Ep. 92: Glucose is for Everyone

Balancing glucose is important to everyone! Not just those with a high A1C or diabetes diagnosis. Today's episode highlights information from Glucose Revolution that applies to everyone, including some simple tips you can begin TODAY to help balance your glucose spikes and therefore improve your short- and long-term health.

NOTE: This episode is appropriate for all audiences.

CORRECTION: Insulin is a hormone, but in today's episode insulin and glucose were mentioned together in reference to hormones. We want to clarify that glucose itself is a type of sugar produced by the body, and it's only insulin that is the hormone.

References:
88% of Americans have some type of metabolic imbalance
Glucose's increase in free radicals and inflammation
Artificial sweeteners to be avoided

SHOW NOTES:
Ep. 23: Understanding Blood Sugar & Fertility with Dr. Brittannie Chester
Ep. 76: Insulin Resistance and Weight Loss with Emily Cornelius
Workshop: Blood Sugar & Fertility - Why & How it Affects us all
Purchase: Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe (affiliate link)
Join our Introductory Session
Schedule a Consultation with Caitlin

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:06

Welcome to the Woven Well Podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Estes. I'm a certified fertility care practitioner with a master divinity degree. Each episode will cover a topic that helps educate and empower you and your fertility while honoring the deep connection your fertility has with your faith. Let's get started. Welcome back to the Woven Well Podcast. Today we're gonna talk about why glucose matters for everyone. I think a lot of us tend to think that someone has to have a family history of diabetes or a high A one C level or be overweight or something specific in order to need to balance their glucose, but that is not the case. It applies to everyone, okay? All humans. And some studies show that 88% of humans are likely to have some sort of glucose dysfunction. Wow, 88%. So it really does matter, and especially for women. Okay, so we talk a lot about women's health on this podcast, and so we're gonna focus a little bit on that as well. But really it applies no matter your reproductive goals, no matter your stage in life , um, this is important for your health. Now and in the future, we're gonna talk about a lot of the specifics, but I just wanna go ahead and put out there that , um, unregulated glucose can cause severe inflammation even developing into autoimmune reactions. It can cause the development of free radicals and oxidative stress, which is , uh, no good because free radicals basically break anything that they touch. So it's damaging to our actual D N A and to our long-term health, and we don't want these things, okay? So everyone can balance their glucose. Now some people are going to be at a point where they need specific medications to help them do that. Some can begin specific supplements and then others can naturally balance their glucose just through some lifestyle changes. So our episode today is gonna focus a little more on those natural approaches and why it applies to all people. Um, but if you wanna learn specifically about medications or insulin resistance specifically, I'm gonna have a link in the show notes to a previous episode that we've done. I'm also going to link a previous workshop that we did with some experts to talk about these issues a little bit more in depth . That's about an hour long. So they're all gonna be in the show notes. But let's start off with the basics, which are, what is glucose, what is insulin? What are these things? Why do they matter? So these are both hormones that actually affect the entire functioning of the body. So our body needs energy to do everything from big things like growing a baby to tiny things like blinking and our heart pumping. Uh, the tiny thing with big results, right? It really makes a difference. So glucose is the number one source of energy for our bodies. So we need glucose in order to live, in order to function, and our bodies are capable of consuming foods that then turn into glucose and then they turn that glucose into energy. So some foods are gonna take a while to become glucose, while others are gonna make that transition super quick. Think like broccoli and beans versus breads and ice cream. So you can imagine which one takes longer, which ones are really quick dose of glucose there. And then insulin is the key that actually opens the door that allows energy to enter into the bloodstream. So we can't utilize glucose if we don't have insulin to make it functional. So we have to have both of these things and we have to have them balanced. So why would so many people have an imbalance when it comes to glucose? Why is that so common these days? 88% is a massive number. Well, we consume way more glucose now than we ever did before in history. I mean, if you look back a hundred years, 500 years beyond , uh, the amount of sugar that we take in today is mind blowing in comparison. And even when we look at our recommendations currently. So right now it's recommended that women intake no more than 25 grams of sugar on any given day. Again, compare that to a hundred years ago, 500 years ago. Wow, super high. But look at what our actual intake is. So look at a can of soda and it's gonna have about 48 grams of sugar in it. So the amount of sugar that we are taking in because sugar is directly turning into glucose, it's really wrecking havoc on our bodies. And yeah, the food industries, they've developed some sugar alternatives. You may have heard of some of them, aspartame, sucralose, there are a lot of others, but sugar alternatives have consequences too . It may not be high glucose, but there are other reactions that are happening. And more and more studies are coming out showing us that they're not actually healthy for us. So the reality is our bodies aren't designed to consume as much sugar and sugary foods as we are actually consuming. So a resistance begins to build up. You know, we can only keep up to certain degree. Um, our system can easily become overwhelmed by all this excess glucose and the body's trying, you know, it's pumping out more and more insulin to try to deal with all of it, but eventually the body is so imbalanced that a resistance or an intolerance begins to develop. So a lot of people think of diabetes, this is the health issue that we think of when it comes to glucose regulation. But diabetes occurs when the body can no longer respond to the insulin production. So sometimes it's even unable to produce enough or any insulin any longer. That's when you've hit a brick wall. Um, we would love to help you prevent from getting to that point. And even those who are being very mindful of a one C numbers and things like that, a lot of times there are medical professionals who are kind of saying, ah , I'm not gonna worry about it until you're right there on the line. Um, but we wanna be mindful of it. Now, you know, our bodies are amazing. They can do so many incredible things. We are really gifted , um, to have these bodies as a part of our personhood. So we wanna work with them and the way that they were designed to function, not against them. So how can you know if you're having issues with glucose or not? Well, maybe to some degree we can assume that everyone is, but you may have some symptoms that can let you know. Um, so I want to recommend a book called Glucose Revolution. It is written by an author named Jesse Inspi , and she does a great job of taking so much research as it comes to this topic and making it very practical, very easy to understand. So I'm gonna be pulling a lot of information from this book in hopes that you will get it for yourself, that you'll read it, you'll get it from the library you're downloaded on your Kindle, or you'll purchase it from a bookstore because I really do think it's beneficial for everyone. So she includes two pages of questions of symptoms that you may have that you didn't realize were related to glucose. I'm gonna include just a few of those. Okay? Do you have extreme hunger pains during the day? Do you feel hangry? So meaning when you're hungry, you get angry or you get really emotional in some way. Do you need to eat every few hours? Do you feel shaky, lightheaded, or dizzy? If your meals are delayed? Do you crave sweet things? Do you struggle with feeling sleepy during the day or dependent on caffeine? So if you have any of these things, then you may have issues with balancing glucose or insulin. And the reason that I chose these particular questions is because I hear these a lot when I work with clients. So I'll often ask, of course, what diagnoses do you have? Things like that. What issues do we know we're already working with? But then I'll often say, and what are some other things that you notice about yourself, but maybe you don't have a diagnosis or your doctor has said it's fine, fine. And these things start to pop up. The answers to these questions, you know, I get lightheaded a lot or , um, I feel really nauseous when I haven't eaten. Or I'm craving sugar all the time. I need coffee in order to function. Um, and so these can be a little yellow flag that your body is struggling to balance the glucose within the system. So I want you to know that unbalanced glucose can harm anyone. Um, you do not have to have a diagnosis in order to for it to impact you. So when we think about dysregulated glucose intake, what this looks like is a glucose spike where the body is taking in foods and then it has a intense spike of glucose production and then an increased descent afterwards, and then another increase in spike of glucose production and then a sharp decrease afterwards. So we're seeing this habit happen throughout the day. And these glucose spikes, even if you have perfect glucose numbers, perfect insulin numbers are negative for our overall health. So you may notice some symptoms of these hunger cravings, fatigue, migraines, poor sleep, gestational diabetes, weakened immune system, worsened cognitive function or brain fog. If you are perimenopausal, you may have worse symptoms. Um, if you are type one diabetic, then you may have more difficulty managing that. But there are also long-term effects. And again, I wanna point you to glucose revolution. She talks a lot about all the long-term effects, but here are just a few. So you could develop chronic issues like arthritis, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, heart disease, fatty liver disease, type two diabetes. And so again, we think about type two diabetes, but there are so many other systemic issues that those dysregulated glucose and insulin levels could cause. So you may be thinking, well, I do have perfect levels. You know, maybe you have your A one C tested every year by your doctor and it's never been in a high category or above the normal. Um, well first I'd say that's great, that's awesome. An A one C number is looking at your average glucose in your blood over the last three months. So it is a helpful number, but it's not necessarily the full picture. For instance, let's say you do go and have your blood tested every year at your doctor's appointment to test your A one C , but you notice that your numbers are slowly creeping up. So go get your records. Look over the last five years, is that number increasing, decreasing, or staying exactly the same? Because if you see increasing numbers, then this is a sign that the body is having a harder and harder time keeping up. Um, also keep in mind that what was once considered a high A one C may now be more in the normal range. Um, we are not so much concerned with being normal as we are wanting to be healthy. So on our podcast, we talk a lot about the difference between optimal lab values and normal lab values. Just because it's average doesn't mean it's good. So we really wanna be investing in this health now before it gets to the point where the A one C is high or is trending really significantly in a negative direction. So maybe you have some of these symptoms and you know that, hmm , I'm probably in that category. Or maybe you're curious. A great way to see what your actual glucose spikes are is to get a continuous glucose monitor. Uh , to continuous glucose monitor is something that you actually put on the side of your arm and it will send live readings of your glucose level to your phone. So it is a great source of information. You can get that through an easy prescription from your doctor. Just let them know that you would like to use one of those. And so finally, I wanna come back once again to glucose revolution and give some real life easy, easy tips to follow that can help you begin to manage and balance your glucose. So it doesn't matter if you know you have diabetes or you have a high A one C or you notice you have these symptoms, or you think none of this applies to you. These are great suggestions, and I'm only gonna give a few, and I'm not gonna give the science behind it or all the great suggestions that she offers because I want you to get the book. But these are just to help you start thinking in this manner. So the first one is to eat foods in the right order. So she recommends eating your fibrous foods like vegetables first, then your proteins like meat or beans or tofu, and then finally eating whatever your carbs are for that meal. Um, so that makes a huge difference in how our body can take in that glucose. Number two, add a green starter to all of your meals. So whatever you're eating, start off by eating something green, something veggie based before you eat the rest of your meal. And I know you're thinking how does that apply to breakfast? But she has great suggestions in there. So again, look at the book and she'll talk you through that. Number three is to flatten your breakfast curve. So we live in America where we are like the king of sugary cereals, but it's not just cereals, it's a pumpkin spice latte because it's October , uh, it's a croissant , uh, or it's any, you name it. And we eat sugary breakfasts. So , um, we can flatten that breakfast curve, which is going to improve the glucose regulation for the whole rest of the day by eating a savory breakfast instead of a sugary one. Number four, choose dessert over a snack. So you see, you can love what she does because she still tells you to eat desserts <laugh> , okay? She just recommends eating the dessert right after the meal instead of waiting two or three hours later to eat it again. So when you think about Thanksgiving meal, save room for your pie or your cake or whatever you're going to eat right after your meal instead of letting the food digest and then eating that pie two or three hours later. And then finally, tip number five, after you eat move. So 10, 15, 20 minutes of moving around or riding a bicycle or walking around the neighborhood or marching in place, it doesn't matter. That is going to allow the glucose to enter the bloodstream a lot easier than if we're just sitting. Um, so again, those are just five of the suggestions that she makes. There is so much more information in the book. I highly recommend it. And this matters. This matters for all human beings. It matters for women in particular. So glucose and insulin regulation is going to have a huge impact on a woman's fertility. It can increase the risk of infertility. P C O Ss, continuous mucus discharge, hormone dysfunction, missed periods, p m s, lots of things. So it really does matter. Um, but it applies whether you're 15 or 55, whether you one day hope to conceive or you're trying right now, or you're praying for the opposite, you know, it matters for you and your health now and in the future. So we are gonna have links in the show notes, both to the book, to a previous workshop we have and to the episode that we mentioned earlier. I hope you find this very helpful. And as always, thanks so much for listening as we continue to explore together what it means to be woven well.