Metabolic and Mental Health
Understand Blood Glucose Levels, Learn to Measure and Monitor Them to Lower the Risks of Diabetes
Proactive blood sugar management might lower the risks of obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and dementia.
The Inspiration and Purpose of the Article
I wrote this article for millions of people who might be living with pre-diabetes unknowingly but looking for solutions in the wrong places, as I used to do, and blamed myself as inept.
This post explains the importance of managing blood glucose proactively and provides practical tips to measure and monitor them as a foresighted and holistic health approach.
This post is not health advice. It provides information and creates awareness and inspiration, reflecting on my years of experience, observations, and reviews.
What is blood glucose and its level, and why it matters
Our blood has a specific amount of glucose at a given time. As documented in this paper on Endocrinology and Metabolism, “four grams of glucose exist in the blood of a person weighing 70 kg. This glucose is critical for normal function in many cell types.”
Considering a single donut includes 30 grams of sugar, four grams of glucose in the bloodstream at a given time is incredibly low. So keeping this fact in mind might be helpful when consuming our food.
The body has a very tight regulation for glucose management. The liver, with help from other organs such as the pancreas, is the main organ orchestrating the sugar between blood and tissues.
Every cell in the tissue needs glucose as an energy source. Muscle tissues consume more glucose than others.
Our bodies need a delicate balance for blood sugar. Too much or too little can disrupt the body’s homeostasis and cause severe health issues such as type II diabetes leading to other metabolic diseases and even affecting our neurological and mental health.
So the critical point is the management of blood glucose levels is necessary to stay healthy and enjoy life. Blood glucose management is not a trivial matter, even though some people don’t pay much attention to it. For example, 442 million people live with diabetes.
This health condition (type II diabetes) causes significant suffering and leads to other health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and dementia. Thus, being proactive and at least catching it on its onset can be an excellent health investment.
The scientific name for blood glucose level is glycaemic. Some papers in the literature also use blood sugar concentration.
The body uses various hormones to maintain a delicate glucose balance in the body. The master metabolic hormone is insulin. The next one is glucagon. They also have other functions.
How does the body handle too much or too little glucose, and what are the health implications?
As the bloodstream can handle only around four grams of sugar at a time and see more as toxic, when it passes the threshold, the body eliminates it quickly using insulin hormone.
Insulin then distributes blood glucose to various cells. The priority is given to muscle cells as our muscles require constant energy to survive.
When muscle cells are full, they stop responding to insulin signals. Then, insulin sends the excess glucose to fat cells. The glucose is turned into fat molecules and is saved for future use.
This process continues depending on our food intake and activities. However, when we constantly have too much glucose in the bloodstream because of consuming food and not moving, the pancreas creates more insulin to handle it.
After a while, the muscle cells become insulin resistant, and fat cells keep growing, particularly in the abdominal area that stores visceral fat, leading to obesity.
The adverse effects of insulin resistance on our health and well-being are significant. For example, all metabolic diseases are associated with insulin resistance, which is thought to be the elephant in the room.
You might ask, how about too little glucose? For healthy people, if we refrain from food for a while and stay active, the body uses the glycogen stores to supply glucose to the cells via the bloodstream. However, glycogen stores are minimal.
When glycogen stores are depleted, the body change to a different biochemical mode. The glucogenesis and lipolysis process starts. Gluconeogenesis means that the body converts amino acids and even fat molecules to glucose.
Lipolysis, as documented in this NIH book, “is the metabolic process through which triacylglycerols break down via hydrolysis into their constituent molecules: glycerol and free fatty acids.”
I explained the importance of triglycerides, as they are as important as sugar levels, in an article titled Why High Triglyceride Levels Matter and How to Optimize Them.
When the body starts glucogenesis and lipolysis, another energy source, known as ketone bodies through ketosis, manifests to supply energy to the brain and other organs.
This alternative energy also serves as a signaling molecule for our cells, bringing numerous health benefits, such as reducing inflammation, initiating autophagy or mitophagy, and increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF).
So, while too much sugar can make a healthy person unhealthy, reducing glucose might make a healthy person healthier. However, too little sugar (in adequate calories), which means starvation, can also cause serious health issues and even cause death after a while if not addressed.
Furthermore, for people who are not fat-adapted or have underlying health conditions, low blood glucose can cause excess hunger, nervousness, anxiety, light-headedness, perspiration, or confusion.
This condition is called hypoglycemia and must be treated by qualified healthcare professionals by ingesting glucose in the right amount via different means.
How Can we measure/monitor blood glucose, and what do results mean?
Even though family doctors or medical specialists measure and monitor blood glucose for people with metabolic disorders, most of us nowadays can measure and monitor them using devices and software applications.
We can measure our blood glucose levels using devices called blood glucose monitors and test strips, as shown in the cover image of this story.
By creating a little blood with a finger prick and exposing the blood to the strip, the device can show the glucose levels in either mg/dL or mmol/L format. These formats might vary from one country to another.
For people with high risks, service providers can provide continuous glucose monitor (CGM) test kits for home use by individuals or caregivers.
Even though we can measure blood glucose levels at different times, the best indicator for health conditions is on an empty stomach (no caloric food or drink) after at least eight hours of fasting.
As documented by the Cleveland Clinic with guidance from the American Diabetes Association, fasting blood glucose levels:
70 to 99 mg/dL (3.9 to 5.5 mmol/L) is normal.
100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) indicates pre-diabetes.
126 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/L) or higher on more than one testing occasion indicates diabetes.
In addition to regular blood glucose monitoring, our family doctors or specialists can also check the hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen coming from the lungs to the rest of our body.
HbA1c tests show the amount of blood glucose attached to our hemoglobin. This is a critical test for healthcare professionals to understand and support patients with pre-diabetes or type II diabetes.
In this consumer brochure, the American Diabetes Association suggests “the following targets for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes. A1C targets differ based on age and health. Also, more or less stringent glycemic goals may be appropriate for each individual.
A1C: Less than 7% (A1C may also be reported as eAG: Less than 154 mg/dL)
Before a meal (preprandial plasma glucose): 80–130 mg/dL
1–2 hours after the beginning of the meal (postprandial plasma glucose): Less than 180 mg/dL.”
Regularly checking our blood glucose at home and getting HbA1c checked through a referral from our family doctors as they see appropriate, we can monitor our blood glucose and take appropriate actions to manage them better and lower the risks of metabolic diseases.
Learning the risks of diabetes can be valuable in preventing other conditions such as heart disease. According to British Heart Foundation, the risk factors for type II diabetes are:
“being over the age of 40, South Asian, Chinese, African-Caribbean or black African background, a close relative has diabetes, overweight or large waist size, high blood pressure, pregnancy or previous gestational diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, schizophrenia, bipolar illness, or depression, or taking antipsychotic medication.”
In the next section, I share my experience to give you an idea.
My Success Story for Managing Blood Glucose and Staying Insulin Sensitive
In this next section, I’d like to summarize my experience to give you an idea of how I transformed from a pre-diabetic situation to a fat-burning metabolism. I call it a fat-adapted state.
In my mid-twenties, I had no idea about the importance of blood sugar on my health. With ignorance, I was on low-fat/high-carb diets causing excessive blood sugar fluctuations.
The physical and psychological symptoms were unbearable. I called them nightmares in a previous story. In a nutshell, I lost significant muscle while still having belly fat and experienced psychological issues such as anxiety and brain fog.
Once I learned the importance and mechanism of blood glucose levels, I obtained support from qualified healthcare professionals and trusted advisors who paved the path from metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance to a well-functioning metabolism and insulin-sensitive body.
I’d like to summarize the critical points that helped me.
To have a customized diet including low-carb/high-fat/moderate-protein (aka ketogenic diet),
I chose keto-carnivore and some friends did keto-vegan. The common point was to cut refined carbs and processed food.
Initially skipping one meal (breakfast) and later
Adapting a one-meal eating regimen
Personalized workouts with less cardio, more resistance training such as calisthenics, isometric training such as planks, and joyful workouts such as trampoline.
Even though I intermittently fast and don’t consume carbs, nowadays, my blood sugar levels are consistent with no fluctuations giving me the required energy and keeping me in a good mood.
When my blood sugar fluctuated, I had constant mood swings and terrible hunger. However, everyone does not need to have such a strict diet and eating regimens to reduce the risks of diabetes. I am carb-intolerant and have other reasons, such as improving my cognitive reserves.
After solving my pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome, I solved my other entangled health issues, gained a defined body with six-pack abs, protected my telomeres, and felt much younger than before.
Since I suffered from blood sugar fluctuations, but I fixed them with support from professionals and healthy lifestyle adjustments, I want to pass along this simple yet crucial shift in my metabolic and mental health stories.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Blood glucose management is not a trivial matter. High or low blood glucose can cause severe health issues. We need to find a delicate balance, as I explained in this story titled Sugar Paradox: Key to Solving Metabolic and Mental Health Disorders.
The body of knowledge documented the mechanism and associated conditions related to blood glucose imbalance. As a result, healthcare professionals nowadays have excellent processes and procedures to lower risks, understand symptoms, treat conditions, and deal with root causes.
Technology also made blood glucose measurement and monitoring easy and accessible for many of us. Investing in such devices can be valuable.
By managing our blood glucose with healthy lifestyle habits such as consuming nutrient-dense foods, regular exercise, and restorative sleep, we can make our bodies more insulin-sensitive and metabolically well-functioning.
Let’s also keep in mind that sugar is an addictive molecule, unlike other nutrients, as mentioned in DeltaFosB studies.
The key takeaway points for this article are to understand the importance of blood glucose levels, measure them, and take proactive actions to prevent the formation of associated disorders such as metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes.
The earlier we identify the problems, the better they can be treated. As informed by CDC , “90% of 88 million Americans might have pre-diabetes not knowingly”. Thus, we need to pay attention to our blood sugar management and create awareness for our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and community members.
As an optimist, I always keep hope and believe in the healing power of our bodies. Some people in my circles reversed their diabetes, some flipped to obesity, and some got rid of their addictions with healthy lifestyle choices.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Let’s take this information and use it to make a meaningful difference in our lives and those we care about. Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
Besides aiming to increase the hormonal intelligence of my readers and writing about neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, GABA, acetylcholine, and norepinephrine, one of my goals as a writer is to raise awareness about the causes and risk factors of prevalent diseases that can lead to suffering and death for a large portion of the population.
I aim to educate, create awareness, and empower my readers to take control of their health and well-being.
To raise awareness about health issues, I have written several articles that present my holistic health findings from research, personal observations, and unique experiences. Below are links to these articles for easy access.
Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, and Major Diseases.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients to improve metabolism and mental health.
Disclaimer: Please note that my posts do not include professional or health advice. I document my reviews, observations, experience, and perspectives only to provide information and create awareness.
I publish my lifestyle, health, and well-being stories on EUPHORIA. My focus is on metabolic, cellular, mitochondrial, and mental health. Here is my collection of Insightful Life Lessons from Personal Stories.
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