That’s a great question! Next to improving our nutrition, beginning an exercise program is one of the most effective ways to heal our bodies and achieve better health outcomes. 

The latest evidence-based recommendations from the National Physical Guidelines for Americans are to get at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week and strength training at least 2 days a week. 

Regular exercise not only enhances physical fitness but also improves mental well-being. It helps maintain a healthy weight, reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes, strengthens muscles and bones, and boosts overall energy levels. Moreover, exercise can enhance mood, reduce stress, and promote better sleep. In essence, it’s a prescription for a healthier, happier life!

However, according to a 2020 study from the National Center for Health Statistics, over 75% of us aren’t even meeting the minimum recommendations. This information can all feel a bit overwhelming, especially for folks who aren’t close to the recommendations or have never participated in a workout routine before. 

But there’s no need to be overwhelmed! You don’t need to be an athlete, you don’t even need money or special equipment. For most of us, honestly, it’s pretty simple! In this post I’ll talk about five steps to start a simple exercise routine that will yield big results in the way you think and feel about exercise.

Wait, do I need to see a doctor before I start exercising?

The recommendation used to be to see a doctor before starting an exercise program, but that has changed. Doctors have realized that requiring people to make an appointment before starting to exercise was causing an unnecessary obstacle for most people. Even The American Academy of Sports Medicine has revised its guidelines to explicitly state that most people can exercise without visiting a doctor first.

• If you don’t currently exercise but don’t have cardiovascular, metabolic, or renal disease go ahead and get started in a light to moderate exercise. Work up to more vigorous activity over time.

• If you do currently have cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease and are already exercising, great! Keep it up!

• If you don’t currently exercise and have cardiovascular, metabolic or renal disease, or are experiencing signs or symptoms of these diseases, go ahead and make an appointment with your physician before getting started.

• If you are unsteady on your feet or experience dizzy spells from medication, are recovering from an injury or another diagnosis such as Parkinson’s Disease, it’s best to get clearance and direction from your physician who may direct you to a qualified physical therapist before getting started.

5 simple steps for starting an exercise program

1. Start small 

2. Be consistent

3. Master your mindset 

4. Know your “WHY”

5. Take action!

Let’s take a look at how to put each of these steps into practice…

1. Start small

When you’re new to exercise, engaging in 150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two days of strength training may seem like a goal that’s just too big to tackle. That thought may be what’s keeping many of us from getting started. So let’s break it down.

What is moderate intensity aerobic activity?

Don’t let this phrase intimidate you. Moderate intensity aerobic activity just means to get your heart rate up! Some examples include walking at a brisk pace or dancing in the kitchen. Start with an activity that you have easy access to and that will bring you enjoyment. You may wish to search “beginner workouts” on Google or whatever streaming service you use. Expert physical trainers put out tons of free content all the time! 

Other forms of moderate intensity aerobic activity include:

• • Bike riding
• • Swimming
• • Jumping rope
• • Hiking
• • Stair climbing
• • Gardening
• • Playing sports

What is strength training?

Strength training is a form of physical exercise that involves lifting weights or using resistance to build and strengthen muscles. Strength training can sound intimidating for many of us, but it’s not just for bodybuilders! And we don’t even need weights to get started. We can use body weight and resistance moves like pushups, squats, lunges or holding a plank position. There is no set time for strength training, just repeat the movement until it feels like it’s difficult to do another. You can work up to 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions as a general rule. Again, there is a ton of free content available online or on your streaming services. 

Why start small?

Behavior change science tells us that starting with small attainable goals leads to the greatest success. Think about it. Failing at something we set out to do just doesn’t feel good. But achieving a goal feels great. That great feeling provides the motivation we need to fuel our drive. 

How small can I start?

150 minutes of exercise is just a little over 20 minutes a day. 300 minutes a week is about 40 minutes a day. If that seems too much to start with, start with the smallest increment you think you can realistically achieve. Even if it’s just 5 minutes of walking around the block at a brisk pace, or 1-2 pushups (on your knees or against a wall if you’re a beginner) is a good place to start. 

You don’t have to do all the minutes at one time. A brisk 10 minute walk in the morning, and another in the afternoon will get you similar benefits as walking for 20 minutes in one session. 

Each week you can add a little more until you get where you want to be. Research tells us that even a single bout of exercise lowers our blood pressure, improves insulin sensitivity, reduces anxiety and improves cognition and sleep on that same day. That should be some strong motivation to get moving!

Pro Tip: Whatever time you decide on to exercise, go ahead and put it on your calendar as an appointment with yourself. Setting an alarm or calendar reminder will encourage you to keep your commitment to yourself. 

2. Be consistent

Research tells us that when starting new habits, consistency is key. Scheduling workouts at the same time each day gets your brain and body to start to expect the workout and you’ll soon find you’re resisting it less.  

Plus, we get the best benefits of exercise when we spread out movement throughout the week. Spreading our activity out also reduces the risk of injury and muscle fatigue. 

Here are some tips to help you get and stay consistent.

Know your obstacles. 

Identify ahead of time what might get in the way of your success. Go ahead and make a list of all the things that might come up to derail your plan. 

• My alarm doesn’t go off
• I oversleep
• It’s raining 
• I get a cold 
• One of the kids gets sick 
• I don’t feel like it
• Something unexpected comes up at my scheduled workout time 

One by one, decide how you will handle each of these obstacles if they arise. For example,

• If I oversleep, I will reschedule my workout during my lunch break or after work
• If I get a cold, if it’s just a head cold I’ll walk at a low intensity. If I’m really sick, I’ll listen to my body and rest, getting back to my workout as soon as I’m recovered.
• If it’s raining and I don’t want to walk, I’ll do a video instead.
• If I don’t feel like it, I’ll remind myself of the benefits of exercise and do it anyway. 

Plan for failure. 

Know that you probably will miss a day, or even a few days. We have a tendency to overgeneralize and think to ourselves, “Oh well, I blew it. I can never stick to a routine.” This thinking leads to feeling defeated, which leads to us quitting our plan. 

Instead, replace that thought with, “Well, I missed a day today, but I will get back to it tomorrow.” Success doesn’t need to mean that we carry out our plan 100% of the time. Success can mean, “I worked out more this week than I did before I started this journey.” 

Engineer your environment. 

If you plan to walk in the morning after you drink a cup of coffee, put your walking shoes right by the coffee maker to remind you to lace up and get going. Lay out your clothes the night before and put them where you brush your teeth so you get dressed in the gear that reminds you it’s time to work out. Charge your phone. I even know one woman who sleeps in her workout gear so she can roll out of bed and get to it before she talks herself out of it! 

Within a few days or weeks benefits such as increased cardiorespiratory fitness, increased muscular strength, decrease in depressive symptoms, sustained reduction in blood pressure can be measured. Consistent physical activity can also slow, delay or even reverse the progression of chronic diseases including hypertension and type 2 diabetes. 

3. Master Your Mindset

Knowing what to do is only the first step. Putting your knowledge into action is the challenge. Experts call this disconnect between knowledge and action the “knowing-doing” gap. You can begin to close this gap by uncovering the thought patterns that have kept you from being able to make consistent changes in the past. 

Capture your thoughts. 

Take a few minutes to write down what you think about yourself and exercise. What do you notice? Some common thoughts of people just getting started include

• I’m out of shape
• Exercise is hard
• I’m too old for this
• I have an injury that’s preventing me from being active
• Other people at the gym or on the video are in way better shape than I am
• I am embarrassed about the way I look compared to others

Behavior change science tells us that thoughts lead to action. The kinds of thoughts like the ones listed above tend to keep us stuck where we are. If we want to make some changes in our behaviors, we can start with making some changes in our thoughts. 

Do you see any of your current thinking patterns in the left hand column? If so, what thoughts from the right hand column can you replace them with? Replacing thoughts that hold us back from your goals with thoughts that drive you towards your goals can be the game changer you’ve been missing. 

4. Know Your “WHY”

What’s the reason you want to start exercising? Is it because someone is nagging you to do so? Is it because you want to hit a number on the scale? Or look a certain way in the mirror? These are extrinsic motivators, meaning they are reasons that come from outside of us. 

Extrinsic motivators provide us with some encouragement, but intrinsic motivators, motivators that come from within ourselves, are even more powerful. 

I bet you can find some even more powerful reasons, some intrinsic motivators, hiding within if you dig a little deeper. Start by asking yourself these questions.

• How will consistently exercising positively influence other areas of my life?
• What will I gain from improving my fitness?
• How will I feel when I am consistently exercising?
• Why is exercising regularly really important to me?
• What will exercising regularly allow me to do or experience that I am not currently able to do or experience? 

As you answer these questions, maybe by writing them down, be sure to consider all areas of your life from your family and friends, to the work you do and your future goals.

What patterns do you notice in your responses? These will serve as your “WHY”, the intrinsic motivation that will drive you to keep going when things get hard.

5. Take Action

Goals are great, but setting goals alone won’t get us across the finish line. To do so we need to go beyond thinking in terms of goals to think in terms of action. For each goal, think of some actions that are:

• SPECIFIC  What will you do?
• MEASURABLE  When and for how long will you do it?
• ACHIEVABLE  Remember, we want wins, so only set goals that you know you can likely achieve!
• RELEVANT  Pick an action that will move you towards your goal.
• and TIME BOUND  Set an end date. Start short term, like daily or weekly.

Post your action steps somewhere visible as a reminder. Let your friends and family know what you’re doing. You may even find an accountability partner to make these changes with you or at least to offer you support and help hold you accountable for your actions. 

Embark on Your Fitness Journey Today!

Are you eager to start your journey toward a healthier, more active life? Fantastic! Taking the first steps into an exercise routine is one of the best decisions you can make for your well-being. 

Remember, The National Physical Guidelines for Americans recommend at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week and strength training on at least two days. This isn’t just about physical fitness; it’s a path to mental well-being, weight management, and reduced risks of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the numbers; it’s simpler than you think! Follow these five steps to begin your exercise routine effectively:

1. Start Small: Begin with achievable goals. Even a short 5-minute walk or a couple of beginner-level pushups can kick-start your journey. Remember, consistency is key!

2. Be Consistent: Schedule workouts at the same time each day to build a routine. Expect challenges, but plan ahead to overcome them.

3. Master Your Mindset: Recognize and replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Cultivate intrinsic motivation to fuel your progress.

4. Know Your “WHY”: Dig deep to discover your personal, intrinsic reasons for exercising. Your “WHY” will be your driving force.

5. Take Action: Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) actions to reach your goals. Share your journey with others for support and accountability.

You don’t have to go it alone. A qualified personal trainer can help make sure you’re doing exercises properly as you are starting out. This expertise can be especially welcome to someone as they are just starting out with strength training, as well as to folks who want some further motivation and encouragement to take their training to the next level. Many trainers specialize in working with different populations such as older adults, teens or athletes.

To look for a qualified professional, look for a trainer who is certified with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) or the American Council on Exercise (ACE). The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), National Council on Strength and Fitness (NCSF) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) also offer reputable certifying programs of study for personal trainers. 

Now that you have a roadmap, take action and embark on this empowering journey to a healthier, happier you! Your future self will thank you for it.

SOURCES

Elgaddal N, Kramarow EA, Reuben C. Physical activity among adults aged 18 and over: United States, 2020. NCHS Data Brief, no 443. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:120213

van der Weiden A, Benjamins J, Gillebaart M, Ybema JF, de Ridder D. How to Form Good Habits? A Longitudinal Field Study on the Role of Self-Control in Habit Formation. Front Psychol. 2020 Mar 27;11:560. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00560. PMID: 32292376; PMCID: PMC7135855.

The post I want to start exercising! How do I begin? appeared first on Women's Health Network.

According to the CDC, approximately 96 million American adults — more than 1 in 3 — have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 80% don’t know they have it because, for many, there are no symptoms. 

Are your alarm bells ringing yet? If you have been diagnosed or are concerned about your risk for prediabetes, it’s time to take action. Here is how Margaret, an otherwise healthy, active 43-year-old, turned the tide on her diagnosis of prediabetes — and how her experience can help you too.

Article Note: Margaret is a woman I helped in my holistic health practice. In this article, you will hear directly from Margaret as she shares first hand about the challenges of prediabetes and the steps she took to reclaim her health. I fill in with context and some tips for any woman concerned with prediabetes.

What is prediabetes? 

Prediabetes is when blood sugar, or blood glucose, levels are higher than normal, but not enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. 

Our cells need glucose to use for energy. We get this simple sugar when we eat foods that contain carbohydrates. The body metabolizes the carbohydrates into glucose, which is then absorbed in the digestive tract. From there, glucose enters our bloodstream. At the same time, the body’s pancreas makes the hormone insulin to act like a “key” to unlock the door to our cells so that glucose can enter.

How prediabetes develops: If our glucose levels are already high, the cells won’t respond to the insulin’s effort to let more blood sugar in. So the pancreas starts making more insulin to try to get the cells to open up. 

If left untreated, the cells become “insulin resistant” and glucose continues to build up in the blood. Eventually the pancreas can’t keep up with all this work and blood sugar continues to rise, leading to type 2 diabetes. 

Meet Margaret: A self-described “sugar addict”

Margaret is a horse trainer and manager of a prestigious riding facility who puts in long hours in a high stress environment. She has built her career as a successful professional horsewoman by always being available for her clients and the horses she cares for. The physical nature of her work keeps her active, but in her early 40s Margaret noticed she was starting to put on weight and her energy dropped. 

She recognized that she was eating a lot of sugary carbs. 

“Muffins for breakfast, candy or cookies throughout the day, definitely dessert after dinner. I drank a lot of soda. I craved it all the time. I’m an intelligent woman, I knew it wasn’t good for me, but I was busy doing life so I just kept on eating what I wanted.” 

Over time these unhealthy habits started to catch up with her.

“I had put on about 25 pounds but I’m tall so it didn’t really show. I was super hungry all the time and I tended to overeat but not ever be satisfied. My energy levels were low, but I attributed it to the fact that I worked a lot.”

Margaret developed prediabetes

A routine visit to the doctor was Margaret’s wake up call.

“The doctor went over the results of some routine blood work. All of my numbers were off. My doctor honestly didn’t really seem concerned. He said we’d just keep an eye on things. My fasting glucose levels were at 107, which I knew indicated prediabetes and my blood pressure which had always been right at the normal to low range was 120/86 indicating prehypertension. 

I asked myself, if this was one of my horses, what would I do?”

“I can’t do this to myself“

Margaret decided to take immediate action. “I knew I would never ignore the health of the horses I care for. It’s interesting to note that horses can become insulin resistant too. I knew the protocol to manage this with my horses was to change up their diet. So I did some research for myself and decided it was time to take care of myself and cut the sugar.”

Margaret was all in. “I learned a lot. Fast.” She began reading labels, which was something she had never considered before, and cut out everything with added sugar.

Simple & Sustainable Changes

Margaret, however, wanted to make sure that the changes she was making were ones that would serve her in the long run. She did this by following the tried and true advice that applies to anything in life: Keep it simple.

“I knew I needed to make these changes simple, something I could stick to and not just another diet that wouldn’t last. I did only what I thought I could manage realistically without spending a ton of money and time, knowing that I am not big into cooking and meal prepping. I think keeping it simple helped.” 

Margaret’s approach is one that most lifestyle coaches would recommend. She kept her goals realistic, recognized her obstacles and engineered her environment to set her up for success.

“I had to change up the way I shopped. I found the best way was just not to buy anything with added sugar at the grocery store so it wasn’t in my house. I made sure there were lots of snacks, like vegetables and fruits that I liked and were easy to grab in my fridge.”

“I upped my protein. I live by myself and I don’t like to cook a lot, but I made sure I took the time each week to cook up a couple of chicken breasts. I ate a lot of chicken! I bought a bunch of spring mix and a little bit of dressing or seasoning, something to make it tasty.”

Movement matters

Experts recommend at least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity aerobic activity and moderate to high intensity muscle strength training at least 2 days a week. 

Margaret was lucky. She was already getting more than the daily recommended amount of exercise training horses and working at the barn. Most of us sit a lot in our jobs and need to make an effort to get enough exercise. Exercise helps cells overcome insulin resistance and can lower blood glucose levels. Even a brisk 20-minute walk after eating is an effective way to improve blood glucose metabolism.   

Handling setbacks 

Making lifestyle changes – and sticking with them – is not easy, as Margaret discovered. 

“I had to just realize what I was doing was hard. I was changing up a lot, and the first few weeks were rough. Every once in a while someone would bring some muffins into work and I would just say, ‘I’ve just gotta have some!’ So I’d have half a muffin and try not to be too hard on myself.”

Though there isn’t one right way to cut sugar, the best thing to do is to just get started. Some experts recommend giving in a little, while others recommend going cold turkey and abstaining completely. It’s important to know yourself and figure out what works best for you.

Seeing Changes

As she stuck with the lifestyle shifts she was making, Margaret started noticing positive changes and learned how to cope with challenges and setbacks.

“After a few weeks my cravings really did go away. I wasn’t so hungry all the time. It wasn’t surprising, but it was a really nice change.” 

“I did backslide a little a few months in. The realization that if I didn’t take care of myself I one day might not be able to do what I want to do was big for me. So I aimed to be just a little more conscious every day.”

Margaret’s Results

One year into her journey, Margaret is happy to report that her blood glucose levels have dropped well into the normal range and she has reached her goal of losing 25 pounds. Go, Margaret!

Moving Into Maintenance

With her changes now established as new healthy habits, Margaret is mastering the art of balance.

“Now I’m not quite as restrictive. I’ll eat a sandwich with a slice of whole grain bread. Dinner is still chicken breast and salad but I’ve added some whole food carbs like quinoa, vegetables or a small serving of rice or potatoes or sometimes even pasta. Just not the huge portions I used to eat. Just enough to satisfy.”

Like many women, Margaret has a busy day with no scheduled time for lunch. She often has last minute meetings with clients and can’t necessarily leave work to get something to eat. 

So she prepares ahead. “I try to make sure I take the time to pack a lunch with some good protein so that when I get home I’m not so hungry that I just overeat. Sometimes I forget and blow it, but I try to remind myself that it’s OK and I’ll make better choices or plan better next time. Now it’s not such a big deal. It’s just my lifestyle.”

Advice from someone who has been there

Making dietary changes can be overwhelming. Margaret has some advice for anyone who is thinking about making changes for their health.

“I’d say, try it and give it a couple of weeks. If you put enough nutrition in your body, your body will tell you thank you, and then stop asking for all the junk things. You might be surprised to find that you’re naturally eating less when you’re eating more nutritious foods.”

“I’m the ‘Do-it-yourself” type, but I would love to have had someone to do this with. I’d encourage others to reach out for support.” 

Understanding your risk for prediabetes

It’s important to know your risks for prediabetes. Risk factors include:

• Being overweight
• Being over 45, though the risk starts increasing after 35
• Having a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
• Being physically active less than 3 times/week
• Having gestational diabetes or delivering a baby over 9 pounds
• Having polycystic ovary syndrome
• Race or ethnicity: Though it’s unclear why, some Black, Hispanic, Asian American and American Indian people are more likely to develop diabetes.

It’s important to note that Margret only fell into one of the risk groups. Though she was about 25 pounds overweight, she was active and had no family history of diabetes. If she hadn’t paid attention to her bloodwork, she’d be on the path to type 2 diabetes. She encourages everyone to be sure to ask their doctor to do yearly routine blood work and be proactive, even if your numbers are at the low end of high.

Get support for healthy blood sugar levels

Margaret was able to do this on her own, but that doesn’t mean you have to! If you want support, get it! However, move forward with the caveat that plenty of misinformation about diet and exercise is lurking out there, including gimmicky fads that just don’t work. 

What will work? The CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program recommends the following steps for healthy blood glucose levels: 

• Discover how to eat more healthily and move more
• Get support from people with similar challenges and goals
• Work with a coach to help you create realistic and lasting changes
• Learn how to manage stress and stay motivated.

Concerned about insulin resistance and diabetes? Learn 4 ways to naturally balance your blood sugar.

The post Prediabetes on the rise: How one woman turned the tide on her diagnosis appeared first on Women's Health Network.

If you have insulin resistance, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes, chances are you’ve come across “the talk” about your diet. Whether you got it from your research online, from a friend, or even your healthcare provider, “the talk” tells you that you can help normalize your insulin metabolism by eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer simple carbs.

This is pretty good advice, too. But it doesn’t go far enough, because some of those “good” foods are not good for you, and you’ve got to consider how those foods are prepared, not just what they are. And “the talk” almost certainly didn’t tell you to buy organic produce or thoroughly wash anything that isn’t organic — because few practitioners know there’s a connection between pesticide exposures and insulin resistance.

But solid research has shown that this link exists, and it affects your prognosis.

A 2015 meta-analysis by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes looked at 21 studies examining pesticides and diabetes risk — and the findings are troubling. After looking at these studies, which included a grand total of 66,714 people, there was a 64% increased risk of type 2 diabetes in those exposed to pesticides. Among the pesticides most likely to increase risk were the endocrine disruptors DDT, DDE dieldrin, heptachlor, PCBs, and HCB.

That review, by itself, should upset the dietary advice given to everyone with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, or anyone concerned about balancing their blood sugar. But there are literally hundreds more studies in humans and animals that examine the connection between pesticides and diabetes, and their findings are more than just troubling — they call into question our very model of these diseases, both what causes them, and how we should treat them. However, this is something you won’t likely hear that from your doctor!

What the science tells us about pesticides and insulin resistance

Accumulated data is clear that—as one recent review in the toxicology literature bluntly described it—“the majority of human studies have shown a positive association between exposure to certain type of insecticides and [the] risk of diabetes.”

Despite the clear weight of the scientific evidence, insulin resistance is not regularly mentioned as a consequence of pesticide use. It may be because the effects are so insidious: While different classes of pesticides have different effects, in general, they impair glucose and lipid metabolism as well as promote weight gain, all of which can contribute to the development of diabetes in an otherwise healthy person. And even low doses of pesticides typically considered “safe,” such as permethrin — commonly used to treat lice in children — can increase the likelihood of insulin resistance .

How do pesticides impair insulin metabolism?

The basic mechanism of action is that pesticides are neurotoxins — that is, they attack the nervous systems of the insects they’re designed to kill. In humans, at low concentrations, their effects aren’t deadly , but they stress the systems that regulate glucose homeostasis — the maintenance of stable blood sugar levels, which is an imperative for healthy brain and metabolic function.For instance:

• Many organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides can stimulate cholinergic receptors in the pancreas. This can cause short-term high blood sugar followed by hypoglycemia — and it’s these swings of blood glucose that contribute to insulin resistance.
• Some researchers have found that certain liver enzymes are activated by pesticides, which trigger release of glycogen (stored glucose) from the liver, raising blood glucose levels.
• Some pesticides, like malathion, have been found to release glycogen from the muscles.
• Over 100 pesticides have been identified as endocrine disruptors that not only alter glucose balance, but also other endocrine functions, including blocking thyroid receptors and elevating stress hormone levels. Increases in stress hormones also contribute to insulin resistance.

The terrible irony of this situation is that a woman who is worried about her weight and decides to eat more fruits and vegetables as a way to reduce her risk of insulin resistance and diabetes may inadvertently be increasing her exposure to chemicals that make her situation worse — not better.

How much exposure is too much?

One of the most uncomfortable facts of our food supply is that we simply have no idea how much of these chemicals we’re exposed to. The reality is that many pesticides — even the ones banned years ago, like DDT — hang around in the environment for years, even decades. They’re in soil, water, even air — and the foods we eat are affected either directly (when the plant foods are sprayed with these chemicals, or when animals eat pesticide-treated plants) or indirectly (when plants or animals take in pesticide residues in the water and soil). One European analysis detected two or more pesticides in 74% of soil samples—so you can only imagine how much worse the exposures are in countries where chemical use is less tightly regulated.

So it’s very, very difficult to measure our exposure to pesticides. And, of course, we’re all different in how we process toxins in our food. What’s clear, though, is that minimizing our exposure to these chemicals can only help. And here are some ways to do it:

Eat organic if you can. Organic fruits and vegetables are not treated with pesticides. That doesn’t mean they’re pesticide-free — there’s no guarantee that pesticide residues aren’t in the soil and water where they’re grown — but they’re certain to have fewer pesticide residues than conventional produce. If your budget is strained by an all-organic diet, pick and choose your conventional versus organic choices so that the worst offenders — the so-called Dirty Dozen — stay off your menu.

THOROUGHLY wash your fruits and vegetables. If you must eat conventionally grown produce, don’t just rinse the food before you eat it—wash it, even fruits with a peel or hard-shelled veggies like squash (and keep in mind that the pesticides can be transferred to your hands while you’re washing your food, so either wear gloves or scrub your hands afterward before eating the food).Soaking apples in a solution of baking soda and water has been shown by researchers to remove pesticide residues, but it takes a surprisingly long time — 12 to 15 minutes. So don’t rush the process — or, if you are in a hurry, scrub with a brush instead of soaking.

Buy local and in season. Pesticides absorb into plant tissues over time, so the longer your apples or strawberries go unwashed, the more gets into the actual fruit—which means you’re better able to avoid contamination of your food if you get it right after it’s been picked. Farmers’ markets are the best source of local fruits and veggies, but obviously, this means you’re going to have to pass on eating melon in winter (unless you’re in a warm climate where it can be grown year-round!). Many fruits and veggies are available in the supermarket out-of-season, but they’re grown in countries like Mexico, Peru, and Chile, where pesticides aren’t as strictly regulated as in the U.S. and Europe — so you may be risking exposure to some of the worst chemicals out there.

What else can you do to limit insulin resistance?

Insulin resistance and diabetes have a lot of contributing factors, so reducing your pesticide exposure by itself isn’t enough to guarantee your long-term health. But whole-body wellness has no single, one-stop solution, so if you’re already taking other steps to limit your risk — getting regular exercise, avoiding processed foods, limiting sweets and sugary beverages — then being conscious of chemical exposures could be an important factor that tilts you back toward health.

Concerned about insulin resistance and diabetes? Learn 4 ways to naturally balance your blood sugar.

References

https://www.endocrineweb.com/news/diabetes/17611-link-between-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-diabetes

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718343420

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935119300246

https://www.diabetesandenvironment.org/home/contam/pesticides

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5518693/

The post The surprising cause of insulin resistance your doctor doesn’t know about appeared first on Women's Health Network.

Women struggling with insulin resistance and prediabetes are nearly always told that regular exercise and a healthy diet — and, of course, weight loss — are the solution. Which is absolutely true!

But this isn’t news to most of us anymore, and it can be frustrating when you’re working hard to make these important lifestyle changes but are then told to do something you’re already doing (especially if you’re not yet seeing any results from your efforts).

What you may not know is that there are herbals, vitamins and minerals that research shows can help stabilize glucose metabolism and which may give you the extra edge you need, alongside those lifestyle changes.

Best herbs for improving blood glucose

1. Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia) is a traditional medicine for diabetes and high blood sugar. Studies suggest that it can enhance insulin sensitivity as well as help regenerate the insulin-producing beta-cells of the pancreas — key benefits when a person is both insulin resistant and experiencing a decrease in pancreatic function as a result of excessive insulin output. While it’s not something readily available in most parts of the U.S., it can be found in supplement form.

2. Cinnamon has the power to curb the rise in blood sugar after you eat and to lower blood sugar levels that are already too high. It does this by helping your cells more efficiently take in glucose and by increasing insulin sensitivity. Cinnamon has the added benefits of being anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Unfortunately, when most of us ingest cinnamon, it tends to be paired with sugar — which is self-defeating when it comes to glucose control! A better way to get cinnamon’s health effects is to infuse it as a tea or take it in capsule form.

3. Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum greacum) is another traditional Asian diabetes remedy that helps reduce blood glucose levels by improving insulin sensitivity and supporting the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Unlike bitter melon, fenugreek seeds are widely available in the spice section of most grocery stores. According to one small study, a daily infusion of 10 g of fenugreek seeds soaked in hot water had no immediate effect. But cumulatively, by the fifth month of the study, it had produced a significant lowering of blood glucose levels. Randomized, clinical trials have verified fenugreek’s beneficial effects on blood glucose as well.

Best vitamins for improving blood glucose

1. Vitamin D: For women concerned about insulin resistance, getting enough Vitamin D is a must. Vitamin D concentrations are directly correlated with insulin sensitivity and pancreatic function. Unfortunately, drinking fortified milk or orange juice isn’t going to do the job. Consider supplementing with 2-4000 IU daily (and periodically checking levels through your doctor), particularly if you live in the northern half of the U.S., are indoors most of the time or always use sunscreen outdoors.

2. Vitamin K: It’s well known that Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting, and its role in bone health is increasingly recognized. But it also plays an important, if little-known, role in maintaining insulin sensitivity. While one of its key forms (K1) is available in leafy greens, the other (K2) is most often found in fermented foods, which aren’t part of the usual American diet. It is the vitamin K2 form that supports insulin sensitivity and pancreatic beta-cell function. If you’re not a fan of kimchee or sauerkraut, you may consider taking a supplement that provides mg (not mcg) amounts of vitamin K2.

3. B vitamins: While all B vitamins participate in a wide range of body functions, three in particular — thiamine (B1), biotin (B7) and cobalamin (B12) — are essential for healthy glucose metabolism. Vitamin B1 has a vital role in glucose metabolism within the cells, and it also helps prevent complications from high blood glucose levels. Deficiencies in B vitamins, in particular Vitamin B7, can impair the ability of the body to produce and respond to insulin. And, insulin resistance has been linked to decreased B12 levels, which in turn can contribute to some of the fatigue and cardiovascular complications of poor blood glucose control. Since all of the B vitamins should ideally be taken together, find a high-quality B-complex supplement that also contains healthy amounts of these three B vitamins.

Best minerals for improving blood glucose

1. Chromium’s role in glucose and lipid metabolism has been known for a long time, and many studies have looked at its ability to help stabilize blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity. But results from those studies have been mixed, and it’s not clear what dosage of chromium is ideal for producing benefits — one study found that a dose of just 42 micrograms was effective in lowering blood glucose, while other studies have focused on doses of 200-250 micrograms. Long-term benefits are also not yet clear enough. More research will help!

2. Magnesium plays an important role in glucose and insulin regulation. There’s a well-documented correlation between low magnesium levels in the body and impaired glucose tolerance, such as occurs in metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Supplementing with magnesium was found in one research study to delay progression from insulin resistance to type 2 diabetes and to reduce overall fasting glucose and insulin levels, both of which are critical risk indicators in prediabetes.

3. Zinc plays a key role in insulin’s actions and the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates. It also supports insulin sensitivity. It’s thus not surprising that women with diabetes have been found to have lower levels of zinc. Although research studies are mixed in terms of supplemental zinc’s effects on insulin levels, most studies appear to agree that zinc supplementation helps lower blood glucose and HbA1C. Think of zinc as “the little engine that could,” gently pushing your blood sugar toward stability. Since long-term zinc supplementation can alter levels of minerals such as copper, the safest way to take zinc is along with a multi-mineral supplement.

Small changes can have big effects

We know that managing your blood glucose can be tough, especially when prediabetes has been developing for a while! Changing your diet and exercise habits, while powerful, doesn’t usually happen overnight. If you’re doing your best and still struggle with insulin resistance or high blood sugar levels, just remember: there are some very small adjustments, in the form of adding herbs, vitamins and minerals, that may make a big difference for you.

Try these additional 4 steps to balance your blood sugar.

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Insulin resistance — also known as syndrome X — happens when your body can no longer use insulin effectively to manage the amount of sugar you’re taking in from carbohydrates like white bread, pasta and cookies.

Here’s what happens:

1. Simple carbs are broken down by your digestive system into sugar, or glucose.

2. Your body releases insulin to signal your cells to take in glucose from carbs.

3. If you eat too many simple carbs, you take in more sugar than your body needs, which leads to excess amounts of glucose.

4. Your body then churns out more and more insulin as it tries to get the glucose out of your blood and into your cells.

5. Soon, you produce too much insulin and your cells stop responding to it — now you are insulin resistant.

6. You will notice symptoms of insulin resistance such as obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol but you may not connect them to the real root of the problem.

If this pattern continues, your insulin resistance will put you on the path to prediabetes, followed by type 2 diabetes and all the other health issues that go along with it.

Insulin resistance in women

Insulin resistance is extremely common though many women are still shocked to learn they already have it, or even prediabetes. Experts estimate that more than 80 million of us already have insulin resistance though we believe the percentage is much higher among perimenopausal women.

Since insulin is one of the “major” hormones, it affects other “minor” hormones and how they behave. When insulin is imbalanced, it impossible for your body to balance its minor hormones, including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, until healthy insulin metabolism is restored.

So if you have hot flashes and other perimenopause symptoms, and you are insulin resistant, you will never be able to effectively relieve those hot flashes until you heal the insulin resistance. This hormonal domino effect will continue generating other symptoms and health issues as times goes on.

But you can change this scenario and reverse insulin resistance and in most cases, you can do it naturally.

Insulin resistance is linked to chronic diseases

Women who are insulin resistant are at much greater risk for a long list of serious health issues such as:

• obesity and belly fat
• diabetes
• hypertension
• heart disease
• high cholesterol
• breast cancer
• polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

There is also evidence that insulin resistance may contribute to endometrial cancer and it has also been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.

Insulin resistance is often at the root of the fatigue and weight gain that so many women experience at midlife. As women approach menopause, they can become increasingly intolerant of carbohydrates so it’s easier to gain weight, especially around the waist.

Insulin sensitivity is good

You can understand how the process can go wrong when you know how insulin is supposed to work in your body. When you eat, the food is broken down during digestion into proteins, micronutrients and glucose. The body uses the proteins and nutrients for cellular metabolism, immune function and cell replacement.

Glucose is important too. It’s energy for your body and the only fuel your brain can use. Insulin gets the fuel for energy into the cells without changing the level of blood sugar. And that’s where insulin comes in. Your body and brain need the right amount of glucose in a steady supply to remain stable.

Under these kinds of healthy conditions, your body is “insulin sensitive.” As a hormone, insulin signals the cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream. Insulin is released in just the right amounts because your body monitors what you’ve digested, your blood sugar levels and the demands your cells are making.

But this balance is tipped if you regularly eat too many simple carbohydrates because your body has to release a lot of insulin to keep the level of glucose steady. Over time, the cells stop “listening” to the insulin messages and the glucose continues to circulate in your blood rather than being taken up by the cells. This directly raises your blood sugar level.

So all that circulating glucose makes your body release even more insulin and the cascade of insulin resistance health effects begins. Your healthy metabolism is disturbed and inflammation becomes a regular event in your body.

When you can’t keep blood glucose under control, you become diabetic and vulnerable to all the other problems that can lead to.

Insulin resistance: top risks for women

The top risks for developing insulin resistance include:

• type 2 diabetes
• having gestational diabetes at some point
• hypertension
• being seriously overweight
• having an apple-shaped body
• an abnormal amount of fat or cholesterol in your blood, especially with low HDL levels and high triglycerides
• developing acanthosis nigricans (wart-like, darkened skin patches on neck and armpits)

If you end up being diagnosed with insulin resistance, you can make changes to reverse it, but you have to take them seriously. Many of these diet and lifestyle shifts are simple in concept, but aren’t necessarily easy. You may not be able to make every change right away, but if you are able to steadily make improvements and stick to them, the payoff is worth it.

How to have healthy insulin levels

Ask your healthcare provider to help you find out where you are on insulin resistance spectrum. You’ll likely have a blood test that looks at your glucose and insulin levels after you’ve fasted for 12 hours and then again two hours after a high-carbohydrate meal. On the fasting tests, it’s best to see glucose levels of no more than 75–80, and insulin at around 5.

There’s a lot you can do to have healthy insulin sensitivity and to help bring all your hormones back into natural balance:

• Have your triglycerides checked. Increased triglycerides can help confirm a diagnosis of insulin resistance in certain cases. If triglycerides amount to about half of the cholesterol number, it means that your body is metabolizing fat well.
• Create a new diet. Build a balanced, whole-food-based diet out of lean protein, high-fiber grains, vegetables and legumes, leafy greens and fruit. This helps balance insulin levels. Have no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates per meal, and make them mostly vegetables and fruits. Snacks should contain no more than about 7 grams of carbohydrates. Make it a point not to get too hungry to help your blood sugar stay stable. Don’t skip meals or snacks.
• Get a little exercise. Physical activity for about 30 minutes or more per day 3–5 times a week helps regulate metabolic function and supports hormonal balance. It’s very important to make this a permanent commitment, both for healthy blood sugar and overall wellness, especially in menopause and beyond. Encourage yourself to do it and don’t give up. Just keep going.

Take a step toward better health by deciding on the changes you will make today to help maintain good insulin sensitivity. When you wake up tomorrow, have a healthy breakfast and go on a walk or set aside some time that day for exercise. Then do it.

Your body will thank you and be more energetic, and you’ll feel better too.

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Craving sugar is an irresistible urge. If you love sugar, you already know it’s a highly addictive substance — it affects your brain the way drugs do, with plenty of unpleasant aftereffects.

Eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain along with serious health consequences, like hormonal imbalance, Alzheimer’s, skin and dental issues, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer. You can stop your urgent sugar cravings but you have to know what’s causing them first.

If you’re ready to stop riding the sugar roller coaster, we can help.

What’s causing your sugar cravings?

Sugar is certainly tantalizing on its own, but there are real, physical causes behind your sugar cravings. Top causes for sugar cravings include:

• Fluctuations and disruptions in major hormones like insulin, estrogen and progesterone
• Intestinal yeast, which thrives on sugar
• Chronic stress that drives excess cortisol production

Understanding sugar’s effects can help you stop your cravings, lose weight and transform your health.

Sugar, hormones and weight

When you eat your regular 3 o’clock cookie, the sugar rush activates feel-good chemicals and reward centers in your brain, like serotonin, dopamine and beta endorphins. It spikes your blood sugar and eventually leads to insulin surges that drive insulin resistance.

The sugar roller coaster causes physiologic changes in your body:

• weight gain, especially around the belly
• fatigue
• brain fog
• hormonal imbalance
• more cravings
• depression and anxiety

Sugar’s effects can seep into your whole system. Sugar and carbohydrates are mostly stored in the liver as glycogen until it gets full. Then your body has to make fat from the excess sugar and carbohydrates. That fat gets added to existing fat deposits around your body and you gain weight.

Sugar can also fuel hormonal imbalance by turning off a key gene that controls your sex hormones. Without this gene (sex hormone-binding globulin or SHBG), both testosterone and estrogen can become unregulated. This imbalance causes fatigue, anxiety, irritability and other symptoms.

Sugar causes a world of trouble in your body but you can free yourself from your sugar habit. Try any one of the following to get started.

7 sweet steps to stop sugar cravings

Step 1: Mix pleasure with protein.

When you have a little protein with your sugary treats, it helps balance your blood sugar. Add a handful of nuts when you eat sweets or mix high-quality protein powder into a sweet smoothie. Having protein at the same time counteracts the “spiky” sugar surge to the brain that makes you crash afterwards.

Step 2: Rebalance your hormones.

Just before your period when estrogen is low and progesterone is on its way down, levels of feel-good beta-endorphins in your brain bottom out. This hormonal imbalance can cause intense sugar cravings for women in perimenopause or with PMS as your body attempts to boost serotonin and endorphins. Hormone balancing options like Herbal Equilibrium can help kill cravings and other symptoms by restoring natural balance to reproductive hormones.

Step 3: Go no-sugar for 3-5 days in a row.

Toughing it out and avoiding sugar for just three days can make a huge difference in reducing your cravings. (But you don’t need to cut out fruit — nature’s sweetest treat!) Though it may take longer for cravings to completely go away, eliminating sugar’s cyclical bursts of serotonin and beta-endorphin can normalize your sugar receptors and neurotransmitters. Then your brain isn’t constantly sending the message that it needs more sugar.

Step 4: Plug in targeted nutrients to calm cravings.

Specific micronutrients like zinc, Vitamin C and B vitamins quiet sugar cravings by influencing serotonin production. Omega-3s are crucial for regulating mood and inflammation, which are associated with cravings. Eat foods with these ingredients or try a good women’s multivitamin and a pure omega-3 supplement.

Step 5: Balance your belly bugs.

If intestinal and vaginal bacteria are out of balance, yeasts like Candida can flourish. An overgrowth of yeast in the intestine (or systemwide) can cause strong sugar cravings, fatigue, fuzzy thinking and digestive issues. Taking a probiotic and/or eating yeast-free temporarily helps reclaim healthy bacterial balance and eliminates the sugar-hungry bacteria that need sugar/refined carbohydrates to survive.

Step 6: Watch out for acid-forming foods.

Highly processed carbohydrates increase acidity and inflammation, which cause cravings for sweet foods. Choose anti-inflammatory foods with lots of omega-3 fatty acids, along with plenty of alkalizing fruits and vegetables.

Step 7: Investigate food sensitivities.

Common food sensitivities can make you so foggy-headed and fatigued that you use sugar for a pick-me-up. When you remove a food you’re sensitive to, your sugar cravings may go away. The most common food sensitivities are to gluten, dairy, corn, eggs, soy, peanuts and citrus. You can try an elimination diet and see if it helps.

Can you make your life sweeter?

If sugar feels like a reward to you, try replacing it with a different treat that makes you happy. A walk with someone you love, a trip to the movies, an excellent new book or a bouquet of flowers for your bedside  can lift your spirits and make you smile.

And don’t rule out the bump in serotonin and beta-endorphins you get from exercise, a well-balanced meal, work that makes a difference, even a sunny day. When you experience joy and fun, they spell happiness to your body so you don’t need to fill yourself up with sugar.

Letting go of sugar is stressful but the benefits you feel will keep you moving forward. Go for progress not perfection!

The post How to stop sugar cravings appeared first on Women's Health Network.

“Your blood sugar is high.” Every day women are told their blood sugar — or blood glucose — is elevated but don’t know what they should do about it. Elevated blood sugar — or hyperglycemia — should not be ignored because it can lead to some terrible problems:

• Severe dehydration
• Infection
• Blood clots
• Pancreatitis
• Diabetes
• Nerve and organ damage
• Heart attack or stroke

We recommend discussing your elevated blood sugar lab results with your healthcare practitioner to understand what effect they may have on your health. And it’s good to know that there are steps you can take, starting today, that will have a positive impact on your blood glucose levels.

Solid research from Sweden shows clearly that just 2 small (200ml) daily servings of sweetened drinks — regular or artificially sweetened — can double your risk of developing diabetes. And 5 or more daily single servings of soda raise your risk of type 2 by 10 times. Even small increases move you toward diabetes. Since artificial sweeteners are 600 times sweeter than sugar, regular consumption makes you want more.

4 steps to healthy blood glucose balance

Your body really wants blood sugar levels to stay steady within a particular range — not too high, not too low. But blood sugar is influenced continually by what you eat — the impact of food on blood glucose is almost immediate. Lifestyle also plays an important role in blood sugar metabolism because glucose is a major fuel for your body, and is about the only fuel your brain can use.

You can harness the power of diet, lifestyle and information to help your body find and maintain healthy blood glucose balance.

Step #1: Eat fiber and protein whenever you have carbohydrates.

Adding fiber and good quality protein slows down sugar metabolism. Any sugar you eat — including carbs — moves into your blood. Your pancreas makes insulin to absorb the sugar to use as fuel now or store for later. Blood sugar levels fall as cells absorb the sugar.

When it’s time, your pancreas makes the hormone glucagon to tell your liver to release some of the stored sugar. Insulin and glucagon go back and forth this way working to ensure a steady supply of glucose to both your body and your brain. “Simple” carbohydrates — cookies, fruit juice, honey, etc. — are broken down so quickly that they can jack up both blood sugar and insulin production too fast. That leads to a rapid drop in blood glucose after that big spike.

“Complex” carbs like vegetables, whole grains and even potatoes, have enough fiber that it takes longer to break them down, slowing the process and preventing a blood sugar spike. Protein is different and, along with fat, it keeps blood glucose stable. A diet of 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat can lower the absorption rate of sugar — even in people who already have type 2 diabetes. Well-balanced meals help you achieve the 30-40-30 ratio but be careful with snacks, which can be sugar-filled.

Best carb snacks with fiber and protein: string cheese with whole wheat crackers; almonds and dried, unsweetened cranberries; hummus and carrot sticks; Greek yogurt with dried fruit or granola; chicken noodle soup; banana-strawberry smoothie. Our favorite is a toasted mini whole-grain pizza with veggie toppings and an ounce of shredded cheese.

Step #2: Corral your carbohydrate consumption.

Keeping track of your carbs is a key element in dealing with elevated blood sugar. Carbohydrates have gotten a bad name mostly because lots of us are eating too many “simple” carbs with empty calories that can spike blood sugar and pack on the pounds. But we all need carbohydrates to survive and to help balance blood glucose.

The kind of carb you eat, how often and when you eat it all matter a lot. When it comes to their impact on your blood sugar, carbohydrates exist on a spectrum. Some carbs provide quick energy and raise blood sugar, but then you and your blood sugar “crash.” Carbs with good fiber and necessary nutrients take longer to break down so you avoid the blood sugar spike. If your blood sugar is elevated, take a look at the carbohydrate spectrum so you can choose foods wisely.

Step #3: Get to know the glycemic index of foods.

If you have elevated blood sugar, take advantage of two key ways to figure out how foods will affect your blood glucose before you eat them:

1. Glycemic index (GI) measures how much specific foods raise blood glucose after you eat them.

2. Glycemic load (GL) tells you both how much sugar a food puts into your bloodstream and how fast it does it.

The GL and GI can help you choose what to eat, and when to eat it. While blood sugar and insulin levels move up and down naturally throughout the day, it’s better if the changes aren’t extreme. Using these two guides, it doesn’t take long to interpret the glycemic effects of a slice of cake versus a handful of strawberries. Both are sweet treats but the strawberries have a low glycemic index and the cake has a high GI.

Step #4: Go on a walk today — and another one tomorrow, and also the day after that.

Exercise is your best friend if you have elevated blood sugar. Research shows that just 10 minutes of exercise, especially right after meals, can bring blood sugar levels down 22%, and that’s in people who already have type 2 diabetes. The official recommendation for adults is at least 30 minutes of exercise five days per week.

Physical activity helps improve how insulin works and lets muscles make better use of sugar for energy while it actually decreases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And some studies say that the more exercise you do, the lower your risk for type 2 — the kind of diabetes that can often be controlled, and sometimes reversed, with diet and exercise.

If you’re overweight — one big factor in type 2 diabetes — exercise can help you drop excess pounds. Just a 5% weight loss shrinks your risk of type 2 diabetes. If your blood sugar is high, now is the time to add regular exercise to your schedule — even if it’s just a 10-minute walk after dinner.

You can build a lifestyle that supports healthy blood sugar balance

Even though your lifestyle habits may seem impossible to change, having elevated blood sugar can be the motivation you need to make better choices every day. If you have elevated blood sugar, we encourage you to get more information from your doctor about what’s right for you.

If you begin shifting your diet away from simple carbs and start getting some exercise every day, you will see a difference in your blood sugar sooner than you think. And with the changes you’ve made, you might end up loving the way you feel.

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Reviewed by Dr. Sharon Stills, NMD

The glycemic index (GI) ranks foods numerically according to their potential to increase levels of both blood sugar (glucose) and insulin. It measures how rapidly a set amount (50 grams) of a certain food is converted into glucose when compared to 50 grams of white bread, which has a GI of 100.

Following the GI can help you keep blood sugar from spiking too quickly and overloading your cells with glucose. Over time, maintaining well-balanced blood sugar can prevent and/or reverse insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a problem that can lead directly to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Generally foods fall into these categories:

• GI of 55 or less is considered low-glycemic.
• GI of 56–69 is considered moderate.
• GI of 70 or above is high-glycemic.

Our abbreviated glycemic index chart below will help you get an idea of how foods are categorized. Using the glycemic index can guide you to make good food choices that will help keep your insulin levels steady.

Glycemic index versus glycemic load

The GI of a single food can vary depending on how it was grown, processed or prepared (see GI table below). In addition, because we’re all unique, our bodies respond to foods differently according to our metabolic make-up, when and how much we eat, and how we combine our foods.

Plus there are inconsistencies in how the glycemic index is calculated. Since the glycemic index is based on such a small quantity of food (50 grams) — less than the amount you’d typically eat — some experts say it understates the impact high-carb foods have on your blood sugar, while overstating the impact of low-carb foods.

That’s why some nutritionists developed a calculation for glycemic load (GL) that measures the impact a food has on your blood sugar. It may be easier for you to use GL as dietary guide instead of the GI because GL accounts for the amount of a certain food you are consuming as well as the other foods you eat at the same time.

Here’s the formula:

Divide the GI by 100 and multiply it by the grams of carbohydrate in the serving size.

The glycemic index and glycemic load can help you combine the four food groups in a healthy way. For example, you can see why a scoop of ice cream, which has protein and fat in it, has a lower GI and net glycemic load than a handful of Cheerios, which is mostly refined carbs.

Even the GI on its own can help you make appropriate food choices without resorting to counting carbs. It’s not perfect but the glycemic index can still help keep insulin resistance at bay.

How using GI and GL can help with hormonal balance

Many women experience powerful cravings for high-glycemic index foods when their hormones fluctuate, especially premenstrually and during perimenopause. Since highly refined and processed foods are so readily available, it’s easy to be tempted.

This becomes even more of a problem as we move through life, because a diet high in refined carbohydrates and high-glycemic foods can lead to inflammation, hormonal imbalance, worsening insulin resistance, prediabetes and, ultimately, type 2 diabetes. Your body is also less able to tolerate carbohydrates as you hit midlife which can lead to health issues, including weight gain.

The following chart only contains a very small sample of foods. For a more comprehensive listing, refer to the International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values (2002).

Glycemic Index table

Why GI is just one way to choose healthy food

Just because a food ranks relatively low on the GI doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better for you than one that ranks high. For example, a candy bar may rank below a sweet potato on the GI, but the sweet potato has micronutrients that compensate for its high sugar content. Keep this in mind when you’re choosing foods using the GI chart.

For women, selecting low-glycemic index foods is a big help when it comes to creating and maintaining good blood sugar balance. And if you are at risk for insulin resistance, it can make a world of difference in your metabolic profile.

The post How to use the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) appeared first on Women's Health Network.

One thing we know for certain about insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome is that they are intimately related to nutrition. At Women’s Health Network, we regard insulin resistance as the perfect opportunity to make changes in your diet that can keep blood glucose stable. But having diabetes makes it mandatory to do all the things we encourage women to do anyway, especially eating balanced meals.

We are all well-served when we eat from the four food groups, by choosing fresh colorful vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and rich sources of protein and healthy fats (as well as avoiding heavily processed foods such as high-fructose corn syrup and trans fats). Balance is as essential in diabetes as it is in overall health — it’s just that it’s no longer an option!

To underscore the importance of balance in controlling blood glucose, we’ve compiled an overview of the four food groups — protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, and fiber — and encourage you to include them in all your meals and snacks daily.

Keep in mind as you read below that in terms of energy, the two hormones that are most influential when it comes to what we store in our bodies and what we use are insulin and glucagon. In broad terms, you can think of insulin as the “storer” of nutrients and glucagon as the “mobilizer” of nutrients. Insulin opens cell doors to take glucose out of the blood stream and shuttle it into your cells, while glucagon stimulates the release of glucose into the blood stream.

Proteins

Protein is essential for life. We use it to build and repair our bodies (including our bones, cells, muscles, enzymes, hair, nails, hormones, and neurotransmitters). We use it to help us burn fat and help fight off infection and inflammation.

When your blood sugar is low before eating, your pancreas releases a hormone called glucagon, whose main purpose — in contrast to insulin’s — is to mobilize stored glucose and prevent hypoglycemia. Eating a very protein-rich meal will also cause your pancreas to release glucagon, which is why high-protein diets work for a while in helping people lose weight. But a gentler way to support lasting weight loss is by not going whole hog on proteins, but not scrimping on them, either. By including some protein in all your meals and snacks you can even out the see-saw action between insulin and glucagon. Protein will help counterbalance the surge of insulin caused by the carbohydrate content in your meals, which in turn helps prevent your body from hoarding the energy in the sugars, storing it in your cells, or converting it to fat.

The average woman needs to consume about 60–70 grams of protein a day — but counting up your grams of daily protein isn’t really necessary unless you think you’re not getting enough or, on the other hand, overdoing it. Good sources of animal protein include eggs, fish, poultry, lean meats and cheese. But protein sources are also found abundantly in the plant world, in seeds, nuts, legumes, and soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, and soy milk, and there is strong evidence to suggest that we would all enjoy better health and hormonal balance by upping the plant protein and cutting back on the animal protein in our diets. Another way to boost protein intake is by combining whole grains with any of the above-listed protein sources in your meals and snacks.

Fats

Like protein, fat is essential for life. It is an integral part of every cell membrane in our bodies and comprises about a third of our brains. So despite any recent fads in low-fat dieting, it is clear that eating fat is fundamental to health and well-being! Among its many roles, fat is crucial to maintaining adequate hormonal balance, stabilizing blood sugar, increasing immunity, supplying energy, and controlling hunger.

How does fat help to regulate hunger? One of the key players in satiety, or that lovely sense of satisfaction we get from our food, is cholecystokinin (CKK), a peptide hormone that triggers a sense of fullness. When we eat fat, our intestinal and stomach walls secrete CCK, which helps with the digestion of fat and protein. This kicks in about 8–20 minutes after we begin to eat, particularly when there is good fat and/or protein content in the meal. Again, the release of this hormone in the stomach and intestines is triggered by fat and protein content in our food. CKK apparently stimulates the vagus nerve with a message to “stop eating” and also helps turn off ghrelin, the hormone of appetite, which triggers the sensation of fullness.

Whenever you feel hungry between meals you can test this mechanism by eating a small handful of nuts, such as almonds or walnuts, to trigger the release of CCK. Within 20 minutes you should note the hunger pangs abate!

Fat also slows down the processing of food in your digestive tract, which means that by including it in your meals and snacks you lower the overall glycemic load. This makes for steadier blood sugar levels over time and nice long-lasting satisfaction after eating.

But just as it’s important to recognize that fat is good for you, it’s important to eat healthy kinds of fats — natural fats. There are three kinds of natural fats: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. All three of these fats are okay to eat because they are natural and your body can digest them, but it’s the polyunsaturates that rank as stars in maintaining health.

Damaged fats, including oxidized or rancid fats, trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated fats, are what you should take care to avoid. These are fats whose chemical structures have been altered in such a way that your body cannot metabolize them. These fats build up as cellular debris and can eventually damage cells and disrupt their function.

In a study published in 2001 of nearly 85,000 women followed over 14 years, it was found that trans-fatty acids increase and polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce risk of type 2 diabetes. The authors concluded that substituting nonhydrogenated polyunsaturated fatty acids for trans fatty acids in the diet is likely to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes substantially. Although no direct causal link between the effects of trans fatty acids and diabetes was identified, in the presence of underlying insulin resistance, researchers felt trans fats increase the probability of developing clinical disease.

As an aside,we’d like to think that the publication of this study in 2001 is helping to break the pattern the food industry has of loading commercially produced foods with damaging trans fats. Although we’ve known since the 1970s that trans fats are bad for us, they remain common in prepackaged and processed foods such as brand name peanut butters, margarines, non-dairy creamers, imitation mayonnaise, deep fried foods, and fast foods.

It’s interesting that it has taken over 30 years for fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken to agree to eliminate them from their menus. Even so, the food industry is permitted to label foods with “zero trans fats” if they contain less than a gram per serving. So be sure to check the labels for serving size — if you see they’re really small, they’re probably hiding something. The December 2006 decision by the people of New York City to ban these artery-clogging fats altogether from their streets shows us that given adequate information, people are prepared to take their health into their own hands. One more good reason to love NYC!

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are recognized by our bodies as sugar that gives us immediate energy. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of insulin, and if they’re not used right away as fuel, they’ll be stored as fat in your body. So it is important to think about your activity level when consuming carbs.

Unlike fat and protein, carbohydrates may not trigger a signal to your brain that you are full. If your meal is high in carbs, but contains little to no fat or protein,  less CKK gets released as you begin to eat. So Mother Nature’s in-built satisfaction mechanism is less likely to kick in and do its job, and you are more likely to continue to eat, or overeat, without feeling satisfied! Moreover, a high-GI meal may result in a return in your body of high levels of ghrelin sooner than do meals containing adequate protein and fat, so you are likely to feel hungry again sooner.

But don’t let this information tempt you to avoid carbs altogether. Why not? Because eating a diet with zero carbohydrates causes insulin levels to drop even further, which not only starves the cells of energy (the very situation diabetics are trying to avoid), but upsets the insulin–glucagon balance. This can lead to depression, fatigue, insomnia, and bone loss. Additionally, our brains need glucose from carbohydrates to function properly.

To keep your insulin–glucagon ratio balanced, it is important to consume carbohydrates with a low glycemic index (GI). This means eating carbs found in whole grains, fruit and vegetables — known as complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates break down more slowly in the digestive tract, resulting in a less dramatic surge in blood sugar levels and more efficient metabolism.

Fiber/non-starchy veggies

Non-starchy vegetables contain fiber and loads of important vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients for your body. These micronutrients hold information that speaks to your cells and genes to keep all your systems in balance — including the endocrine system, whose main players are insulin and glucagon. Because of their low glycemic index, it isn’t necessary to keep track of the carbohydrates you are consuming while eating non-starchy vegetables. There is an endless variety, color, and texture to choose from this group: eat as many as you like — the more the better!

By planning to include each of the above food groups in your meals and snacks, you can regulate your blood sugar levels better and supply your body with the abundant raw materials it needs to constantly rebuild healthy cells, tissues, and organs.

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