By now, I’m sure you know that consuming sugar is terrible for health. But do you know why? If we realized the struggle our body goes through when we abuse it with sugar consumption, I really hope we would stop and assess whether that cookie or slice of pizza is worth it. To better understand why sugar, refined carbohydrates, and excessive protein intake are slow killers, we need to understand the role of insulin. Read on to learn more.
What Is Insulin?
As we discussed in our previous post, insulin plays a huge (albeit often undetected) role in our health. We need to understand the mechanism of insulin to fully appreciate the immense role it plays in keeping us alive, maintaining blood sugar levels, and regulating our fat storage.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, which serves to escort glucose in the bloodstream into cells for energy. Insulin is often thought of as the key that opens the door to the sugar being able to enter the cells. Without insulin, the sugars in our bloodstream are unable to be moved into the cell, which leads to hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), and eventually, death. Free floating glucose in the blood stream is extremely dangerous, which is why insulin is vital; as blood sugar rises, insulin is signaled to be released from the pancreas.
When we consume more food than we need at any given time, insulin is also responsible for storing that excess energy, or glycogen, as fuel for a rainy day. Excess glucose in the body is stored in the liver, which the body later uses during times of low caloric intake or high activity. Once the liver’s glycogen reserves are full, insulin is also responsible for storing this extra fuel as fat, primarily in the midsection. The excess sugar must be cleared out from the bloodstream, and if there is no vacancy in the cells or in the liver, that sugar is stored as fat.
High Blood Sugar Leads to High Insulin
When thinking about insulin, we like to adhere to the Goldilocks rule of “just right,” in other words, we don’t want insulin to be too low or too high—we want it perfectly in between. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, especially with the Standard American Diet most of us consume. Every time we eat carbohydrates (pastas, breads, cereals, rice, grains, sodas, juices, excess amounts of fruit, etc.), the body is instantly flooded with tons of glucose in the bloodstream, which then must be escorted elsewhere by insulin. If there’s a lot of sugar in the bloodstream, consequently, the pancreas secretes high amounts of insulin. While our bodies are equipped to handle this from time to time, a routine of high blood sugar requiring high insulin leads to major problems and disease epidemics like we’re seeing now.
Insulin resistance is something so common these days, that it’s become a huge factor in determining whether someone develops a degenerative disease, dies prematurely, or manifests a myriad of nagging problems that don’t respond well to medication. With insulin resistance, the body has literally become resistant to the effects of insulin, which causes more insulin to be secreted. For example, when you eat a sandwich and chips, insulin is secreted to escort the glucose from the bread, potatoes, and protein into the cells. In the case of insulin resistance, the body’s cells and liver have stopped responding to the call to “open the door” to the glucose trying to enter through the help of insulin because the cells are packed full of sugar, the liver is overburdened, and the body is really struggling. What happens? More insulin is secreted because the blood sugar is still freely floating in the bloodstream since it can’t enter the cells. Insulin levels sky rocket to try and keep the body alive. Why? Poor dietary choices and high stress levels day after day, year after year. We’re doing this to ourselves, and we need to realize this.
High Insulin Leads To:
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High cholesterol and triglycerides
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High blood pressure
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High risk for cardiovascular diseases (heart attack, stroke, etc.)
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High waist to hip ratio
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Fatty liver
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Skin tags
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Prediabetes
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Type 2 Diabetes
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Weight loss resistance (inability to lose weight)
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Cancer
What Causes High Insulin?
- SUGAR CONSUMPTION (CARBS, EXCESS AMOUNTS OF FRUIT, CANE SUGAR, ETC.)
Cane sugar is the biggest offender, but so is anything that breaks down into glucose. Insulin spikes when we consume fruit juice, sodas, coffee creamers, excess amount of fruit (especially high glycemic fruits like watermelon, mango, pineapple, etc.). Refined carbohydrates cause a huge blood sugar surge into the bloodstream, which leads to higher insulin levels.
The carbohydrates that cause these insane spikes include:
- Pastas
- Grains (rice, oats, wheat, quinoa, millet, rye, etc.)
- Breads
- Cereals
- Pastries
- Anything wheat based
- EXCESS PROTEIN CONSUMPTION
Nowadays people eat WAY too much protein. We’re not walking for miles upon miles each day, hunting and gathering and washing clothes by hand in the nearest water wells; as a general rule, we don’t require a ton of protein. The problem is that we eat 6-10oz of protein at each meal, which for most is at least three times per day, if not four. This is total overload on the body, and it spikes insulin. Too much protein is broken down as glucose, which requires, you guessed it, insulin.
Unless you’re a legitimate athlete with genuine high protein intake requirements, stop eating protein like it’s your job. No, you don’t need eggs for breakfast, chicken for lunch, beef jerky for a snack, and steak for dinner. That type of protein consumption is incredibly taxing on the body, and will absolutely cause insulin problems.
- SNACK FOODS
What’s with all the snacking? We’ve gotten so far away from eating true, clean food, and have instead opted for bagged, boxed, pre-packaged junk under the label of “snack food.” It’s absolutely shocking to see what kids take to lunch each day: bags of chips, granola bars, bags of fruit chews, cookies, gluten free this and “no sugar added” that, etc. Adults are no different! Protein bars, snack packs of nuts and dried fruits marinated in sugar, little balls and bites of this and that, honey bunches of junk, etc. When did we decide this was healthy and normal? Every time we open our mouths to eat anything containing sugar or breaking down into glucose, we spike an insulin release. When we snack, our blood sugar constantly rises, which never allows the liver to deplete its glycogen stores. We get backed up with so much glucose, that the liver becomes overwhelmingly full and, eventually, stagnant.
- ARTIFICIAL & ALTERNATIVE SWEETENERS
Splenda, Sweet N Low, Equal, Nutrasweet, Agave, etc. ALL cause a spike in insulin. It’s a misconception that these alternative sweeteners are better alternatives to sugar. On the contrary, these chemical sweeteners spike insulin, dull our taste buds and make us crave sugar and carbohydrates, and flood our body with terrible toxins that back up the cells, liver, and can lead to serious health damage.
- CAFFEINE & NICOTINE CONSUMPTION
Drinking one cup of coffee or green tea per day is fine. The problem becomes when we abuse caffeine and drink it at all hours of the day or depend on it for a midafternoon energy boost. This sets of a negative cascade of events through cortisol dysregulation, which spikes blood sugar and leads to an increase in insulin (see our last post if you want to learn a little more about cortisol). Nicotine does the same thing and leads to severe toxicity and absolutely avoidable health deterioration. Bottom line: drink one cup of coffee or green tea per day at the most, and DO NOT smoke or vape.
- BAD FOOD TIMING
Are you a chronic “grazer?” You know the type: grabbing a bite to eat every 2-3 hours, always ready with some type of “snack,” and never fully sitting down to a full, complete meal.
We’ve been taught incorrectly. A few bites here and a few bites there throughout the day spikes our blood sugar continuously. We never let the body rest and rely on our glycogen stores saved up in the liver when we eat this way. Digestively and emotionally, this isn’t good practice either because food requires a lot of energy to be digested, and we should be eating when we are in a relaxed, calm state of mind. Snacking or “grazing” is a bad idea.
Want to stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels? Diet is the foundation. Start emphasizing clean, healthy fats like avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, fresh olives, and avocado oil. When you sit down to eat, vegetables should make up most of the plate, followed by a nice serving of healthy fat, a small to moderate amount of protein, and a small amount of starchy carbohydrates. These starchy carbs come from the earth and include sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green plantains, pumpkin, assorted squash varieties, etc.
The bottom line to be learned is that insulin is a highly valued hormone that unfortunately gets abused and disregarded. Be more conscious of the role food plays in your life, be grateful, and pause before putting something in your mouth and ask yourself whether that food decision is helping or hurting your body. The body is a temple. Let’s treat it that way.
Are you struggling with blood sugar and insulin problems? Do you need a reset and new direction? Let us know in the comments below.
