Heathy Blood Sugar, Youthful Appearance
Thanks for clicking this open! My intention is to empower us to make informed choices for the health of ourselves, family, community, and Earth.
Last week we learned that glycation accelerates skin aging. To refresh, glycation occurs when there is excess sugar in the blood so it attaches to proteins and fats. In skin, glycation degrades collagen and elastin.
I recently came across a study that looked at blood sugar levels and perceived age (the age someone is visually estimated to be based on how they look). The study concluded that the higher the blood sugar, the higher the perceived age (1)! This week I focus on diet and blood sugar. The information below comes from the Institute of Functional Medicine.
There are two ways to assess food’s impact on blood sugar: the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL). GI measures the impact of a carbohydrate-containing food on blood glucose levels. Ideally, we eat low GI foods so that only small fluctuations in blood glucose are produced. Examples of low GI foods include: legumes (ie soy, kidney, beans, lentils, chickpeas), nuts (ie almonds, walnuts), seeds (ie pumpkin, flax, sesame, most intact grains (oat, barley, spelt), and most vegetables and fruits (ie peaches and berries).
One tip to remember is that medium and higher GI foods should be eaten with protein or fat, both of which slow down the blood sugar effect. Examples include: raisins, most whole-grain breads and grain products, brown or white rice, bananas, and starchy vegetables like potatoes to name a few. You can try this out by adding almond butter to your apple or banana, or sprinkle raisins on peanut buttered celery.
Foods containing refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and refined grains are considered high-GI because they lead to big spikes in blood sugar levels. Examples include: caks, cookies, donuts, white bread, most breakfast cereals, muffins, and other processed foods.
GI recognizes the impact of a single food and glycemic load (GL), looks at the glycemic impact of the diet as a whole. Eating low GI and GL foods in combination with portion control helps stabilize blood sugars throughout the day. When blood sugar is stable, you will experience less hunger, cravings, and have better health results overall.
Many veggies and fruits are low-GL like: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, green beans, mushrooms, spinach, kiwi, papaya, and watermelon. The more beneficial whole grains that are both low-GI and low- or medium-GL are: steel-cut oats, rolled oats, bulgur, and barley. Whole-grain rye bread and crackers with seeds and oats are both low-GI and low-GL. Other grains and breads are all medium-GI and medium-GL
Diets like the Mediterranean and Paleo are recommended because of their low carbohydrate and therefore glycemic controlling effects (2,3). If you’re curious about your blood sugar status, you can connect with your doc or look into a continuous glucose monitor which tracks your blood sugars throughout the day.
Healthy blood sugar levels are foundational to a healthy body and also a youthful appearance. Thanks for reading.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3543736/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24357346/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3977406/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25081082/