Cadence Diabetes with Doctor Ron
[Cadence Benefits]
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[Pre-diabetes/Diabetes: A Metabolic Traffic Problem]
I’m Doctor Ronesh Sinha and I design corporate wellness programs in Silicon Valley.
[Dr. Ronesh Sinha, Internal Medicine]
The number of individuals diagnosed with pre-diabetes and diabetes is on the rise.
This is putting millions at risk for heart disease, cancer and even Alzheimer’s Disease.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that you can minimize your risks. But first, let’s take a minute to understand carbohydrates, blood glucose and insulin resistance.
Carbs are chains of glucose broken down by our digestive system into individual glucose molecules. Where those molecules land in our bodies is the problem…or, as I like to call it, a carbohydrate parking problem.
Imagine carbs being loaded into this glucose truck --- and imagine that this truck uses insulin as a parking pass. Once loaded, the truck has three major parking lots to unload carbs: your muscles, your fat cells or your liver.
The ideal place to unload would be the muscle lot – where a physically-active body could burn those carbs for energy. But if your muscles are not active, they could be insulin resistant and reject the insulin parking pass.
If that’s the case, the truck will go to the next stop to unload – which is your fat cells – and create unwanted body fat.
Which brings us to the liver. If excess carbs park there, you could develop a fatty liver. Or, the liver could convert the glucose into dangerous cholesterol particles.
To review-the overall goal is to park carbohydrates in the muscle lot and away from the fat lot or the liver lot. How do we do this?
First, reduce glucose traffic by eating fewer carbohydrates. Eat more colorful vegetables, especially leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower. Add more healthy protein and fats to your meals to keep you full, and naturally reduce your appetite for starchy food.
Second, your muscles need to be active to generate a demand for glucose. If you spend most of your day sitting, your muscles won't have a need for energy, so glucose will just be stored away as fat in your fat cells and your liver. So, get moving!
Use a step tracker to get at least 7,000 steps in each day. And take at least a 10-minute walk after meals, especially heavier meals with carbohydrates.
Finally, don’t underestimate the impact of stress and sleep on blood glucose. One study showed getting less sleep for just one week turned healthy young males into pre-diabetics.
I know making lifestyle changes isn't easy. Focus on one change at a time. Try eating more vegetables, proteins and healthy fats. Or focus on stress management and improved sleep habits. These relatively small changes can lead to big improvements in blood glucose control and your overall health.
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