Coaching Corner - Maintaining Healthy Blood Sugars with type II Diabetes

Coaching Corner  ~ Maintaining Healthy Blood Sugars

-Kimberlee Langford, RN BSN CCM CPC

For many people with type II diabetes – it develops over time – years of strain on a pancreas from a diet rich in easy and quick-to-digest foods that end up putting a lot of sugar in the blood stream and a heavy burden on the pancreas to pump out more and more insulin….and eventually, the strain wears out the insulin-producing capacity of the pancreas. 

Not having enough insulin means that the sugar in the bloodstream from the foods we eat, cannot get into the cells to supply the energy they need to do the work of living.  Blood sugars rise making it harder for the heart to pump the blood – blood pressure increases – over time this damages delicate structures like eyes and hearts and nerves and kidneys.

Meanwhile – those cells are hungry – they have not been fed – so they send a signal to the brain that they are starving and the brain accommodates by creating a craving – makes you reach for the bag of chips or can of soda pop – or the candy bar we saw in the break room at work! 

The increased concentration of sugar in the blood sends a message to the brain that makes you thirsty – wanting to thin out the sugar and the kidneys kick in so we can urinate more – letting off the excess sugar.

It’s easy to dismiss these danger signals – ‘of course we urinate a lot – because we drink a lot.’  Or ‘I just don’t have any willpower.’ 

It’s important to recognize the reason behind the symptoms – your body is talking to you!  When you have a craving for something you know you ‘shouldn’t’ eat – know that is has nothing to do with willpower and everything to do with telling you it needs something you haven’t given it or that it can’t access yet.

Think of your blood sugar like a fire – some foods burn like kindling and some foods burn like logs.  – High glycemic index foods are those with a HIGH effect on your blood sugar – they burn real hot, real fast – and then go out – like that candy bar you saw in the break room – white flour, white rice, minute oatmeal, minute rice – quick foods are quick because they are easier to break down into sugar. 

Some foods burn like a log – not a big or fast rise in blood sugar, but they burn for a long time and keep a room temperate and comfortable.    Throwing a log on your fire at regular intervals keeps a fire going nicely.  If you don’t keep putting a log on the fire at regular intervals, the fire goes out – and you have to re-start it.   These foods are proteins, high fiber foods and fats – they burn longer…break down slower. 

Having a fire go out and having to restart it is a lot of work – it’s hard on your body to have low and high blood sugars. 

For a diabetic – putting a log on your fire at regular intervals – every 3-4 hours – is a key to helping to maintain regular blood sugar levels.   It will prevent you having to chase a low blood sugar and drive it high with those quick, fast foods.    You’ll find that as sugar levels normalize – cravings will go away, you’ll enjoy greater energy and less mood swings – and reduce your risk for heart, kidney disease, liver disease,  neuropathy and skin problems and more!