It may not be what you think it is. If you are thinking, too much salt, stress, or a mineral deficiency , then think again. 

 
There is an epidemic of insulin resistance, causing chronic inflammation all over the body. Up to 50% of people are insulin resistant. Most don’t even know it, but what they really don’t know is that insulin resistance leads to multiple chronic conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, autoimmune disorders, and now research shows that it leads to Alzheimer’s disease, recently nick-named Type 3 diabetes. 

 

To understand how to treat insulin resistance you must first get a good grip on how it begins in the first place. 

 

 

When you eat starches or sugars, such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereal, grains, or sugars (from fruit juice, chocolate cake, muffins etc), these foods turn into glucose as you digest them.  Those glucose molecules make their way into the blood stream, and the concentration of glucose in your blood starts increasing.  The faster it increases, the more of a glucose spike that you will have after that meal.  

 

 

When you get a glucose spike, multiple things happen that affect your health.  

 

1- It increases inflammation in the body.

 

2- It speeds up the aging process through a physiological process called glycation.

 

3- Your body secretes insulin from the pancreas to clean up all the extra glucose in the bloodstream to protect you. 

If glucose stays in the bloodstream for too long and too often it begins to damage your cells.  

 

One analogy I like to use is ask yourself what is glucose? Glucose is sugar right?   Now imagine what happens to sugar when you add water? It gets really sticky and has a glue like consistency. 

 

Now imagine that glue-like liquid in your bloodstream.  What do you think will happen to the endothelial cells that produce nitric oxide to help and keep blood flowing smoothly through our cardiovascular system? They get damaged and inflamed.  

 

Once these endothelial cells get damaged, blood pressure goes up. 

 

You can see now the important role that insulin plays as it functions to grab these excess damaging glucose molecules that are not being used by our cells for energy, and puts them away. 
(continue reading below for top tips for preventing glucose spikes)

 The effects of chronic glucose spikes 

 

When insulin puts glucose away (in fat cells) your glucose levels start to go down.  If these glucose molecules decrease too quickly, sometimes because your body is sending out too much insulin, then you experience a crash below baseline. This creates symptoms like cravings,  hunger, fatigue, brain fog, and all sorts of symptoms that many of us think are just normal for us.  We think it’s normal to crave something two hours after a meal, or normal to be tired at 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. In most cases, this is just the result of a glucose crash happening due to that previous meal that caused a sugar spike.  This is well known as a “sugar crash” after a “sugar high”.  

 

Many people are stuck in this vicious cycle all day and manage the symptoms with caffeine or eating sugary foods to give them energy. The truth is that they are victims to that roller coaster of crash and high.   On the inside, the more they are on that roller coaster, the more damaged the mitochondria in our cells become leading to chronic fatigue. If you remember from middle school, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of our cells giving us the energy we have (more on the role of mitochondria  in lowering blood pressure and weight loss in my next blog) 

 

My whole role is to help you step off that roller coaster to steady your glucose levels, decrease inflammation and manage insulin levels to  help heal your body, reclaim your energy to thrive physically and mentally, and lose excess belly fat all while lowering your blood pressure. The 10 Day Rejuvenation Reset cuts through the overwhelm so you can make progress where it most counts. Peek inside what the 10 Day Rejuvenation Reset provides you with.

Are all glucose containing foods damaging to our cells? 

 

Whole grains ,fruits and vegetables have a distinct advantage over refined foods like pasta, bread, cake, and other processed carbohydrates when it comes to their impact on blood glucose levels. Unlike refined foods, which undergo processing that strips them of their fiber and nutrients, whole grains retain their bran, germ, and endosperm. This fiber-rich composition significantly slows down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, leading to a gradual and steady release of glucose into the bloodstream. This controlled release prevents sharp spikes in blood sugar levels, offering sustained energy and better glycemic control. In contrast, refined foods lack the fiber and nutrients that buffer glucose absorption, often causing rapid spikes in blood sugar followed by crashes. Incorporating whole grains into the diet can contribute to more stable blood glucose levels and overall better metabolic health. 

 

 

1 - Choose whole foods and whole grain containing foods to make up your meals.  You can get really creative using the Core Four Way of eating guide I have available on my website. 

 

2 - Drink 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed in a glass of water before each meal. Research shows that consuming apple cider vinegar before meals has been suggested to help prevent high glucose spikes due to its acetic acid content. Acetic acid appears to slow down the digestion of carbohydrates, resulting in a more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream after eating. 

 

3- Portion Control: Be mindful of portion sizes to avoid overloading your body with excessive carbohydrates in one sitting, which can lead to rapid increases in blood sugar. 

 

4- Regular Physical Activity: Engaging in regular exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, making it easier for your body to manage blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of glucose spikes.

Do you think you are insulin resistant? Which one of these tips will you try? Or, if you have tips of your own please share them and comment in the Facebook group Lowering Blood Pressure the Natural Way.

In good health,

Serene ❤️