TPV Podcast, Episode 70: Blood Sugar Regulation

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 70: Blood Sugar Regulation

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 0:47 – News & Views
  • A Blood Sugar Regulation show has been recorded before with Amy Kubal, but there were technical difficulties and then schedule difficulties, so Stacy and Sarah are going to tackle the topic
  • The Paleo Parents family is getting ready to go to Great Wolf Lodge for the weekend, have been there before and loved it
  • Stacy is back in a groove with exercise and is feeling good
  • Matt, Stacy and Aimee tried shooting the cover for the third book recently, but the elements weren’t in place to get the right shot
  • Stacy and Matt are working hard to get the pieces of the book in place so that it can officially be launched – the goal is to have pre-orders available by the end of January
  • Sarah is still on the mend and taking note of how the stress from finishing the book has impacted her health
  • The Paleo Approach will be on bookshelves on January 28 – read more about the release here
  • Sarah had the cookbook photo shoot recently and had a lot of fun with it
• 26:30 – Science with Sarah: How to Monitor Blood Sugar
  • A glucometer measures the amount of glucose in your blood
  • Glucose is a simple sugar that is one of the primary fuel sources from our body
  • Starches breakdown into glucose
  • Glucose causes a sugar rush when you eat junk food, it stimulates insulin release from the pancreas and gets shuttled into your cells for storage
  • Glucometers are inexpensive and there are a variety of brands to chose from – you are looking for one with lancets
  • First make sure your hand is clean, prick your finger, squeeze out a drop of blood onto the testing strip and load the strip into the monitor for a measurement
  • The least painful spot to prick is near the fingernail tip where the nail begins to curl
  • You will either take a fasting measurement before you get out of bed or a post meal test
  • For the fasted test you should have not eaten for 10 to 12 hours, any result less than 99 is normal – optimal is 85 to 90, but go no lower than 60
  • The after meal test will show you how well you are regulating your blood sugar
  • Take this test one to two hours after you began eating your last meal – a result less than 120 is normal, but it should not be less than 90
  • If your blood sugar is too low it shows some hormone dysregulation
• 39:33 – Questions & Answers
  • Kate – what factors contribute to insulin sensitivity?
    • Were you able to figure out how to leave multiple reviews on iTunes? If so, email [email protected] with details and we will send you a signed copy of Beyond Bacon! 
    • Sarah feels that Kate is experiencing symptoms from going too low carb, which is impacting her thyroid, hormones and metabolism
    • Going too low carb can trigger a cortisol response
    • Classic signs of being too low carb are sleep disturbances, mood issues, headaches, weight gain, feeling stressed, not handling stress well, peeing more than once during the night
    • Sarah thinks that going too low carb triggered some insulin and leptin resistance
    • To help with this get lots of sleep, avoid high intensity workouts and instead utilize gentler movements, have fun, laugh, meditate and continue on with carb intake with gradual increases until you find an optimal intake your well-being
    • It will take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months to regulate insulin sensitivity
  • (56:30) Brandy Lynn – could eating very low-carb for years lead to higher levels of insulin resistance?
    • Stacy has personally experienced that going too low carb for over a year made her insulin resistant and negatively impacted her hormones
    • She believes that going too low carb for over a year triggered her autoimmune condition
    • Stacy thinks it boils down to simply having more carbs, and that it doesn’t need to be much
    • Incorporating more fat also helped Stacy regulate her insulin
    • Now Stacy incorporates healthier carbohydrates primarily in the evening around her workouts, with a moderate carb intake throughout the day
    • Be sure to continue to monitor your labs as you go about regulating your insulin
    • Listen to your body and don’t let perfectionism stress you out while you navigate this path
    • When you go too low carb, it is very hard to get the nutrients you need without vegetables and fruits – be sure to focus on nutrient density while recovering from being too low carb
  • (1:18:10) Stacy wants to note that for those who are watching their health and for those who have experienced sugar cravings from carbohydrates, going low carb can be a helpful tool – test it for a short stretch of time to let your body adjust and then introduce higher quantities until you find your optimal intake
  • We will be back next week with a special guest! Talk to you then!
• 1:24:32 Outro