The Power of Blood Sugar Stabilization

Mark Macdonald has been a pioneer in the nutrition and fitness industry for over 20 years.  He is the creator and CEO of Venice Nutrition, and author of the NY Times Best Selling Book, Body Confidence. 

I have always found it interesting that we only start really talking about blood sugar when someone is diagnosed with diabetes.  Diabetes is a medical challenge when your body can no longer stabilize its blood sugar levels.  But what we’ve somehow forgotten is that everyone, diabetic or not, needs to stabilize his or her blood sugar to fuel the body with the necessary energy to survive.  The only difference is that diabetics may need the assistance of medication combined with solid nutrition to keep their blood sugar in balance.  My purpose with this article is to educate on how best to manage your blood sugar levels and provide you with the tools to turn your body into a fat-burning machine! 

Lets first start with understanding blood sugar’s role in your body.  You see, glucose (or sugar) in your bloodstream is responsible for fueling your nervous system and creates the bulk of your body’s energy source: Adenosine Triphosphate,ATP, the same energy required for every movement you make.

By stabilizing blood sugar levels with the right nutrition, you create balance (homeostasis) within your body.  Your body then releases what it doesn’t need like stored body fat, toxins and excess sodium and protects your lean muscle mass to ignite your metabolism.

Here’s how it works. Whenever you over-eat or indulge in a carbohydrate-heavy meal, your blood sugar spikes (above 120 mg/ dl) and your body stores fat.    

Just the opposite happens whenever you skip a meal, eliminating the carbohydrates and calories that your body needs to thrive or workout on an empty stomach.  Blood sugar levels drop too low (below 80 mg / dl) and your body is forced to burn lean muscle mass for fuel in place of body fat.  This loss of lean muscle slows your metabolism and makes it nearly impossible to reach your goals.

The fact is that though many people eat “healthily,” they fail to eat “correctly” and inadvertently spike and crash their blood sugar levels all day long!

Stabilizing your blood sugar (keeping levels between 80 and 120 mg/ dl throughout the day) will naturally help you lookand feel your best.  You’ll optimize your workouts by giving your body the fuel it needs.   You’ll burn body fat, protect and increase lean muscle mass, eliminate sugar (carbohydrate) cravings, boost your energy and continually break through stubborn plateaus.   In short, stabilizing your blood sugar will help you to achieve your goals permanently! -Mark Macdonald