Do you feel irritable, shaky, queasy or lightheaded if you miss a meal or have a delayed meal? Do you have a difficult time staying away from sweets? Do you feel sick if you eat too much sugar? Do you make sure you eat 3 meals a day and are diligent in not forgetting? Or, do you know someone who is so incredibly grumpy when they’re hungry that you make sure they’re fed before doing anything else? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, there is a chance you (or the “someone” else) may be exhibiting signs of a poor sugar-handling mechanism. You could be hypoglycemic, diabetic or borderline either of those two.
Since high levels of blood sugar not only interfere with healing and immune function, but also can be quite serious, it is important to manage it before it gets out of control. Most adult onset diabetes (now called Type II Diabetes), started with low blood sugar. Blood sugar that swings from highs to lows is very hard on the body, but easy to control once you know how.
The problem is that we are only taught to control blood sugar by the use of various medications, or told to exercise and watch what we eat, but not much attention is given to correcting the underlying cause. There are several organs or glands responsible for managing blood sugar. They are part of a complex hormonal system called the Endocrine System. A weakness, or lower functioning of any one of the organs/glands in the Endocrine System can cause a malfunction in another of the organs/glands controlling blood sugar. This can start occurring long before the organ/gland is diseased. There are a lot of gradients of function between “healthy” and “diseased”. The degree that you fall between healthy and diseased may be the degree to which you have a blood sugar handling issue.
In addition, there are foods that perpetuate blood sugar instability, as well as foods that support healthy blood sugar. There are foods that support proper organ function and foods that contribute to malfunction. Some make you crave more sweets and others suppress cravings. There are herbs and other substances that are helpful as well. How and what you use could keep you going down an undesirable path, or reverse the trend and move you towards a greater state of health. Knowing how to use them is the key.
