Dear Reader,
If you’re concerned about your blood sugar, here’s something you need to think about:
- Your blood sugar spikes from foods that are high carb and high glycemic.
- You produce more insulin to move sugar into cells, which will use it for energy.
- Your body compensates by producing more and more insulin.
- Your body becomes resistant to insulin-we call this metabolic syndrome.
While metabolic syndrome is not a disease, your body is telling you to get a grip. Promoting normal blood sugar is appropriate for immediate care. But you need a strategy that will help maintain normal blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity.
Exercise is a great place to start. Anytime you exert yourself, you help your body bring blood sugar into your cells. And that’s exactly what you need to reverse this condition.
But avoid long-duration exercises like aerobics and cardio. Research shows that shorter, more intense workouts are better for supporting normal blood sugar and promoting insulin sensitivity.
A good workout for people with metabolic syndrome or blood sugar concerns is one that works the leg and back muscles. These are your biggest muscles. Working them demands more energy, which helps to lower your blood sugar.
Plan your workouts to last 15 or 20 minutes and then switch between periods of rest and periods of high-intensity bursts. Remember, intensity is subjective. If an activity gets your heart rate up – making it difficult to breathe and speak at the same time – then you’re working at a high intensity pace.
Try walking, cycling, swimming, or any other activity that you enjoy. Do two minutes at an easy pace, and then raise the intensity for 30 seconds to a minute. You should feel yourself working. Then rest for two minutes, and repeat the cycle. In one study, a single high intensity workout temporarily restored insulin sensitivity.
Once you’ve switched to shorter-burst workouts, you’ll be well on your way to attaining insulin sensitivity.1
And here’s a great way to complement your PACE program. My friends at Health Resources have an easy and effective way of promoting normal blood sugar levels – and helping your body respond to insulin.
They use the same powerful nutrients I use in my own practice. I want to make sure you know about them. Here’s just one of the six nutrients you’ll find in their safe and easy-to-use blood sugar formula. It’s called gymnema sylvestre.
For more than 2000 years, people in India have used this herb to support normal blood sugar. In fact, practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine, India’s ancient system of healing, prize the leaves of this climbing plant.
The herb is also called “gurmar,” which literally means “destroyer of sugar” in Hindi. This name describes the way that chewing the leaves interferes with your ability to taste sweetness. Because this amazing herb decreases the sensation of sweetness in many foods, it may reduce your cravings for sugary snacks.
I’ve seen the powerful effects of these herbs and minerals first hand. They work. They get results. And I highly recommend you give it a try… especially if you’re concerned about your own blood sugar.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Ropelle ER, et al. “Reversal of diet-induced insulin resistance with a single bout of exercise: The role of PTP1B and IRS-1 serine phosphorylation,” J PHysiol 2006; Sept. 28: E-pub