Ahh, the holidays! Friends, family, food, lavish desserts, candy dishes, chocolate covered everything and white sugar pouring like sands through the hourglass.

Have you ever stopped to think about what the cumulative effect is of eating all those sweets?

Blood Sugar Blues

There’s no doubt that people overeat during holidays. It’s almost as much of a tradition as the holiday itself. But overindulgence in sweets has its price.

Whether you notice it (at first) or not, sweets in pies, cake, table sugar and even high carbohydrate foods (stuffing, pasta and white rice, for example) take their toll. Your body has to handle and process the sugars. This causes stress.

Your body starts to sing the blues.

Sugary Symptoms

The most notable signs of eating too many sweets are lack of energy, shakiness, dizziness, a feeling that your world is blacking out when you suddenly stand up, slight headache, drowsiness, and a cold sweat. You don’t have to feel all of these at once to be affected.

When you eat sweets, your body goes to work. Your pancreas injects a hormone called insulin into your blood stream to remove the sugars. When this happens quickly, your blood sugar drops and you start experiencing the symptoms.

Simple sugars — the kinds in sweets — create the most problems. They make your pancreas work extra hard. If the problem is chronic — you eat too many sweets and your pancreas is overworked — the result can be diabetes.

Millions of people are riding the edge of creating diabetes because they eat a constant diet of refined sugars.

Alternative Eating Pleasure

Watch yourself.

As crazy as it may sound to a sugar-holic, once you wean yourself off sugary treats, you don’t really care if you eat them ever again.

This is because sugar is addictive and by removing the chemical you remove the urge to eat more and more.

In the least though, you can eat consciously. This means that instead of eating everything in front of you, you can pace yourself so that by the end of the night you aren’t regretting what you’ve done.

Be aware of what you eat and don’t eat too much. Instead of taking a slice of two pies and two cakes, try a sampling of each. Don’t add sweetener to your coffee.

Keep these Two Supplements on Hand for the Holidays

Let’s say you’ve eaten too many sugars. What can you do to at least help minimize the damage? There are two main food supplements that can help: GTF Complex and Green Nutrients.

GTF Complex provides chromium foods that help take the stress off your pancreas and remove sugars from your blood stream.

Green Nutrients contains mineral foods which help bolster the body’s ability to cope with blood sugar fluctuations.

Learn More about GTF Complex – Click Here.
Learn More about Green Nutrients – Click Here.

photo: © 2008 Helga Weber

“High blood glucose levels are one of the most common killers of Americans, according to new research from Harvard researchers. In a study that assessed 12 dietary, lifestyle and metabolic factors risk factors in causes of preventable death, high blood glucose levels came out as the fifth most deadly killer, after tobacco, high blood pressure, overweight/obesity, physical inactivity.

“High blood glucose levels were more perilous than high LDL cholesterol, high levels of dietary salt, low omega-3 levels, high levels of trans fatty acids, alcohol use, low levels of fruit and vegetables and low levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
“According to the mathematical model used by the researchers, there were between 163,000 and 217,000 high blood glucose-related mortalities in 2005 that could have been avoided.”1

When it comes to sugar consumption, Americans eat their weight’s worth every single year (about 140 pounds worth!). “Over time, it is believed that the pancreas just can’t keep up with the need for increased insulin and the individual develops diabetes. Reversing insulin resistance through dietary means can greatly help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.”2

What can you do?
1. Take GTF Complex (helps block sugar uptake naturally, and takes some of the stress off your pancreas)
2. Get rid of refined sugar in your diet.
3. Eat more vegetables and good fats (Evening Primrose Oil, Fish Oils, Coconut Butter)

Sources:

1. Starling, Shane, “Blood glucose control ranks high in US death causes,” Jun-2009

2. Goodarz Danaei, Eric L Ding, Dariush Mozaffarian, Ben Taylor, Jurgen Rehm, Christopher J L Murray, Majid Ezzati, ‘The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors’ Public Library of Science Medicine Journal, Vol. 6, April, 2009

Healthnotes Newswire — A new animal study found that a diet high in trans fats increases risk of insulin resistance and obesity, especially abdominal obesity, which is associated with heart disease. Choosing monounsaturated fat instead—as is found in olives, olive oil, avocado, and nuts and seeds—is a healthful alternative.

The new study, published in Obesity, looked at the effect of a high-trans-fat diet on sugar metabolism and weight gain in male African green monkeys. Forty-two monkeys were assigned to eat either a high-trans-fat diet or a low-trans-fat diet for six years. The monkeys on the high-trans-fat diet were given partially hydrogenated soybean oil so that trans fats accounted for approximately 8% of their daily calories—an amount similar to that of people who eat the most trans fats. The other monkeys ate the same diet but their fat was from a blend of oils high in monounsaturated fatty acids.

At the end of the study, the monkeys on the high-trans-fat diet gained four times as much weight and had more body fat than their counterparts, and a greater percentage of their body fat was in the abdomen, a pattern known to be linked to increased cardiac risk. Blood tests revealed that these monkeys showed signs of insulin resistance, a condition that leads to type 2 diabetes, but the other monkeys had normal responses to sugar and insulin.

“These findings show once again that the composition of the diet is at least as important as the calorie count,” commented Julianne Forbes, a naturopathic doctor practicing in Maine. “In addition to helping people slim down portions and reduce sugar, we can also help them lose weight, avoid diabetes, and prevent heart disease by teaching them to eat less refined foods and read labels on packaged foods to find those made without partially hydrogenated oils.”

(Obesity 2007;15:1675–84)

Don’t eat anything that contains high fructose corn syrup.

If you see high fructose corn syrup listed on a food label or beverage or condiment, don’t consume it.

Some foods that commonly contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are: baking and cooking ingredients, beverages, soft drinks, breads, breakfast cereals, breakfast pastries, candy bars, condiments, cookies and cakes, cough syrups, crackers, dairy, drink mixers, frozen foods, gummi bears, ice creams, infant formula, jams and jellies, syrups, meats, pastries, salad dressings, sauces, snacks, soda, and microwavable soup.

Looking into what’s written about high fructose corn syrup, you’ll find a lot of articles saying there’s no proof it’s bad. Why is this? Is it because one of the biggest corporations in the history of the world is the corn grower behind the product? Could be. But let’s consider high fructose corn syrup as a sugar. Is it healthy to eat so much sugar when it’s in soda, baked goods, candy, bread, cookies, and nearly everything else that comes in a box? Moreover, the best question to ask is: Is it natural? The answer is no, it’s not natural. And substances that are not natural most always lead to health problems.

A New York Times article reports, “Studies have shown that the human body metabolizes fructose, the sweetest of the natural sugars, in a way that may promote weight gain. Specifically, fructose does not prompt the production of certain hormones that help regulate appetite and fat storage, and it produces elevated levels of triglycerides that researchers have linked to an increased risk of heart disease.”1

Michael F. Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group that often criticizes the food industry, says that unlike sugar molecules, which reside in the stalks of sugar cane or the beets that are used to make sugar, high-fructose corn syrup is artificial because it is not found anywhere in corn.

“You’re causing a change in the molecular structure, and that shouldn’t be considered natural,” he said, adding, however, that he never supported the notion that high-fructose corn syrup was a unique contributor to obesity.1

What’s so bad about sugars, anyway? People in the western world eat too much sugar, more than is natural and more than can be tolerated by a healthy body. Aside from contributing to obesity, refined sugars can cause tooth decay, slow healing, diabetes, hormonal imbalances, mood swings, nervousness, attention deficit and heart disease.

Science Daily reports:

Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found ‘astonishingly high’ levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages. These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with “unbound” fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are “bound” and chemically stable, the researcher notes.

Reactive carbonyls also are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to the complications of that disease. Based on the study data, Ho estimates that a single can of soda contains about five times the concentration of reactive carbonyls than the concentration found in the blood of an adult person with diabetes.3

When you consider that companies like Coca Cola and a thousand other non-food purveyors are the backbone of media advertising, as well as ardent lobbyists, you’ll understand why so-called “experts” find it difficult to prove that sugar is bad for people. Read Dr Joseph Mercola writes on the subject:

There are over 35 years of HARD empirical evidence of refined man-made fructose metabolizing to triglycerides and adipose tissue, UNLIKE the fructose molecule linked to a glucose molecule, found in sucrose (cane or beet), which is converted to blood glucose.

Sucrose raises blood glucose and then crashes it, below fasting baseline, within 25 minutes of ingestions — A FACT.

HFCS or crystalline fructose or hydrolyzed fructose from inulin, convert to triglycerides and adipose tissue, within 60 minutes of ingestion, not blood glucose — A FACT.

The cheapest ingredient in the American food chain (profit factor) after air, water and salt is HFCS — A FACT.

In 1970, zero pounds of HFCS existed in the U.S. food chain, or the SEMANTICALLY legislated equivalent in the EU, ‘iso-glucose,’ which is High Fructose Wheat Or Beet Syrup. Today HFCS is about 68 pounds per year per person in the USA — FACT.

In 2005, if one looks at the actuarial curve on cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypoglycemia, and diabetes, they all parallel HFCS increase in the food chain — A FACT.

Corn starch converted to a man-made molecule falsely called ‘fructose’ is NOT sugar from cane or beet or metabolized the same — A FACT.

MDs have no nutritional or metabolic training in med school — A FACT.

MDs have no methodology in their teaching to prevent, as opposed to only treat — A FACT.

Does HFCS significantly contribute to ill health in the U.S. food chain? Yes, follow the insurance companies scrambling in actuarial panic with a sudden and unexplained spike in heart attack death pay-outs among baby boomers ingesting too much HFCS and telling MDs to warn patients to get off soda and HFCS-laden prducts, for profit — A FACT.4

Sources:

1. Warner, Melanie, A Sweetener With a Bad Rap, NY Times, Jul 08
2. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April 2004
3. Soda Warning? High-fructose Corn Syrup Linked To Diabetes, New Study Suggests, ScienceDaily (Aug. 23, 2007)
4. Mercola, DO, Joseph, Debate About Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup, mercola.com

Fact: Very little relationship exists between what a patient knows about diabetes and his or her control of its related cardiovascular risk factors and whether or not he or she ultimately succeeds or fails, indicated a study by Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Research found that improved disease knowledge alone does not lead to improved blood sugar control, cholesterol levels, weight management and mortality rates.

And, while education may be part of the puzzle, researchers noted there are likely other pressing health care delivery issues that must be addressed if a diabetic patient hopes to reduce their risks of dying from heart disease — the main culprit of death among diabetic patients.

Since greater patient “knowledge” — what they have been taught — did not translate into better outcomes, it was concluded that patients were not utilizing that knowledge. However, there is another possibility, and I believe that that possibility is very likely correct: It could be that patients are listening and complying, at least partially, but they’re being taught, perhaps unknowingly, the wrong information by the medical profession.

Read more here and watch Dr Mercola’s video 

Diabetes is a common disease, unfortunately, in our modern society. There are several reasons for this, but the most glaring is the fact that people are not eating the right kinds of foods. Certainly, sugar is a major problem, as the average American eats more than 140 pounds of sugar a year! Imagine a life-sized statue of a person made completely out of sugar, and that’s how much is eaten. Add this to the fact that most diets lack quality nutrients, and you have a potential for not only diabetes, but also many other health problems.

Diabetics, as well as others who suffer from blood sugar imbalances, need nutrition from foods to support the pancreas, to balance sugar between the cells and the blood stream, and, secondarily, to support the body through some of the other problems arising from diabetes, including:
• Weight gain
• Wound healing
• Skin problems
• Organ and glandular sluggishness
• Food cravings
• Vision problems
• Cardiovascular concerns

Adjunctive Nutritional Schedule*
GTF Complex: 6 a day
BFood Complex: 6 a day
CalMag Balance: 6 a day
SuperGreens PhytoFood: 1 T per day

Additional Support:
VasCor: 4 tablets per day
FlavoC: 4 tablets per day

The most important substance in nutrition for diabetics is Glucose Tolerance Factor (GTF), which is a molecular structure that decreases the amount of insulin needed to balance blood sugar. GTF makes insulin and your pancreas more efficient. (See GTF Complex).

Other trace elements known to lower blood sugar are manganese, zinc, calcium, potassium and sodium. Sodium, however, is rarely necessary to worry about since it is added everywhere in the modern diet. (But as an aside, be sure to get rid of your typical table salt and switch to genuine Sea Salt. Regular table salt is a toxic substance, while real sea salt promotes health!) These other nutrients are far more important to be concerned about. (See GreenNutrients). Also helpful in blood sugar and pancreatic health is the vitamin B complex only found in foods. (See BFood Complex).

There are very specific foods that have been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels, including an ancient Indian herb called Gymnema, chromium-rich yeast, black pepper, liver, beef, whole wheat bread, beets, beet sugar molasses, mushrooms, buckwheat leaf and seed, liver, pancreas, dandelion root, whole oat flour, fenugreek seed, bilberry leaf, aloe, cinnamon. See Blood Sugar Health.

For complications involving vision health, cardiovascular health and wound healing, nutrients from foods are needed to bring an adequate blood supply into cells and body structures. See VasCor and FlavoC.

The body content of chromium decreases with age. Diets higher in natural foods help avoid this loss. “Many women in Western countries are so deficient in chromium that the white blood cell chromium level may decrease by 50% with each pregnancy, resulting first in complete alcohol intolerance and later in glucose intolerance (adult-type diabetes).”

Food researcher Carl Pfeiffer, MD, wrote, “Humans, like rats, need this glucose tolerance factor…Glucose is required for every cellular function. It supplies the energy that is burned every time a muscle contracts or a nerve impulse is transmitted….GTF is not entirely new since brewer’s yeast and soluble chromium salts have been used to lower the insulin requirement of unstable diabetic children and also to get older patients off insulin and oral insulin substitutes…GTF is a trivalent chromium in an organic chemical complex which cannot be easily synthesized in the body but may be synthesized by the normal bacteria of the intestine when enough chromium is contained in the diet. ”

Finding food with chromium is not enough because chromium occurs in several forms. For instance, inorganic chromium found in the typical diet is only 1 to 10% absorbable. Eggs are high in chromium, for instance, but little of it is biologically active. The best sources are yeast, black pepper, liver, beef, whole wheat bread, beets, beet sugar molasses, mushrooms and beer (in moderation, of course).

Gymnema sylvestra, from the tropical forests of central and southern India, has been used in India for diabetes for over 2,000 years. The hypoglycemic (blood sugar-lowering) effect of gymnema leaves was first documented in the late 1920s.* This action is gradual in nature, differing from the rapid effect of many prescription hypoglycemic drugs. Gymnema leaves raise insulin levels, according to research in healthy volunteers.** The leaves are also noted for lowering serum cholesterol and triglycerides.*** While studies have shown that a water-soluble acidic fraction of the leaves provides hypoglycemic actions, it is not yet clear what specific constituent in the leaves is responsible for this action. Some researchers have suggested gymnemic acid as one possible candidate.+ Further research is needed to clearly determine which constituent is responsible for this effect. Gurmarin, another constituent of the leaves, and gymnemic acid have been shown to block sweet taste in humans.

Scientific Sources:

Carl Pfeiffer, MD, Zinc & Other MicroNutrients
* Mhasker KS, Caius JF. A study of Indian medicinal
plants. II. Gymnema sylvestre R.Br.
Indian Medical Research Memoirs 1930;16:2–75.
** Shanmugasundaram KR, Panneerselvam C, Sumudram P, Shanmugasundaram ERB. Insulinotropic activity of G. sylvestre, R.Br. and Indian medicinal herb used in controlling diabetes mellitus. Pharmacol Res Commun 1981;13:475–86.
*** Bishayee A, Chatterjee M. Hypolipidemic and antiatherosclerotic effects of oral Gymnema sylvestre R.Br. leaf extract in albino rats fed on a high fat diet. Phytother Res 1994;8:118–20.
+ Gymnema. Lawrence Review of Natural Products August, 1993 (Monograph).

* Adjunctive Nutritional Schedules are not meant to treat or cure disease, but rather to offer the body a variety of food nutrients that can be used for health support.