What Do Insulin Resistance & Summer Have In Common

I hear the word summer and my mind’s eye conjure up succulent mango’s, watermelons and rockmelons. All fruit are extra sweet it seems. Fruit is healthy, right? So you can have as much you want, right? No. Truth be told, I would rather have an extra piece of fresh fruit before I indulge regularly on sweet sugary treats that are touted by companies as being healthy, just because it contains fruit.

Recently the dangers of sugar, as well as its addictive nature have gotten quite a bit of media attention.  Suffice it to say that sugary treats can pave the way for decades of chronic illness.

Blood Sugar Basics

When you eat sugary treats, your blood sugar levels rise.  Your blood sugar level is a measure of how much sugar or glucose is circulating in your bloodstream. Too much glucose in your blood is dangerous, so your body works hard to lower the levels.  It does this by releasing insulin, a hormone which enables your cells to absorb the excess glucose.

The danger comes when you continue eating too much sugar, because your body responds by producing more and more insulin.  Too much insulin trains your cells to become resistant to insulin, and this is called insulin resistance.

The net effect is that it then takes more and more insulin to make your cells remove the glucose from your blood.  When this happens, your blood sugar levels stay elevated, your insulin levels stay elevated and you develop pre-diabetes.

Moderation is the Key

Don’t panic.  This doesn’t mean that you can never indulge in a sugary treat again.  What it means is that you need to be smart about the amount you eat and how you eat it.

Have you ever heard of the glycemic index?  It is simply a way of categorizing foods according to their effects on the level of glucose in your blood.  A food with a high glycemic index will cause more glucose to build up than will a food with a low glycemic index. There are various websites that will give you the GI as well as the GL of foods.

In order to control your blood sugar levels, it is helpful to eat lots of foods with a low glycemic index.  And if you eat foods with a high glycemic index, be sure to pair them with low glycemic foods in order to slow the effect on your blood sugar.

High glycemic foods include white flour, white sugar, white rice, and even big, white potatoes.  Low glycemic foods are foods that have lots of fibre and protein.  These would include beans, whole grains, lean proteins and nuts.

Simply being aware of the glycemic index will help you eat in a way that reduces the stress on your body.  If you are going to have an ice cream treat, make sure you eat it at the end of a meal that contains low glycemic foods.  And, if possible, have it on a resistance training day – that will help also!

So this summer, have an occasional treat, but be sure it is occasional…seriously. Your body will thank you!

Need Help?

Are you looking for help to take control over your eating patterns, as well as some sound nutritional advice, that will not try and put you in a box that is not made for you?

I have over 30 years experience in the fitness industry and have designed many nutritional plans for my clients, whether it is for weight loss or sport specific training. You will be empowered to make the right decisions, take back the control over the way you eat, and still enjoy what you eat. Part of my online training program is an option to have me design a custom made nutrition plan for you.

Visit my online training site at www.thrivefitnessonline.trainerize.com or call me at 0437 314 920 to get more information.