Glucose and insulin

I lost my desire to eat many carbohydrates after I read about the influence of glucose and insulin on the body.

When we eat carbs, glucose enters the body. As a result of an increased glucose level (blood sugar), insulin is released to lower the glucose level. This is the exact bodily process I want to avoid. Carbs trigger the highest response of glucose and insulin, so I don't eat them on a normal basis.

From my perspective, the more carbs I eat, the less healthy I am.

Day-to-day benefit: Prevent low energy, feeling tired, and feeling hungry

Carbohydrates like grains and sugars negatively influence me on a day-to-day basis and I can feel it. I'm very good at staying true to the "no processed carbs" rule because I know it's good for me.

I used to be tired and hungry every day. It was just part of the day. As we eat carbohydrates, our glucose level (blood sugar) spikes and it gives us energy. When glucose levels come down from their high and fall below the normal level, we can get tried and feel hungry.

Our body demands more glucose by making us tried and hungry. I was caught in this vicious cycle of continually feeding myself with glucose. Tired and hungry on repeat.

These feelings can ruin a day and they controlled me when I ate a carbohydrate diet. Before my lifestyle change, I needed to eat breakfast or I would be wildly hungry and unhappy by 10am.

Today I have the feeling of hunger under control completely. I eat when I want to eat, not when my body demands it.

As for being tired—I get tired when it’s time to go to sleep. No mid-day sleepiness.

I have more control over my body when I don’t eat carbohydrates.

Long term expected benefit: Prevent diseases, manage weight gain, increase overall happiness

I believe eating processed carbs (like grains and sugars) for the remainder of my life will negatively impact my long-term health.

When we consume glucose, insulin is produced as a response. More glucose (carbs) = more insulin released.

Insulin resistance (the inability to properly use insulin after overusing it) is a best known as the cause for Type 2 Diabetes. Some people believe insulin resistance is the reason many people are overweight and can’t lose weight.

This book makes an interesting argument that insulin resistance causes most modern chronic illness. Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, everything… insulin resistance plays a role in the development of the disease. If the body is not efficient at using insulin, there is a waterfall of issues, which cause disease.

As my family has a deep relationship with cancer, the reduction of glucose intake and insulin release in my body gives me a better chance to avoid this fate. I always thought cancer was my destiny, which was a negative way to think about it. After reading several books that insisted disease is not purely genetic, I knew a lifestyle change could help me avoid it.

Insulin has another fun job—it does not allow the body to burn our existing fat storage. It’s helps pack glucose into fat storage and it blocks the process of burning fat. As someone who can gain wait with ease, insulin is something I want to avoid.

If your body type allows you to gain weight easily, like mine, insulin can help make that weight gain even more extreme. As you gain more weight, it becomes more difficult to lose that weight due to your body’s new built up resistance to insulin. It’s a vicious, dangerous cycle.

“But not all carbohydrates are equal!”

Right now I'm testing the intake of natural carbs like fruits, beans, and root vegetables.

More on this soon...