Insulin peaks, fatigue, glycemic index, types of sugars... Help! Are you lost when it comes to blood sugar issues? Why should you pay attention to your blood sugar levels, and especially how?
As to why, we tell you everything below. As for how, Archie is here! But not only. Explanations.
A little glycemic guide
First of all, let's start from the basics: blood sugar corresponds to the quantity of sugar, glucose, present in our blood.
Sugar, which comes from food, passes from the blood to the cells of our body under the action of insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas.
When a large quantity of sugar suddenly enters the blood, a surge of insulin is secreted to allow the excess sugar to quickly penetrate the cells. Indeed, too much glucose in the blood is harmful for many reasons, which we will see below; the pancreas therefore takes care to keep the level in the blood stable.
Peak insulin means peak fuel and peak energy. This also says rapid secretion of dopamine. Rather pink then, seen like that. But unfortunately, the story doesn't end there.
Indeed, this insulin peak, which suddenly causes blood glucose to penetrate into our cells, will then be accompanied by a lack of sugar in the blood. We go around in circles, yes. This is the famous reactive hypoglycemia, and the sluggishness that goes with it. You therefore understand why eating a breakfast that is too sweet is accompanied by a downturn at the end of the morning. And then, what do we tend to do? Eat sugar. And again, insulin spike and you know the rest. We therefore have alternations of energy and fatigue and we make our pancreas work a lot.
To avoid this endless circle, let's avoid sudden arrivals of sugar! For this, refined sugar should of course be banned, but many other foods cause a rapid increase in blood glucose and therefore insulin peaks. Which ?
This is where we talk about glycemic index. This value, between 0 and 100 (0 for white fish and 100 for white sugar) indicates the ability of the food to raise our blood sugar level.
Each food has its own glycemic index, often noted as GI. But that's not all, good luck or bad luck, this index is also modified depending on how the food is prepared, as well as how it is combined. For example, fiber and lipids absorbed at the same time slow down the speed of sugar absorption, and therefore the glycemic index of a food. This is why a plate of pasta will have a lower GI if it is drizzled with olive oil. So lucky, we suspected it!
This is also why eating whole fruits (with all the essential fibers they contain) will not cause the same glycemic spike as drinking fruit juice, no matter how fresh it is. And drizzle your fruit juice with a dash of olive oil? There you go, you understand!
Too high a blood sugar level: the bedrock of many diseases
So these insulin peaks, we want to avoid them. For the reasons cited but also because, in the long term, asking our pancreas for excessive secretions exhausts it. Asking our cells to ingest too much sugar also depletes them. Through exhaustion, they can develop resistance, insulin resistance. This resistance which sets in, on one side or the other, is called type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes (which is thus acquired, unlike type 1, an autoimmune disease) is predicted to be the 7th cause of death in the world by 2030, according to a study published by Doctor Robert Lustig in the book Sugar, the Bitter Truth.
And the harmful effects of too much glucose in the blood don't stop with diabetes. Obesity, which can result from a quantity of sugar being evacuated too quickly from the blood and therefore stored in the form of fats - triglycerides - instead of being used as fuel, is a consequence.
But also, brain health. Research at Rhode Island Hospital in the United States has shown that neuronal cells can develop sensitivity to insulin and scientists have renamed Alzheimer's disease to type 3 diabetes.
Behavioral changes, decline in cognitive abilities, mood changes, impulsivity are also on the list of harmful effects of high blood sugar on the brain.
Excess sugar is also first on the list of causes of aging and cancer. The glucose contained in the blood will bind to proteins and fats to produce glycated proteins, responsible for the hardening of artery walls, the shrinkage of brain tissue, the deterioration of joints, as well as oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. Cancer cells are also fueled by sugar.
Let's stop there, you understand, it is more than essential to take care of our blood sugar levels.
Acetic acid, the secret of apple cider vinegar to regulate your blood sugar
Beyond the nutritional advice to follow to monitor our blood sugar levels (knowledge of GI, avoidance of refined sugar, preparation methods, quantity, combinations, etc.), we wanted to talk to you about an ingredient: acetic acid!
For what ? Because apple cider vinegar contains it and, as research shows, it helps reduce blood sugar levels!
American publications from the last 10 years inform us about the impact of ingesting acetic acid during a meal and its multiple benefits: when the acid is ingested at the same time as food (the effects are not being on the other hand not conclusive for ingestion 5 hours before), it lowers the blood glucose level in the hours that follow - compared to the same meal taken alone. It therefore makes it possible to lower blood sugar levels, but also the quantity of insulin measured.
This experience was validated in the same way in diabetic people as in non-diabetic people.
Another significant point: studies also show an increase in satiety when the plate is accompanied by this dose of acetic acid contained in vinegar. And better satiety means fewer sweet cravings.
During a meal containing foods rich in carbohydrates - of which we will only mention the healthiest so as not to give bad ideas: sweet root vegetables, fruits, whole cereals, legumes... it is therefore interesting to add a dose of Archie vinegar. Less feeling of hunger, less glucose in the blood, less insulin secretion, hallelujah!
The ideal dose? 10g of cider vinegar, or 2 teaspoons.
Be careful though, we already see you coming: Archie as reinforcement ok but we abandon the idea of preparing a meal made from a packet of sweets. The effect is all the stronger as the carbohydrates are complex and less on monosaccharides, these simple sugars that are found, among other things, in industrial products. So we don't take the opportunity to swallow twice as much. Everything is going in the same direction in the end, life is Archie well done!
