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 us suffers from problems associated with alterations in their metabolism. Many people suffer from excess fat and lack of nutrients at the same time... It sounds incompatible, right? Well, it is not! And that is where glucose comes into play and the importance of having controlled values ​​so that our body functions correctly. Keep reading if you want to know more!

To understand everything well, let's start at the beginning... Would you know how to define the above? No? Well, we can help you:

Glucose is a source of energy for our body, it is involved in most cellular processes and is necessary for our cells to function properly. It is something like "gasoline" that provides enough energy for our daily life.

So what is the GI? The Glycemic Index (GI) is used to measure how quickly carbohydrates in food pass into our bloodstream and are converted into glucose. The speed or slowness with which this process is carried out will result in more or less pronounced spikes in blood sugar.

You are probably wondering now, what do spikes in blood sugar mean? This is where insulin (a hormone responsible for regulating glucose) comes into play, since if our pancreas is unable to produce this hormone in the face of these rapid increases, our health may be affected in the medium or long term.

Currently, glucose levels that are considered normal are altered. They 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 makes blood glucose much higher than that of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

There are several reasons why blood glucose levels are high, including:

• Leading 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.
• If your body is unable to produce the necessary energy, as is the case for people with pancreatic dysfunction.
• Hormonal changes such as periods can cause high 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 we 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 elevated for a long period of time, the so-called glycation of proteins 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.

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

• An increased risk of developing dysfunctions related to the heart, kidneys or nervous system.
• 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, we are going to give you several tips to naturally reduce these levels. I'm sure you've already heard of some of them!

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

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

3. Control stress levels. 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 eating ultra-processed foods. These are made with unhealthy ingredients and are not recommended for your health.

We already know that we should avoid eating ultra-processed foods like industrial pastries, but... to be honest, who doesn't feel like indulging in that "unhealthy sin" from time to time? 😉. For this reason, at Baïa we have decided to work on an action that brings back those unhealthy sweets from our childhood in their healthiest version, thus taking us back to those snacks that we enjoyed so much in our childhood.

Please note that this is for occasional consumption. We know that this always causes a lot of controversy since many of you always ask: these sweets do not 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 quality ones) to our body and we already know that if we ingest more calories than we expend, we will gain weight.

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

But 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.

Haven't you ever been curious to know what our favorite snacks were when we were kids?

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