3 Ways to Ascertain Your Blood Sugar Levels and 5 Ways to Moderate Them

I run into a lot of people who don’t believe they have a blood sugar problem. It comes as a shock when the doc tells them they are hypoglycemic, insulin resistant, or worse yet, diabetic. These are hard conditions to correct once they have actualized. But they are easy to prevent!

You can know your risk without having to schedule a doctor visit. Start with this quiz:

  1. If I skip a meal:
    1. no big deal.
    2. I have a headache.
    3. I’m “HANGRY!”
  2. I have to eat:
    1. 2-3 times a day.
    2. 3-4 times a day.
    3. 5-6 times a day.
  3. My energy:
    1. is pretty consistent.
    2. varies from day to day.
    3. is like a roller coaster.
  4. After meals, I experience:
    1. no change in energy.
    2. relief.
    3. sleepiness.
  5. Between meals, I have:
    1. no specific cravings.
    2. afternoon cravings (for stimulants).
    3. LOTS of cravings!
  6. I sleep:
    1. very well.
    2. poorly; I wake and can’t get back to sleep.
    3. with difficulty; I can’t fall asleep.
  7. I awaken:
    1. refreshed.
    2. not feeling rested.
    3. in a fog; I can’t get going.
  8. During endurance exercise:
    1. I have great stamina and reserves.
    2. I need a stimulant.
    3. I hit a wall and crash.

Circle your answers and total your score. The higher your result, the greater your risk of blood sugar diseases.

But suppose the “tire looks flat, but you need a tire gauge to be sure.” That’s easy, too. You can test your blood sugar levels at home and order a simple lab test to check your cumulative blood sugar levels over a 3-month period.

Home “finger-prick” glucose meters are available at local drug stores. Some popular brands of these glucose monitors are One Touch, ReliOn, Accu-Chek, FreeStyle and Contour Next. Just put a drop of blood on a test strip, and within seconds, you’ll have a reading. There is cause for concern if you are higher than 95 when fasting or higher than 120 two hours after a meal.

An A1C is a blood test that measures your blood-sugar levels over the past quarter rather than just at the current moment. You can order this test for less than the cost of a visit to the doctor’s office. Go to www.ultawellness.com and search A1C. Select a lab near you, print the requisition, and drop in at your convenience for the blood draw. The confidential results are emailed back to you within the week.

A score below 5.7 is considered safe; 5.7-6.4 is classified as pre-diabetic; anything over 6.4 indicates diabetes.

The nitty-gritty part is changing the numbers if they’re higher than they should be. Here are my “quick and dirty” recommendations:

  • Eat more healthy fats. Always pair your carbohydrates with a good fat to slow the absorption of sugars into the bloodstream and to give your body a slow-burning fuel that will last for hours and hours without leaving you shaky and frantic. Unheated fish oils are the best source of essential Omega 3’s. Butter, tallow, and lard from pastured animals are safe saturated fats to use in cooking. Olive oil is a great mono-unsaturate to use for salad dressings and other cold applications. Coconut oil is a popular mid-chain fatty acid with many health benefits.
  • Drink water. Many times, the body’s thirst signals are mistaken for hunger cues. Instead of grabbing a [sweet] snack, grab a water bottle. Since pop and juice fuel sugar cravings and are actually de-hydrating (they USE water from the body to dilute them), avoid drinking them. If it is difficult for you to enjoy pure water, try stimulating your desire for it by adding a splash of citrus, a few drops of trace minerals or a pinch of natural sea salt.
  • Take a probiotic supplement and eat traditional cultured/fermented foods. Often, sugar cravings are driven by an overgrowth of pathological microbes in the gut. Using probiotics foods and capsules can help return the balance to your microbiome and lessen your cravings. You might try kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, or miso. Just make sure it has live cultures.
  • Use a liquid amino-acid supplement between meals to stave off cravings. The body can convert amino acids into fuel in a process called gluconeogenesis. When your body needs instant energy and you’re tempted to grab sugar to supply glucose, try putting a couple drops of amino acid supplement on your tongue instead.
  • Go cold-turkey. Read labels and cut all sugar completely out for 3 days. If you can do it for 72 hours, you can do it indefinitely, because the cravings subside after the first few days.
  • Book a consultation with me to find out where the particular imbalances in your body lie.

Believe me, your body will thank you! If millenia of humans could survive without refined sugar, you can too!

in Education