The Importance of Proper Glucose Metabolism

Have you ever watched a young child open up one of their special paper “candy” tubes (usually purple) and dump a straw like column of pure sugar (glucose) down their throat? Undoubtedly you have, and it is disgusting. After all, we are responsible adults and we would never do something like that, right? Undoubtedly wrong. Often we adults are worse – a super-sized soft drink with a Reese’s, a large lemonade - really? How many lemons do you think are in that yellow or pink concoction?
Often our bodies just simply take it – at least for a time. When our every tissue is in revolt, diabetes manifests itself and we get the goofy unfair look on our face. Please realize that every time we eat, our bodies must process various sugars and other nutrients found in our wonder diets. Our digestive enzymes begin to work – often overwork – trying to dice, slice and put in the right places all those proteins, fats, and sugars.

One of the toughest challenges are the various sugars that are brought in and there are a bunch of them. We must move them along quickly into storage sites, mainly liver and not let the serum reservoir overflow. If too much sugar is in the blood, we get groggy and start to do unwise things. Eventually, if the sugar is really high, we go into a coma and then the good doctors get a crack at trying to bring us back to normalcy. The process by which our bodies deal with sugars is called “glucose metabolism.”

What I see on a daily basis with my patients is that most do not have adequate healing response to deal with glucose loads effectively. They need a tune up and often a jump start. Remember, our healing response is what our bodies do to help us. It is based on knowledge, experience and resources. If our bodies are faced with a large glucose loads, we had better be ready, willing and able to take on the challenge.

Many people are losing the battle. They need a wake up call. Many have blood sugar levels that are simply too high, which means their bodies are unable to adequately process the sugars floating around in their blood. In these cases, a medical phenomenon develops called “insulin resistance,” low energy and weight gain. When physicians see insulin resistance, often their first response is to put you on insulin. This is a bad idea unless the clinical situation is life threatening. If your physician simply puts you on insulin, you stop making your own and often are on the one-way slope of getting, and always having diabetes.

Let’s get smart. Wise up. This is what I teach my patients to do when they are overweight and their blood tests show a “tipping over” sugar condition. In addition to a good diet filled with whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products and lean meats (notice I didn’t also add sugary snacks and drinks!), I have found through my research that many vitamins, minerals and other natural remedies can also help our bodies process glucose and maintain a healthy and balanced level.
For example, three of the B-vitamins have impressed me for their impact on glucose metabolism. Thiamine or B1 has been found to help the body get energy from the sugars in the blood. Biotin can help our bodies utilize glucose properly and may even help us become more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Pantothenic acid, or B5, helps the carbs that we eat turn into energy our bodies can use.
Chromium has received a lot of attention over the past decade or so for its role in glucose metabolism. In my opinion this is highly warranted. Chromium works along with the insulin we have in our blood to help the sugars get out of our bloodstream and into the cells, where they are needed for energy. In addition, a supplement called vanadium appears to do the same thing.
Magnesium is another mineral that may help with glucose metabolism. As an interesting side note, most of the diabetics I see in my office are low in this nutrient.

Herbal remedies may also be useful for glucose metabolism. The crepe myrtle plant can help stabilize the balance of blood sugar, and gymnema sylvestre may assist people with both Type I and Type II diabetes in regard to insulin usage and blood sugar control.

Finally, the amino acid L-Glutamine has impressed me for its proven ability to actually help reduce our cravings for sugar, and alpha lipoic acid can help keep those all-important blood sugar levels under control.

When taken in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle and enough rest, these supplements can help stabilize your blood sugar levels and get your glucose metabolism mechanism working efficiently and properly once again.

Ding, ding – wake up call. Becoming unhealthy is not a lightning bolt experience. It doesn’t happen overnight. Become empowered and do what is necessary so that you have salubrity for a long time to come.

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