STEEL Supplements back again dropping knowledge on how to take control of your health from every angle and today we’re talking about blood sugar. 

It’s a serious issue that not only affects your performance in the gym but could potentially be life-threatening too.

You see, uncontrolled blood sugar leads to insulin resistance which leads to type 2 diabetes (the 7th leading killer in the U.S)

…So to say it’s a serious issue would be an understatement of biblical proportions. 

Simply put, diabetes is a serious condition where blood sugar levels remain abnormally high due to lack of insulin production (type 1 diabetes, which is often genetic) or insulin resistance, also known as type 2 diabetes. You can learn more about it from the CDC here. 

And here’s the scary part: Almost everyone is at risk. 

The fact is more than 100 million adults (1 out of 3) in the U.S are living with diabetes or pre-diabetes and many of them don’t even know it.

 Risk factors include:

• Being overweight.
• Family history. Having a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes increases your risk.
• Being physically active less than 3 times a week.
• Race
• Age
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol

Why insulin is important

Insulin signals your cells to absorb glucose from food in your bloodstream so it can be used as energy - the energy that fuels your workouts and helps you power through your day. Glucose that isn’t used goes back into the bloodstream and is eventually stored as fat. You can learn how insulin works here.  

What causes blood sugar spikes?

We know eating foods full of refined sugar causes blood sugar spikes, but it’s not just sweet foods we have to worry about. In fact, research increasingly shows that something nobody ever expected can dramatically raise your chances of developing diabetes. You can learn more about it here.

Other causes:

• Sunburn
• Lack of sleep
• Skipping breakfast
• Dehydration
• Alcohol
• Fruit juice and soda

Related article: How Alcohol Impacts Muscle Building.

What can you do

In addition to making good food choices, staying hydrated and getting plenty of sleep, you can also incorporate HIIT workouts into your routine a couple of times a week. It’s been shown to be an effective way to improve blood sugar levels. You can learn more about it here. 

There are also potent natural ingredients that have been proven to lower blood sugar, and the best part is they don’t include the dangerous side effects of pharmaceutical drugs.

 They include:

• Berberine. Shown to be as effective as some blood-sugar-lowering drugs with additional cholesterol-lowering effects without the dangerous side effects on the liver associated with pharmaceuticals.
• Gymnema Sylvestre helps fight sugar cravings and lower blood sugar levels. 
• Bitter melon. Contains at least 3 active substances shown to have anti-diabetic potential.
• Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA). A few studies have suggested that alpha-lipoic acid supplements may enhance the body's ability to use its own insulin to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes
• Cinnamon bark extract has been shown to reduce blood sugar levels by up to 29%. 

Another effective method is using ‘insulin mimickers’ to shuttle more nutrients into your muscles which also stimulates serious muscle growth.

Like everything else, it involves education and choices. Food choices, exercise choices, and stress management choices. 

Choose wisely.