Defy Age Naturally

Have you ever eaten a big meal and then felt really hungry an hour later? I know this feeling and it always comes during holidays when I am not eating my normal diet. I am chronically hungry and feel that no matter how much I eat, I could eat more. The food that I am normally craving is not fruit or nuts…it is generally heavy food like bread, biscuits or potatoes. Some people crave sugar.

What is happening in our bodies when we feel this way explains what research continually shows as the number one cause of aging.

Food that Quickly Turns to Sugar
Carbohydrates are foods that turn to sugar inside the body. The carbohydrates that create the highest amount of sugar very quickly are called high glycemic and are sugar (obviously), and carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potato, and rice. Other foods such as fruit, vegetables (apart from potatoes), nuts and lentils turn to sugar very slowly and are called low glycemic.

Each time we eat a big bowl of pasta, a couple of slices of toast or some sugary foods, there is a surge in the blood sugar level. The body panics “I’m not supposed to be dealing with this type of food. What is going on?” You see, our bodies are not built to consume high glycemic foods…they have only been around for a short period of time relative to our evolution.

A vital hormone called insulin is secreted by the pancreas and encourages the sugar in the blood to move into the cells so that it does not harm the body and so that it can be turned into energy. Because the pancreas is worried that there is this unnatural amount of sugar, it releases loads of insulin, so the blood sugar is now excessively low.

Now the body is worried because there is no sugar around, so it thinks that it is not going to have any energy. Other sugar raising hormones are called upon to compensate, and so are we. This is when our bodies begin to scream “give me some sugary food to get my blood sugar up again.” This is why I was dying for some carbohydrates after just finishing a huge meal an hour before. How do I stop overeating? Cut out high glycemic foods that make us addicted to the sugar rush. And this ridiculous amount of sugar eventually turns into fat.

Insulin Resistance
After this insane cycle of sugar, insulin and more sugar continues for a while, the cell thinks “if that insulin thinks that it can continue to constantly push all of that sugar into me, it better think again!” The cells begin to not allow the sugar to come into them. The blood sugar level is now chronically high since the sugar can’t get into the cells, and the pancreas is constantly producing insulin to get rid of the sugar.

This state is called insulin resistance, and it is a pre diabetic state. While diabetes is increasingly common, this state is epidemic and is perhaps the greatest biggest threat to not only looking young, but feeling healthy and warding off disease.

Some of the Symptoms of Insulin Resistance are
· Prematurely aged skin
· Fatigue – Some people are tired in the morning, some hit a low in the afternoon, and some are tired all day. They may also become sleepy after meal.
· Brain fogginess – the inability to focus.
· How to Lower blood sugar – a faint feeling accompanied by physical or mental fatigue.
· Intestinal bloating – Too many high glycemic carbohydrates can result in bloating and flatulence.
· Excess weight
· High levels of bad cholesterol (triglycerides) caused by over production of insulin.
· Depression or mood swings caused by the constant ups and downs of blood sugar.

Who Needs Plastic Surgery?
Insulin resistance is the only trait of every human being that lives over 100. Many of them smoke or do other things that are generally aging (no, I am not saying that smoking is a good idea if you plan to live well into your old age…not to mention look good), but they all have balanced blood sugar levels.

ne of the biggest steps toward looking young and feeling healthy is to cut out the sugar and cut down on (or avoid completely) high glycemic carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am and is filed under diet, science of aging.
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