There are almost 6 million people living with diabetes (type 1 & 2) in Canada, and almost as many who are pre-diabetic!
By request, I'm going to talk about blood sugar levels in the body today. There are varying levels of dysfunction in sugar levels within the body - from regular high/low sugar spikes to prediabetes, and of course type 1 & 2 diabetes as well.
People with type 1 diabetes that I see usually have their sugar & insulin levels well controlled and are very knowledgeable in what their body is doing and how to manage it.
Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in middle age - on average between 45-65 years old, and is about 90% of diabetes cases in Canada. There is a genetic component to type 2 diabetes, but there's also a huge lifestyle component. Being overweight is a risk factor, drinking sugary drinks (juice, pop, sports drinks), eating refined carbs (white flour and sugar) are all linked to type 2 diabetes. It is hard after 45+ years of living to make changes in your diet & lifestyle, but it is crucial for long term health while living with type 2 diabetes. Exercise, what you eat and even when & in what order you eat your meal can effect blood sugar levels!
Because there is such a large lifestyle component to type 2 diabetes, there are many things that we can do to help treat and prevent it. Being pre-diabetic and having noticeable hyper/hypo glycemic events are good warning signs to start making some changes.
There is blood work that can be done to monitor sugar levels (e.g. HbA1C). I also love Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) - they track sugar levels in your interstitial fluid (which reflect blood sugar levels) in real time so we are able to see what different foods & activities do to your sugar levels in real time! Many people with type 1 Diabetes use CGMs to monitor their condition, but they can also be used by those who are just wanting to check in on what their body is doing to optimize their health!
I wore a CGM for 2 weeks in the fall and it was awesome to learn new things about my body - what it liked and didn't like (spoiler alert - my body didn't like raisin bran and starbucks decaf soy lattes).
If you want to talk sugar and CGMs, please reach out! Last but not least, my favourite Instagram account on sugar regulation is: https://www.instagram.com/glucosegoddess/
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