Diabetes is all about glucose. But what is glucose exactly?
Few people know what glucose is and what it does to your body.
That is why in this article you'll get 7 facts about glucose and you'll learn how you can stabilize your glucose level.
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What is glucose? The truth revealed
When you have diabetes, a huge pile of terms is thrown at you. One of the most important is glucose, or dextrose.
Unfortunately, insufficient explanation is given about what glucose means and what the function of glucose is in the body.
If you have diabetes, I advice you to become an expert on glucose. That is, if you want to prevent highs and lows. Because, both high and low blood glucose levels is no fun.
And the term "glucose" is the key to the development of your disease.
Your body needs it. It is the main fuel for most cells in your body. From your brain cells to your muscle cells: they are all in line for their shot of glucose.
I hear you thinking: "All fine and well with this glucose thing but how can I measure it in my own body?"
You can measure your blood glucose with a glucose meter. This device literally determines how much glucose is in your blood. You can do this while fasting or after a meal. A good/normal glucose value also depends on the moment when the blood glucose measurement takes place.
Purpose of this article
Glucose is found in nutrients but also in our body. The question: "what is glucose?" therefore relates to several aspects.
Actually there is a kind of hate/love relationship between this substance and our body. We need it, but preferably not too much. I will explain how this works in the tips below. That is why in this article I will reveal 7 facts that you absolutely must know about glucose.
#1 When is glucose healthy?
Glucose enters your body through your nutrition. It mainly occurs in plants: vegetables, grains and fruit. The word "glucose" comes from the Greek word for sweet. This is because the food that mainly consists of glucose has a sweet taste.
So, glucose is found in vegetables, fruit and grains. In your gastrointestinal tract, all parts of those foods are separated from each other and among other things, glucose is extracted.
A fun fact:
Scientists believe that certain food tastes sweet, and therefore tastes good, because your body needs it:
The glucose content in edible plants is by nature quite low.
The bad food industry
But because people like glucose so much, the food industry has found ways to dispose plants as much as possible of all its parts, except those with glucose.
That makes it more attractive for people to buy their products. So the food industry has cleverly responded to this.
In nature, glucose does not occur in the quantities used in sweets. Potatoes and grains come close to that, but they have been cultivated and crossed with each other for thousands of years, so the amount of glucose has increased.
In addition, as primeval people they did not know agriculture at all and therefore also no grains and potatoes.
Important information
Our brain thinks: "The sweeter the better." But it is still under the assumption that we live in a natural environment where people have not tampered with the food around us.
Your brain does not understand that the amount of glucose in modern food affects your taste buds and that makes you crave sweeter food even more.
Below is a list of processed foods that are high in glucose:
The conclusion is:
#2 What does glucose do in your body
Glucose is important. It is the main fuel of your body.
First of all, it is necessary for your brain cells. They need it to function. In addition, the other cells in your body also want glucose. For example, muscles use it to flex and relax. Without glucose, your body would not function properly.
When you eat something, the enzymes in your mouth, stomach and intestines breakdown the nutrients. For example, starch is broken down into smaller glucose molecules so that it can be absorbed into your blood.
When your body notices that a lot of glucose is coming in, insulin is released in the pancreas. This hormone ensures that glucose is removed from your blood and then transported to the body cells. Your cells can then use the glucose as energy.
TYPE 2 DIABETES
If you have type 2 diabetes, these cells are initially insensitive to insulin. In other words, the glucose channels do not open. As a result, the glucose molecules cannot be transported to the cells. This creates a excess of glucose in your blood, which leads to health problems.
What is the difference between glucose and fructose?
Fructose is a form of sugar that originates from fruit. And glucose is generally found in vegetables and grains. They are both sugars. Yet they are absorbed differently in the body.
The result is that fructose has less effect on your blood sugar level. Fructose is often used as added sugar in processed products. This is because it is many times sweeter than glucose.
Watch out
That does not mean that you can now stuff yourself with fructose. A "slightly smaller" effect is very different from "no" effect and fructose clearly belongs to the first category. In addition, there is reason to be careful with how much fructose you take in.
A high fructose intake has been associated with various forms of cancer. In addition, your liver has quite a hard time processing large amounts fructose. That is not something to be happy about. It can cause a fatty liver. That's why it's better to be careful with the amount of fructose you take in.
You want to avoid anything that has been processed and contains added sugar. The body cannot do anything with these sugars. In addition, it ensures a sky-high blood sugar level.
Fructose from fruit is another story. Nature has arranged it in such a way, that the fructose enters your body in a nice package, so that this sugar is absorbed much more slowly into the bloodstream. There are fibers and other substances around it that causes this. In addition, fruit contains vitamins and minerals.
#3 This is how much glucose you need in a day
Glucose. This is something that most people think you need very badly.
Fortunately our body is made in such a way that we can live very well without sugars and therefore glucose. For example, sugars appear to do more harm than good.
In general, too much glucose intake causes a lot of lifestyle diseases. You should think of:
The average person eats between 200 and 250 grams of carbs (sugar) a day. This is quite an amount. A human body can work great on 50 grams of carbs a day. This is called a low-carb diet.
If you want to get rid of your type 2 diabetes, you will have to lower your carbs and therefore your glucose intake.
It will be hard at first because there is a good chance that you are a sugar addict. Anyone who now says they are not addicted should first think twice.
And I don't blame you at all, because in the past completely different things were told about what is and isn't healthy. But there is 1 thing we can conclude...
...you develop diabetes because you eat too much:
Therefore, try reducing the amount of glucose and carbs to 50 to 100 grams a day. I know this is quite a task but it will certainly help you to achieve a healthy glucose level.
#4 The different names of glucose
Suppose you are cooking. And you have found a can or package of which you think the content will do good for your recipe.
Manufacturers are in fact stars when it comes to using glucose in the most non-sugary dishes. They do this in a devious manner by putting glucose on the label under a different name. So you do not realize that there is glucose in it, but as a diabetes patient you do get the adverse effects.
You should therefore prevent this as much as possible.
Here is the list:
Click here for an extensive list of sugar names
#5 What is glucose? The difference in processed and unprocessed food
I've mentioned it before. But the food industry is doing its utmost to serve your food with as much glucose as possible and as little as possible with other nutrients.
These other nutrients ensure that your sugar level is contained. These are very healthy. Think of:
The glucose in natural and processed food is the same. But natural foods also contain other substances that prevent you from having problems with these sugars. All the products mentioned above ensure that the glycemic index and load of a product decreases. In other words, the sugars are better regulated by the body when these nutrients are in a product.
#6 Is glucose addictive?
You hear the wildest stories about sugar in the media.
When you look at the brain's response to glucose intake, you see that the brain's reward center becomes active. That is not strange.
All cells in our body use glucose. So it is very useful that the reward center in your brain is activated. At least that used to be useful so that you at least ate enough.
This reward center also becomes active if someone uses cocaine. Various studies have been done on this.
It has been determined, for example, that sugar activates the reward center just as much or even more than cocaine does.
That is the whole reason why sugar is just as addictive as cocaine. Now you don't get any strong withdrawal symptoms (you don't get that with cocaine either) but you shouldn't be surprised if you get a headache or feel a strong urge for sugars.
In fact, when you compare a brain scan of a cocaine addict to a brain scan of a sugar addict (obese person), these images are exactly the same.
Just like a drug, you need more and more sugar to create the same effect in your brain. You need more and more to feel happy. See the image below.
You can of course unlearn this. Especially products with added sugar have these effects on your brain. Think of:
Stop eating sugars and unhealthy products is certainly difficult in the beginning, but it will certainly do your health well!
#7 How do you get a normal blood glucose value?
Glucose is the instigator of diabetes. This nutrient is reflected in every story. That's because eating too much sugar causes damage to your body.
You now know what glucose does to your body and how you got diabetes.
It is therefore very important to reduce your glucose intake. You can only lower your blood glucose value by eating healthy.
Ideally, you should therefore only eat unprocessed products.
Do you want to know exactly how you can lower your blood glucose level? You can read that in this article.
When you eat a full plate of vegetables and meat, you will find that you are not in the mood for unhealthy carb-rich meals. So make sure that you continue to eat enough, but by eating healthy products.
There are many things that you can still eat, so in my nutritional advice I will teach you not only what you should avoid but also what you should eat.
The Diabetes-free Secret
Now you know exactly what glucose is and what it does to your body. But if you want to get your glucose level fixed and get rid of your diabetes, you will have to do something about your lifestyle.
Recently it has been discovered that it is possible to reverse type 2 diabetes. Everything you need to do this can be found in your local grocery store.
You can reverse type 2 with one powerful principle. It's something I call the"The Diabetes-Free Secret". I have written a number of pages about this secret that will change your life forever. You will learn:
Enter your e-mail address below and I will send you the E-book for free.
Greetings,
Marloes Schuurman
P.s: did you know that diabetes is caused by an excessive intake of glucose? What do you do to get rid of your diabetes? Leave a comment below