HIGH GLUCOSE: CAUSES, PROBLEMS AND HOW TO AVOID IT

In the society in which we live, it is increasingly common to hear that someone close to you suffers from diabetes, celiac disease or other pathologies associated with alterations in their metabolism. Many people suffer from obesity and malnutrition at the same time... It sounds incompatible, right? Well it's not! And that is where glucose comes into play and the importance of having controlled values ​​for our body to function correctly. Keep reading if you want to know more!

To understand everything well, let's start at the beginning... Could you define the above? No? Well, we'll help you:

Glucose is a source of energy for our body, it participates in most cellular processes and is necessary for our cells to function correctly. It would be something like ''gasoline'' that provides enough energy for our daily lives.

So what is the IG? The Glycemic Index (GI) is used to measure how quickly carbohydrates from food pass into our blood, converting them into glucose. The speed or slowness with which this procedure is performed will result in more or less pronounced spikes in blood sugar.

You're probably wondering now, what do blood sugar spikes mean? This is where insulin (the hormone responsible for regulating glucose) comes into play, since if, faced with these rapid increases, our pancreas is not capable of producing said hormone, our health in the medium or long term may deteriorate.

Currently, glucose levels that are considered normal are altered. These are quite high values, this is because the standard has been obtained from a sample of people in today's society whose diet is influenced by ultra-processed foods, which causes blood glucose to be much higher than what they had. our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

There are several reasons that cause the amount of glucose in the blood to be high, among them are:

• Lead a sedentary life, without doing any physical activity.
• The abusive intake of ultra-processed and unhealthy foods.
• Stress, if we live very stressed this can cause blood glucose levels to be high.
• Certain diseases can cause the blood glucose level to alter.
• If your body is not capable of producing the necessary energy, as is the case of people who suffer from diabetes.
• Hormonal changes, such as periods, can cause elevated blood glucose.
• Eat foods that contain free sugars such as juices, non-whole grains...

Although there are several reasons, we should not be alarmed, since if you lead a healthy, active life and a diet based on real food (in the absence of pathologies) there will be nothing to worry about.

We have already seen what causes high blood glucose levels, but what problems can it cause?

When these levels are high for a long period of time, so-called protein glycation occurs, which will cause them to malfunction. The direct consequence of having glycated proteins is the poor functioning of our vital organs, early aging and an increased likelihood of developing degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Additionally, it is important to know that the structure of glucose and vitamin C molecules are very similar. This means that both have to compete to be absorbed by our body (only one can win⚔️), but high levels of glucose will prevent the absorption of vitamin C necessary to repair blood vessels from collagen, causing:

• An increased risk of suffering from cardiovascular, kidney and neurological diseases.
• Damage to vital organs where blood is carried, such as kidneys, heart or blood vessels, among others .

Now that we know the consequences of prolonged hyperglycemia over time, we are going to give several tips to naturally reduce these levels. Surely some of them already sound familiar to you!

1. Practice sports or some physical activity regularly, without forgetting to include strength sessions in our training. Having optimal muscle mass improves insulin sensitivity as muscles accumulate glucose in the form of glycogen, thus avoiding the peaks described above.

2. Prioritize the consumption of real foods. Of all foods, without demonizing fats.

3. Control stress levels. For this, practices such as yoga, mindfulness or the consumption of adaptogens are recommended .

4. Sleep 7-8 hours a day trying to get quality sleep.

5. Avoid the consumption of ultra-processed foods. These are made with unhealthy ingredients and are not recommended for health.

We already know that we should avoid the consumption of ultra-processed foods such as industrial pastries, but.... to be honest, whose body doesn't ask for that ''unhealthy little sin'' from time to time?😉. For this reason, at Baïa we have decided to work on an action that recalls those unhealthy sweets from our childhood in their healthiest version, thus managing to go back to those snacks that we enjoyed so much in our childhood.

Keep in mind that it is for occasional consumption. We know that this always causes a lot of controversy since, like many of you, you always ask: these sweets don't make you fat because they are healthy , right? Well, this is not entirely true since, although of course, they are much healthier than those we can find in any supermarket, they also provide many calories (although of quality) to our body and we already know that if we eat more calories than we expend , we will gain weight.

That being said, go run to our Instagram profile and save all the recipes to make at home.

But do you know the best part?

They are made with our products, so in addition to being delicious, they are functional and have no added sweeteners.

Aren't you curious to know what snacks were our favorites as children?

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