramid is from the Mediterranean Diet Foundation.[5] Note that the grains and cereals should be whole grain for prediabetics, and the daily serving (noted as “s”) may be less for those living with prediabetes.

Mediterranean Food Pyramid

You don’t have to put a name to your way of eating. As long as you’re watching your total calories per day and choosing complex carbs over simple carbs, you’ll be ahead of the game.

If you don’t have access to a computer and the Internet, or a smartphone or tablet, then a book will be your best friend when you’re counting carbs, calories, and other nutritional info.

The CalorieKing® publishes a book to accompany its website. We came across the website a few years ago and only recently became aware of the book. [We’re not associated with this company—we just like the tools they offer.]

calorieking book

Thanks to computers and smartphones, there are easy ways to find out how many carbs, calories, proteins, and fats are in whatever you want to eat. Almost.

We’ve used the CalorieKing®, website, although there are lots of similar websites that provide the same information. Choose one that suits you best.

If you use apps, there are loads of them. We like Carb Manager. They have a free version and a premium option, as do most apps. [We’re not associated with this company, either.]

It’s an app we use and like, but please ignore the “keto” and “low carb” slogans they use. This app has all the nutritional information you’ll want to find sensible, healthy choices for yourself and it doesn’t matter if you’re following a specific way of eating or simply sampling foods.

Whether you’re using a book, a website, or an app, the process is the same. Search for the food you want to eat, let’s say apples, and you’ll find out how many carbs and other nutrients are in a serving. You’ll also find out what constitutes a serving size.

Apps are ideal, because they track all of your food all day and you don’t have to write anything down. But books and websites give you the critical information, and some websites let you set up an account to track your food, the same as apps on your phone.

We’ve been culling through recipes to offer an assortment that lean toward complex carbs rather than simple carbs, and perhaps slant toward the Mediterranean.

Circle back in a week or so and we’ll have started our recipe section.

[1] Annals of Family Medicine, Prevalence of Prediabetes and Abdominal Obesity Among Healthy-Weight Adults: 18-Year Trend, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4940459/, (February 5, 2020).

[2] MedlinePlus, Prediabetes, https://medlineplus.gov/prediabetes.html, (February 6, 2020).

[3] Diabetes Care, Nutrition Therapy for Adults With Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report, https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/42/5/731?fbclid=IwAR187_GK6JXI_i2JW1ZW4TT3a6Hu0D2N4rcwgGg2qd0KpQtGz2XGKPXPkPk, (February 6, 2020).

[4] Nutrients, Definition of the Mediterranean Diet: A Literature Review, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4663587/, (February 7, 2020).

[5] Mediterranean Diet Foundation, Mediterranean Diet Pyramid: a lifestyle for today, https://dietamediterranea.com/piramidedm/piramide_INGLES.pdf, (February 7, 2020).

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Exercise Is Our Jam

brisk walking

Eat less, move more, yadda, blah blah, harrumph.

We’ve heard it. We know we should do it. If for no other reason than because it’s a healthy way to live. And, if we’re prediabetic, it helps to reduce our chance of developing full-blown diabetes.[1]

In this post, let’s focus on the “move more” part.

We want to move more, we just want the right to complain about it along the way.

But bonus, they say that once we start exercising, endorphins will race through our bodies and make us happy. Plus they’re supposed to numb the pain. (Looking forward to that.)

A position statement[2] from the American Diabetes Association says that diabetics and prediabetics should participate in physical activity and exercise. So there’s that, for an added bit of motivation.

Before you leap off the couch and start running in place, talk to your healthcare provider to get guidance on what type and how much exercise you should try.

Moderate exercise[3] appears to be more than adequate in combating the elevated blood sugar of prediabetes. Moderate means you have enough breath to chat while exercising, but not enough to sing. No need to practice sprinting when brisk walking will do.

Exercise loosely falls into four categories: aerobic, strength, balance, and flexibility. Ideally, your week will include all of these types of exercise.

Aerobic, or endurance, exercise cranks up our heart rate and breathing. Brisk walking, hopping on the elliptical, dancing (not slow dancing, the other kind), quick marching in place—whatever activity you want to try that gets your heart rate up will be fine.

Strength training is good for all ages, but as we get older, we lose muscle mass. If you’re middle-aged or older, this means you. Resistance training with bands or weights, push-ups against the wall (or floor, if that’s your preference), squats and lunges—they all help rebuild muscle.

Balance exercises are key to preventing falls as we age. Practicing Tai Chi, standing on one foot or walking heel to toe, side-stepping across a room—there are lots of ways to improve balance, but remember, it’s generally safer to work with a partner.

Flexibility exercises keep our body limber. Without flexibility, it gets hard to bend down and pick up money off the floor. Reason enough to stay loose. Stretching each muscle group, yoga, shoulder rolls, using stretch bands—aging muscles get shorter and lose elasticity, but stretching regularly counters the aging effect.

We need to get off our rears and move. If you find that you’re sitting for a few hours each day, make it a habit to get up every 30 minutes and stretch, do a household chore, just move.

Remember, this is for a healthier body and, more specifically, to knock our blood sugar into normal range. In other words, it’s important!

Thirty minutes each day, move at a moderate pace. Get your heart rate up. If you don’t have time to do this for a 30-minute block of time, then break it up into three 10-minute blocks. As long as you get the minutes in and your heart rate is increased for 30 minutes every day, that’s the important bit.

If your lifestyle has been sedentary for a few years, plan a slow but definite path to moderate exercise for 30 minutes each day.

Start out with three minutes of stretching and don’t worry about increasing your heart rate. Do this for four days, then add three minutes of walking as fast as you feel comfortable. And so on.

Keep adding in minutes of activity every few days until you are active for 30 minutes each day. Once you’ve reached that threshold, take a few of those minutes and exercise at a moderate level. Build from there, and within a few weeks, you’ll be exercising at a moderate level for 30 minutes each day.

The timeframe for building a healthy exercise routine will be individual. The only person we need to compare ourselves to is . . . ourself.

How Zen is that?!

[1] Cochrane Library, Diet, physical activity or both for prevention or delay of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its associated complications in people at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD003054.pub4/full, (February 3, 2020).

[2] American Diabetes Association, Diabetes Care, Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes: A Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association, https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/39/11/2065, (February 3, 2020).

[3] Duke Health, Is Moderate or Vigorous Exercise Best for Glucose Control?, https://physicians.dukehealth.org/articles/moderate-or-vigorous-exercise-best-glucose-control, (February 3, 2020).

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Stress? No Thanks, Got Plenty.

Don’t you hate it when you’re stressed and someone tells you to relax? It’s guaranteed to elevate your stress level.

Stress can increase our risk of developing diabetes. If we’re already prediabetic, that’s not good news.

When we are in a stressful situation, our body releases hormones that stir up the fight-or-flight response[1].

The trigger might be someone cutting us off in traffic, or the death of a loved one, or even the unexpected shouts of greeting at a surprise birthday party.

It can also be a long-term stressful situation, such as a high-pressure job, an abusive relationship, or a chronic illness.

When we’re stressed, our body gets ready to fight or flee by releasing hormones that increase our blood sugar. This gives us the boost of energy we need to either punch it out or take to our heels and run. Plus, the liver gets involved by releasing sugar from where it’s stored. Just in case we need it.

Other, more complex changes occur, but the bottom line is, stress, particularly chronic stress, is bad for us. As prediabetics, it’s an additional strain and an increased risk for type 2 diabetes that we do not need.

There’s not a lot we can do to regulate our response to the unexpected. If somebody thinks it’s hilarious to lurk around the corner and jump out yelling “boo,” our heart’s going to jump a bit and those hormones will kick in. Our physical response won’t last long, but it’s irritating.

For chronic or ongoing situational stress, try any of these stress reducers. Find what works for you.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction[2] (MBSR) teaches us how to be in the moment—feel every breath and step, take in every scent and sound. When combined with traditional diabetes prevention programs, practicing MBSR can reduce[3] “perceived stress, BMI, calorie, carbohydrate and fat intake,” and they have the science[4] to support their claims.

Other things we can try that require no special training and are universally accepted as stress reducers include:

Get physical. Any activity will help. Swimming, vacuuming under and behind furniture, walking the dog, cat, or iguana, pulling weeds—they all count. Whatever activity you enjoy, that’s what you should do.

Get a new hobby or finally devote time to an old, beloved hobby. It should grab your focus and engage you mentally, providing escape from the stress source.

Talk it out with a counselor. A trained professional will help you clarify your needs and options. It’s hard to set boundaries and stand up for ourselves. Counselors help us find ways to do this that fit within our individual abilities.

Take care of your body by getting more sleep, eating healthier foods, and cutting out harmful habits like smoking or abusing drugs or alcohol. It’s tough to battle stress or anything else if we’re not physically ready to do so.

Participate in volunteer activities in the community. Getting out of our own heads and doing for others benefits them and us. We do some good and feel better about ourselves. Win-win.

Stress sounds like nothing, but it’s significantly harmful. If there is someone or something in your life causing long-term stress, don’t just carry on. Do something about it!

You’re worth it.

[1] Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Stress and hormones, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079864/ (January 30, 2020).

[2] UMASS Medical School, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, https://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/ (January 31, 2020).

[3] Hindawi, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, A Mixed-Methods, Randomized Clinical Trial to Examine Feasibility of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Management and Diabetes Risk Reduction Intervention for African Americans with Prediabetes, https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2019/3962623/ (January 31, 2020).

[4] UMASS Medical School, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society, History of MBSR, https://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/mindfulness-based-programs/mbsr-courses/about-mbsr/history-of-mbsr/ (January 31, 2020).

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Macro, Micro, Whatever

beans

How many carbs should you eat each day? (Depends on type of carb, medical history, and so on.)

What, exactly, is the Mediterranean diet? (Depends on who’s talking.)

What, in the name of all that’s healthy, is a “macronutrient?” (Now that we can answer.)

Macronutrients are substances that our body needs in large amounts (hence ‘macro’). They help us grow and thrive. Macronutrients include fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.

They provide the energy our body needs. Whether we’re sleeping, singing, or skiing, our body needs fuel. Our fuel is measured in calories. The macros provide our calories, but important to note that they’re not all the same:

  • There are 4 calories in a gram of carb or protein.
  • There are 9 calories in a gram of fat.

Once we consume and digest the macros, they break down in our bodies:

  • carbs into sugars
  • fats into fatty acids and glycerol
  • proteins into amino acids

For prediabetics, it’s primarily the sugar from the carbs that our bodies are having a hard time using properly.

It doesn’t matter if we eat candy or quinoa, they both turn into sugar, which fuels our body. But, quinoa take longer to break down and makes our bodies work harder in the digestion process. The candy barely says hi before it breaks down into sugar and dumps into our bloodstream.

Examples of fat-containing foods:

  • Butter
  • Ice cream
  • Potato chips
  • Fried foods
  • Cream
  • Pastries

Examples of carbohydrate-containing foods:

  • Bread
  • Rice
  • Grains (quinoa, oats)
  • Crackers
  • Bananas
  • Candy

Examples of protein-containing foods:

  • Fish
  • Beef
  • Poultry
  • Beans
  • Eggs
  • Cheese

We need fats, carbs, and proteins. But we can choose healthy versions of each.

For instance, olive oil is better than butter as a fat. Nuts are better than chips, and a lean pork chop is better than fatty sausage.

Whole grains like quinoa and steel cut oats are better than donuts or pancakes. Berries are a good choice—soda and fruit juice are not.

Red meats with lots of fat and whole milk products are not the healthiest protein choices. Free-range chicken, wild salmon, or beans are better for us.

Micronutrients are minerals and vitamins required in our diets, but in small amounts, such as iron, vitamin A, and zinc (the list is long).

Our bodies require quite a bit of some minerals, including calcium, potassium, sodium, and a few others. They’re actually considered macronutrients, due to the amount we should take in each day. Because they’re minerals, they often get tossed into the micronutrient section for discussion.

We take in micronutrients, or micros, through the food and liquids we consume. If our diet isn’t providing what we need, a nutritionist may recommend meeting our daily goal through supplements.

Ask your healthcare provider to refer you to a registered dietitian/nutritionist. Your body’s requirements are specific to, well, your body.

We can chat about healthy choices in general, but percentage of this and amount of that will be found through recommendations by an expert and trial-and-error by you as you change your way of eating.

We usually cite sources in posts as we go, but since the information is found in multiple publications it didn’t make sense. Instead, we’re recommending the Merck Manual for further reading.

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Looking For Carbs On Nutrition Labels

Do you want to reverse your prediabetes diagnosis?

Tracking how many carbs we consume each day is a part of getting back to normal blood sugar levels.

To count carbs in packaged foods, we have to read nutrition labels, which is boring and necessary.

For foods that are not packaged, such as single apples at the store or elephant ears at Saturday market, we find the carb count with apps or websites or books.

In this post, we’re focusing on how to find the carb count in packaged foods.

Nutrition labels are on most food packaging. Scanning the label, we’re looking for total number of servings in a container, serving size, and carb count per individual serving.

nutrition label

On our sample label we find:

Total number of servings – 8

Individual serving size – 2/3 cup

Carb count per serving – 37g

Sugars and fiber are already included on the label’s total carb count. However, for our purposes, we subtract the fiber because our bodies don’t digest it.

For us, the total carb count is 37g – 4g (fiber count) = 33g carbs per serving.

Remember that the nutritional info on the label is for an individual serving, not for all of the food in the container.

If we eat two servings, we need to increase our carb count. So, if we eat 1 1/3 cups of whatever this is, our carb count would be 66g, not 33g. 33g x 2 servings = 66g.

If we eat only half of one serving, then divide the carb count in half. In this case, carbs for 1/2 of one serving (33g) would be 16.5g.

One of the problems with this “serving size” concept is that a serving size can vary depending on the food and the manufacturer. This is why we have to read every label.

Now we know how to use a nutrition label to accurately count carbs.

It will be a hassle at first. But, once you get in the habit, it does become easier and you’ll find yourself doing it without much thought.

But do it you must, so start counting!

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Glycemic Whaaat?

Most of us aren’t going to pull out a Glycemic Index (GI) chart to tabulate each food item we’re eating during the day.

We’re also not going to scribble out the computations necessary to find the Glycemic Load (GL) of every meal, snack, or single food item we munch on.

Which begs the question: Why bother to learn about these mind-bending carb measurements?

If you’re prediabetic, at some point GI and GL will crop up in conversation with your nutritionist or healthcare provider, or some random smarty-pants who likes flipping words around.

Let’s briefly go over it, and you can decide how deep a dive you want to take for your personal use.

What is Glycemic Index?

Carbs, or carbohydrates, are a type of nutrient that feed our body. Basically, they present as fiber, starch, and sugar.

Our bodies don’t absorb fiber (which is why, when we’re “counting carbs” we subtract fiber).

But, we do absorb sugar and starch, and they become glucose, the sugar we measure when we’re looking at our blood sugar. Also called blood glucose.

Simple carbs contain sugars that our bodies break down quickly, rapidly boosting the amount of sugar in our blood, which gives us a flash of energy. These are also called “fast carbs.”

Simple or fast carbs include:

  • White rice
  • Fruit Roll-ups®
  • Russet potato
  • Cream of Wheat™

Complex carbs contain sugars (starches) that take longer to break down in the body. They don’t rush out and spike our blood sugar level like simple carbs do. They’re called “slow carbs.”

Complex or slow carbs include:

  • Quinoa
  • Berries
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Almonds

The Glycemic Index looks at how fast a particular food raises our blood glucose level.

Foods are ranked from 0 to 100, with pure glucose = 100 on the Glycemic Index.

  • A food with a number of 70 or higher is considered high.
  • A food with a number between 56 and 69 is considered moderate.
  • A food with a number 55 or less is considered low.

The numbers suggest how quickly or slowly a food raises our blood sugar levels.

Slow is good.

Now, what about Glycemic Load?

The Glycemic Load looks at how quickly or slowly a food affects blood sugar levels, and how much sugar per serving it delivers.

  • A food with a GL of 20 or higher is considered high.
  • A food with a GL between 11 and 19 is considered moderate.
  • A food with a GL 10 or less is considered low.

For instance, two cups of plain air-popped popcorn has a Glycemic Index of 72 (high), but a Glycemic Load of 5.7 (low).

A Snickers candy bar has a Glycemic Index of 55 (low), but a Glycemic Load of 22.1 (high).

Low is good.

Now you know the basics of GI and GL.

And bonus, we found this online GI and GL calculator: http://www.glycemicindex.com/

You may opt to embrace this approach to choosing foods, or you may go with the keep-it-simple approach.

As long as it works for you, that’s what matters.

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Fasting and Eating and Repeat

lunch

Fasting. It’s the new thing!

Only, new it’s not.[1]

Back in the days of ancient Greece (500 BCE-ish), philosopher Pythagoras encouraged followers to fast if they wanted to make contact with the supernatural world.

The Bible is littered with references to fasting, and many Muslims don’t eat or drink from dawn to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan. Some Buddhist monks fast for 18 or more hours a day, and there are a select number of fasting days on the Jewish calendar.

The ties between fasting and religion run deep.

Nowadays, we talk about fasting when we ask what’s for breakfast. That’s when we rise from our sleep and break our overnight fast by eating, well, breakfast.

The buzz online and in the news is all about intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating. Both of which may improve blood sugar levels and contribute to weight loss.[2] Our little prediabetic ears perked up when we heard this.

What is intermittent fasting (IF), exactly? Are time-restricted feeding (TRF) and IF basically synonyms? What about intermittent energy restriction (IER) and continuous energy restriction (CER), or time-restricted eating (TRE)?

It’s terminology overload.

The terms and the definitions vary a bit, depending on who’s talking. Here’s a glossary to help us keep it all straight:

Continuous Energy Restriction (CER)

This is the conventional version of a diet, where we’re severely restricted in the number of calories we can consume 24/7. No on-and-off, or intermittent, fasting.

Intermittent Energy Restriction (IER)

Time periods in which we eat little (maybe 500 calories) to nothing at all. These time periods generally run from 16 hours to 48 hours.

Intermittent Fasting (IF or IMF)

IER and IF are the same. Time periods in which we eat little (maybe 500 calories) to nothing at all. These time periods generally run from 16 hours to 48 hours.

Periodic Fasting (PF)

PF is extended IF, running a time period of two days to three weeks, give or take, during which little (maybe 500 calories) or nothing is eaten.

Time-Restricted Eating (TRE)

A limited block of hours each day in which we can eat, typically 8-10 hours.

Time-Restricted Feeding (TRF)

This term is used for people or animals. It refers to a limited block of hours each day in which the animal (or person) eats, typically 8-10 hours.

A tiny study published in Cell Metabolism[3] swept the holiday chatfests. By just changing how many hours a day we eat, we might see an improvement in our weight and our blood sugar levels.

In this small study, participants ate within a 10-hour window each day for three months. And only within that window of time. Because they only ate during that block of time, they fasted the other 14 hours of the day.

In general, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure, and found their fasting blood sugar and A1C numbers were improved.

There’s a larger study in the works,[4] funded by the NIH, that follows up on this subject. But we’ll have to wait a few years for the results.

While we’re waiting, talk with your healthcare provider about intermittent fasting, or time-restricted eating. See if it’s something they feel you could tolerate and if so, and you want to try it, determine the length of time that would be safe for you to eat/not eat.

[1] Western Journal of Medicine, Fasting: The History, Pathophysiology and Complications, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1274154/pdf/westjmed00207-0055.pdf, (January 2, 2020).

[2] Ageing Research Reviews, Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163716302513, (January 2, 2020).

[3] Cell Metabolism, Ten-Hour Time-Restricted Eating Reduces Weight, Blood Pressure, and Atherogenic Lipids in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome, https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(19)30611-4, (January 2, 2020).

[4] UC San Diego Health | Clinical Trials, Impact of Time-Restricted Feeding (TRF) on Glucose Homeostasis and Mitochondrial Function in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome, https://clinicaltrials.ucsd.edu/trial/NCT04057339, (January 2, 2020).

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Relationships: Insulin and Blood Sugar

Who cares about insulin? Or blood sugar? And what are they, anyway?

Most of us have heard the words, but we’re not clear on the roles that insulin and blood sugar play in our bodies.

We need to learn, because they matter. Especially if we’re prediabetic and have too much blood sugar (glucose) floating around inside.

Here’s how the insulin/blood sugar relationship works:

Let’s say we’re having shrimp, some white rice, and an avocado for lunch. We’ll skip the green vegetable because we don’t need it for this example.

Once eaten, all three food items will break down and provide energy (food) to our body.

The shrimp provides proteins, which become amino acids.

The rice provides carbohydrates, which become sugars (also known as blood sugar, or glucose).

The avocado provides fats, which become fatty acids and glycerol.

Because we’re prediabetic, we’ll focus on the carbohydrates.

The cells in our body are clamoring for their lunch. And since we’re made up of cells, it’s important to feed the little guys. They want a boost to get them through a long afternoon. They want a sugar boost because that’s what most of the cells prefer for energy. Come on, carbs!

The sugar, which is what the rice became after it was digested, is floating around in the blood and the body notices that there’s extra sugar (food) ready to be transported to the hungry cells.

An alert is sent to the pancreas, a gland which is tucked down behind the tummy and next to the spine.[i] The alert goes to the islets of Langerhans – which sounds straight out of Lord of the Rings – and these little floating islands of cells in the pancreas start squirting out hormones called insulin.

The majority of the body’s cells aren’t going to let the sugar just walk in. Our cells are like hotel rooms requiring a key to open.

This is where the insulin shines. The insulin is the key. It attaches to the cell and unlocks it, letting the sugar in to feed the cell. You’d think the cell wouldn’t require coaxing to be fed, but that’s how it works.

Insulin also shepherds extra blood sugar into the liver where it’s stored until the body needs it. Maybe it’ll get called out if you haven’t eaten for several hours, or you’re exercising and need the extra food for your cells.

All of this happens when the body is working as it should, but what happens if your body isn’t cranking out enough insulin? Or what if your cells don’t want to open up when insulin comes knocking?

If your body can’t control the amount of sugar (glucose) floating around in your blood, that’s when trouble starts.

Too much blood sugar floating around and not doing its job of feeding cells, or simply sitting in storage until it’s needed, can cause damage to the body.

There’s a window of time where our body’s in trouble but not yet in full type 2 diabetes. That’s where we are – in prediabetes land.

If we don’t do something about the insulin problem, we’ll cross the border into type 2 diabetes land.

Once we’re living with type 2 diabetes, we’re at a much higher risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, nerve damage and vision loss.[ii] For starters.

But, if we’re lucky enough to find out we’re prediabetic, and that’s a big if since 90% of those living with prediabetes don’t know it[iii], we have a good chance of successfully making the changes necessary to avoid type 2 diabetes, leave prediabetes behind, and get our bodies back to being efficient at the whole insulin/blood sugar relationship.

[i] Johns Hopkins Medicine/Pathology, The Pancreas, http://pathology.jhu.edu/pc/BasicOverview1.php?area=ba, (March 5, 2019).

[ii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Diabetes Quick Facts, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/quick-facts.html, (March 5, 2019).

[iii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prediabetes: Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/prediabetes.html, (March 5, 2019).