Let’s start with how we eat and how food turns into energy in our bodies:
- Food is filled with glucose – you use it every day to move and think.
- That glucose (aka ‘sugar’) breaks down during digestion and travels through your pancreas (courtesy of a hormone called insulin) to your muscle, fat and liver cells. That is where you get energy (either now or later) to do stuff! When you have diabetes (or pre-diabetes), that sugar stays put in your blood (hence the term ‘high blood sugar’), causing fatigue, thirst, frequent urination, irritability…and low energy.
What are the causes? Not moving our bodies, poor eating habits, stress, genetics and your ethnicity are some reasons. Here are two steps you can take right now to boost your energy and keep this health condition at bay:
- Don’t miss two consecutive days of exercise: for diabetics, this is key; physical activity can lower your blood sugar and can make your insulin work better.
- Eat fiber-rich foods (avocados, blackberries, Brussel sprouts, oats, almonds): they slow the absorption of sugars, and help you eat less because these foods are more filling and are energy abundant!
These are good actions for anyone interested in better health!
November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Take part with access to free resources at: diabetes.org, beyondtype1.org, http://www.niddk.nih.gov
photo: i.aboud
Kolon Performance Strategies 