Taking care of your blood sugar
What is blood sugar? Blood sugar, or glucose, is how your body gets energy. If you don’t supply it with proper foods then you have too much glucose or not enough of it. If you have too much too sugar in your blood it can put you in a coma and if you have far less, you won’t have enough energy to even move around. There’s a balance you need to maintain to keep your energy level up and your blood sugar level down. You can use a simple blood sugar level chart to see where you need to be at.
The body needs 5% proteins, 3% fat, and 92% carbohydrates at every meal to supply your body with the energy it needs just to maintain your body. When you eat, your body starts breaking down the food into a liquid using stomach acid or hydrochloric acid. It takes about two to three hours to liquefy and continues on to your small intestines. The small intestines use bacteria, namely prebiotic and probiotic, to break it down further. It starts the extraction process of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients and releases them through the lining in your intestines into your blood stream.
Insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas, grabs the carbohydrates and transports them from your blood stream to your cells, where they are stored as glycogen or fat. Your body uses the stored fat for energy. When the body detects a low amount of energy or blood sugar, the pancreas stops sending insulin to deal with it. Hunger pains are cause by the body using all the stored energy or glycogen. When you eat again, the process starts all over again.
When you are hungry, the body’s level of blood sugar is low. When you eat, the blood sugar is high. You gain weight by producing too much blood sugar or glucose, which is not used by the body before you eat again.
To keep your blood sugar or glucose level even, you need to feed the body. There is a lively debate about three meals a day versus six small meals a day. Since it only takes the stomach two to three hours to convert the food for the body to process it, it stands to reason you should eat six small meals a day instead of three big meals. When you are hungry you should eat to keep your blood sugar level.
Fruits and vegetables contain the right combination of protein, fat, and carbohydrates for the body. Keeping an apple, grapes, or other fruit or vegetable handy will keep the hunger pains away if you eat three large meals a day. Eating a fruit every hour will also keep the hunger pains away, plus, supply your body with all the energy it needs in the right combination of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
However you choose to eat to keep your blood sugar level is your choice. Try the six small meals a day and see how you feel. Go back to three big meals a day and see how you feel. That will tell you how your body needs food to keep your glucose level even. Use a blood sugar level chart and indicator to check that you don’t go over or under the appropriate levels.
What is blood sugar all about? Find that out and more at our website. Be sure to use our handy blood sugar level chart to see where you need to be to maintain a healthy body.
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