Why is food so important when trying to control blood sugar levels?
We have all heard the saying “You are what you eat”.
The majority of people perceive sugar as a substance that we add to food. Whilst this is true if we are going to deal with sugar as an addictive substance we need to broaden our thinking about what sugar actually is.
The majority of processed foods have a high GI index. This simply means that when they are consumed our body breaks these foods down into glucose (sugar) quickly. For example any products that contain processed or white flour are broken down into sugar very quickly. The best way to view these types of foods is simply that as you are putting them into your mouth you are swallowing sugar. When we understand this concept it is easy to see how the average person consumes 23 teaspoons of sugar per day. It is also easy to understand how people become addicted to sugar.
Once this sugar hits the blood stream the pancreas starts to produce insulin. The insulin is responsible for removing the sugar from our blood stream and storing it in our cells. A person who has type 2 diabetes has cells which do not respond to the insulin and are thus unable to store this sugar. It then remains in the blood stream elevating the sugar levels far beyond what they should be, potentially affecting many organs such as kidneys, heart, liver and eyes just to name a few.
It is also interesting to note that when the sugar is stored it is converted to fat cells and so it is now believed that our insatiable addiction to sugar is the reason for the obesity epidemic which western society is experiencing.
For these reasons Insulin is also known as the fat producing hormone.
Many people that have gone sugar free and broken their addiction to sugar, claim that the process is just as difficult and traumatic as breaking an addiction to a hard drug, There is no wonder why we know what we should not be eating, but we have no idea why we keep eating it. This is typical of what happens to a person who is addicted to any substance.
If we are to remove all processed foods which are in actual fact fast sugar once we eat them, we are really discounting over 90% of the foods we eat today. As a matter of fact the majority of foods we eat today are not really foods, they are just food like products, loaded with chemicals and extracted substances. Anything that has been processed and is out of a packet usually falls into this category.
If we look at what we should be eating habitually as a species we come back to a whole foods, plant based diet. The good news is that, for many type 2 diabetics, breaking the addiction to sugar and going totally sugar free, in many cases will result in the doctor reducing or even discontinuing the medications because blood sugar levels have normalised. It has also been noted that the cells sensitivity to insulin, in many cases starts to correct itself. To achieve a healthy blood sugar level, this new diet needs to become a part of a new lifelong lifestyle. It is possible to reverse a type 2 diabetic condition with a sugar free diet, however once it is reversed, to ensure it is maintained, a continuation of the same diet is required. This can only be achieved through a lifestyle change.
This now poses some interesting questions.
What do you eat?
Is it tasty?
Can basic foods be exciting?
In the kitchen area you will find our recipes. These use plant based whole foods, avoiding all processed foods. In many cases super-foods are used. Where possible these dishes include raw foods which means that they are only warmed to no more than 70 degrees celsius, thus retaining a lot more goodness than cooked foods. It is also recommended that good quality organic ingredients be used where possible.
All recipes are tested by our chef to ensure that they only arrive in our recipe area once they pass the taste test. Why not enjoy a whole new world of gourmet, whole foods, plant based, dishes and dining.
The good news is, you will be what you eat!