Blood sugar count even higher?

[lifetolife]

Hello Everyone,

I just introduced my mother to this lifestyle and she is trying it and on her second week. Her average blood sugar count has been around 115 every morning before food and today it sky rocketed to 149! Is this a normal reaction to the raw foods diet/part of detoxing? Does anyone have any medical background or past experiences to explain this? Thanks in advance to any responses.

L2L

[Doe]

Lesson 73 (http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/carbohydrate-metabolism-disease/index.html) in TC Fry's course for Hatural Hygienists is about carbohydrate metabolism. You may want to read the whole lesson.

The following is from www.foodnsport.com (http://www.foodnsport.com/) FAQs section:

If too much sugar is not good for you, why the emphasis on eating so much sweet fruit?

Before the body?s cells can utilize food for fuel, the food must first be converted into sugar, whether the originating food is carbohydrate, protein or fat. Carbohydrates are the easiest to convert to useful sugars. Fruits are mostly simple carbohydrates. It is much easier on the digestive system to process fruits for fuel because they are composed primarily of sugars, requiring much less digestive energy, and they come in a complete nutritional package of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats. When there are insufficient carbohydrates present to convert to sugar, the body will transform fat and protein into sugar, but at a higher cost: more time and energy spent on digestion with the creation of toxic residues.

I have candida or a yeast infection. How can I eat so much fruit?

Excess fat is the culprit in candida, not sugar, per se. When fat levels in the blood rise, so does blood sugar, because excess fat inhibits insulin from performing its function of escorting sugar out of the bloodstream. The excess fat lines the blood vessel walls, the cells, insulin receptor sites, the sugar molecules themselves, and the insulin with a thin coating of fat, thus blocking and inhibiting normal metabolic activity.

Too much sugar in the blood is as life threatening as too little and can result in serious illness or death. Yeast, or candida, is a constant presence in the blood; it serves as a life preservation mechanism, blooming when there is an excess of sugar in the blood stream to bring blood sugar down to a non-threatening level. When the sugar is distributed and used by the cells of the body, the yeast quickly dies off as it is supposed to.

If fat levels stay chronically high due to a poor diet, sugar will remain in the bloodstream and feed the large candida colonies instead of feeding the 18 trillion cells of your body. Starved for fuel, these cells can no longer metabolize energy, and you become tired, and feel rundown. Because all carbohydrate, fat, and protein that we eat is converted to simple sugar (glucose) if it is to be used by the cells for fuel, the way out of this cycle is not to eat less sugar, but to consume less fat. When fat levels drop, the sugar starts to get processed and distributed again, and the yeast levels drop because there is no longer excess sugar available.
Hope this helps,
Teri S

[JEN]

Please share with us what your mother is eating so we can help.

[juliebove]

I presmume that your mother has been diagnosed with diabetes? If not, she needs to see her Dr. because these numbers are not normal. Normal is <110. If she does have diabetes, then these numbers are normal for a diabetic. A tad higher than what she would want, but the types of numbers a diabetic would have, especially if they are consuming too many carbs.

What is she eating for breakfast? If it's fruit then that's why her numbers are too high. There is something called dawn phenomenon that happens to us when we sleep. The liver dumps glucose into our system usually around 4:00 a.m. or so. This is not a problem for people who do not have diabetes because the insulin circulating in their body takes care of it. However, a diabetic either does not produce enough insulin (or any insulin in the case of type 1) or they produce too much insulin but suffer from insulin resistance. What happens to the diabetic when their liver dumps glucose is that it can attach itself to the cell walls of the blood cells and we then have high blood sugar. Many of us find that a snack of some carbs and some protein or fat before bed can help stop this from happening. If we have food in our system, our body might not feel the need to dump the glucose. Some people have found that they need to wake up throughout the night and test their blood sugar. They can then determine at what point of the night this "spike" occurs for them. They can then set an alarm clock on subsequent nights to ring an hour or so before this liver dump occurs and eat a snack then. Nuts or seeds work well as a snack. But many of us find that simply eating the snack before bed is enough.

Another factor is that the body is the most insulin resistant first thing in the morning. Not a problem for a "normal" person. But a problem for a diabetic. A newly diagnosed diabetic might find they can eat more carbs for breakfast. But diabetes is a progressive disease and after a while, most diabetics find they can't eat much more than fat and protein and maybe 8g or so of carbs in the morning. They might be able to eat more carbs later in the day. They might also find that when it comes to fruits and juices, some things work better than others for them. Some people find they can eat melons and strawberries with no problems. But tropical fruits or cherries might raise their blood sugar to unacceptable levels. Juices like celery, onion, carrot and tomato are lower in carbs than juices like grape or orange.

Now it's also possible that your mom does not have full blown diabetes. She might have pre-diabetes (formerly called impaired glucose tolerance), an undiagnosed or improperly treated thyroid problem or is taking a medication that is causing blood sugar problems. Steroids are notorius for raising blood sugar and can cause a temporary form of diabetes. Beta Blockers and some psychiatric meds have been linked to causing diabetes in people who might otherwise not have gotten it. Pancreatitis can also raise blood sugar.

So if your mom has not been diagnosed with a blood sugar problem, she needs to see a Dr. (preferably an Endocrinologist) to find out what the problem is. With proper diet and exercise she could get things under control quickly and perhaps escape any complications. If she has already been diagnosed, then she just needs to watch the carbs a little more carefully. Most of us aim for <110 fasting and <120 at two hours after eating. So her numbers are not that bad, but they are a little high. She should have an A1c test done. This test tracks the blood cells back for about three months to see how her blood sugar has been doing. It's not an average. It's a little more complicated than that. When it comes to diabetes, averages don't mean much. I could live my life going from hypos to spikes and still have a good average. Hypos can cause brain damage or death if you are driving a car, operating machinery, etc. Spikes can cause neuropathy (nerve damage), blindess, heart problems, etc.

[Doe]

Here is the trailer of a movie about research that was done concerning raw foods and diabetes: Raw for 30 Days Reversing Diabetes Naturally (http://www.rawfor30days.com/rawfor30dayswmp.html)

In every case where the raw diet was followed for the entire 30 day period the diabetes was completely reversed. Some quit as soon as detox hit and one drank alcohol the whole time. These of course did not have results.

Teri S

[lifetolife]

Yes, My Mother's Doctor did diagnose her with impaired glucose tolerance and told her to change her diet to a low calorie/low fat/low sugar plus excersize. She has altered her diet drastically and I have been here with her for a week already feeding her a diet of lots of dark greens, sprouted nuts, seeds and sprouts, wheatgrass juice and of course fruit smoothies. Although she is not completely 100% raw yet, her diet is about 75% raw. It's just curious why her blood sugar count went up over 30 points this morning!

Thank you Juliebove and Doe for the info. We'll just have to have faith that eating properly with excersize will eventually get those numbers down.

L2L

[juliebove]

Yes, My Mother's Doctor did diagnose her with impaired glucose tolerance and told her to change her diet to a low calorie/low fat/low sugar plus excersize. She has altered her diet drastically and I have been here with her for a week already feeding her a diet of lots of dark greens, sprouted nuts, seeds and sprouts, wheatgrass juice and of course fruit smoothies. Although she is not completely 100% raw yet, her diet is about 75% raw. It's just curious why her blood sugar count went up over 30 points this morning!

Thank you Juliebove and Doe for the info. We'll just have to have faith that eating properly with excersize will eventually get those numbers down.

L2L

I would suggest to your mother that she find a new Dr. One that actually knows how to treat such a medical condition. Eating sugar and eating fruit are really no different. Most fruit is loaded with natural sugar. So smoothies are not the best thing for her. If she had fruit for breakfast there's your reason right there. Now mind you, I am not saying she "should" eat sugar. But when you have impaired glucose functioning, then a carb is a carb is a carb. Doesn't matter if it comes from pasta, bread, cane sugar, apple juice, whatever. Has the same effect on the blood sugar. That old notion of eating no sugar was done away with in the 1980s.

And remember that not all fruits are created equal. You might consider a piece of fruit to be a serving. But to a person with impaired glucose, it might not be. 1/2 of a small banana is a serving to a diabetic. And most of us find we'll have blood sugar through the roof if we try to eat it in the morning. Grapes, cherries and tropical fruits can be troublesome for others. I can usually eat 1/2 a grapefruit, 1 cup of strawberries or a small apple or pear or a small amount of coconut without it raising my blood sugar to unacceptable levels. More recently I've been adding dried fruits in very small amounts (perhaps 1 T.), mixed with nuts. I am not the best one to ask about fruit though since I don't like most fruits and would not normally eat them for that reason.

Your mother would do well to go to a dietician who can best determine how many carbs she should eat in a meal and also the breakdown of other components such as fat, protein, etc. She might be shocked to learn how many carbs are in some of those fruits!

She might try eating large green salads with plenty of other veggies in there like tomatoes, onion, cucumber, carrots, peppers, etc. Yes, I know tomatoes and peppers are technically fruits biologically speaking but we eat them as vegetables so they're in a different category.