Glucose is the most basic type of sugar, forming naturally in food and in your blood as your body processes carbohydrates. When you eat foods that quickly raise your glucose levels, you experience a temporary high. Your blood sugar then drops beneath your pre-meal level and you experience a slump in energy.
Process
Sugars from the food you eat convert quickly or slowly to glucose, which raises your blood glucose levels. Fruits, dairy products, legumes, vegetables, grains and natural sweeteners have sugar. Your pancreas produces insulin to bring glucose from your blood into primarily your muscle cells, fat cells and liver cells, lowering your blood glucose levels. Without insulin, your glucose levels rise because glucose cannot enter your muscle, liver and fat cells.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a method of categorizing carbohydrate-rich foods according to how the food affects your glucose levels. Low-glycemic index foods have a minimal affect on your glucose levels, while high-glycemic index foods cause your glucose levels to rise sharply. Eat primarily low-glycemic index foods to keep your blood glucose levels steady.
Risks
An unhealthy diet of mostly high-glycemic index foods, high saturated and trans fat foods, along with physical inactivity, increases your risk of obesity. Obesity increases your risk of developing insulin resistance, meaning your cells cannot process your glucose and your blood glucose levels remains high for a long period. When you eat plenty of foods that are absorbed quickly, your pancreas makes excessive amounts of insulin to process all that glucose. If you continue your unhealthy eating habits, your cells cannot respond to the same amount of insulin and you develop insulin resistance. Your pancreas must then produce even more insulin. Eventually, your pancreas may become unable to produce a sufficient amount of insulin. Long periods of high glucose levels increase your risk of diabetes, which subsequently predisposes you to kidney disease, lower limb amputations, nerve damage, heart disease and blindness.
Considerations
Eat primarily low-glycemic index foods. If you must have a high-glycemic index food, eat plenty of lean protein, fiber and healthy fat with it to slow the digestion of the carbs or glucose. Engage in a program of regular, moderately to vigorously intense resistance and aerobic exercise, the most effective action you can take to control your blood glucose levels, according to a 2008 article by Sheri Colberg, Ph.D., published in "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal."
Foods
Low-glycemic index fruits include apples, oranges, pears and sweet cherries. Limit your intake of pineapple and watermelon, as they are high-glycemic index fruits. Cooked spaghetti noodles, fettuccini noodles and all-bran cereals are low-glycemic index grains, better for your glucose levels than baked potatoes and brown rice. Enjoy unsalted almonds and walnuts with barely any carbs for your snacks instead of graham crackers, pretzels or Cheerios, which have very high glycemic indexes.
References
- "Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance"; William McArdle, et al.; 2007
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Enhancing Insulin Action with Physical Activity to Prevent and Control Diabetes; Sheri R. Colberg, Ph.D.; March/April 2008
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Glycemic Index: An Educational Tool for Health and Fitness Professionals; Stephen Wong, Ph.D., et al.; November/December 200
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Obesity: America's Growing Epidemic; Shelby Rush, M.D.; November/December 2004
