Learn the real impact in and on your body when you do these healthy and unhealthy things.
What happens when…I have a cocktail before dinner? When you pour that pre-dinner drink, it’s been hours since you ate lunch. After your midday meal, your blood sugar rose, then dropped. To bring your blood sugar back to normal, your liver began releasing glucose into the blood. However, alcohol temporarily shuts down that process. In some cases this could cause you to develop hypoglycemia, or very low blood sugar. That’s especially true if you inject insulin or take diabetes medications. Bottom line: Never drink on an empty stomach. Hold off on your glass of wine or drink until after you’re well into your meal. And limit yourself to just one drink; when consumed with food, one drink is perfectly healthy.
What happens when…I spend the day really happy? When you’re feeling chipper, your body settles into a state of calm that has several physiological benefits. First, it keeps stress hormones at bay. And that means your blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure all stay mellow. Studies show that a calm, happy mood also can boost your immune system, making you less susceptible to colds and flu. Then there are the psychological benefits. Studies reveal that diabetes patients who are upbeat and optimistic are more likely to eat right and exercise—and have better blood sugar to show for it. Bottom line: Keeping a sunny attitude directly benefits your blood sugar management, as well as your heart health and overall well-being.
What happens when…I skip breakfast? When you wake up after a long night’s rest, your body has gone as much as 12 hours without a meal. That usually means you have a shortage of glucose in your bloodstream. Skip breakfast, and that shortage grows worse, meaning you get that low-blood-sugar jittery feeling, your brain is lacking in fuel, and your entire body chemistry starts the day out of whack. Even worse, skipping breakfast sets you up for bad eating choices later that day—unhealthy snacks, binge eating at lunch. Bottom line: While it’s natural to focus on dinner as the main meal of the day, breakfast plays the greatest role in establishing healthy internal chemistry for the day. Make a commitment: Never skip breakfast.
What happens when…I snack on an apple? Every bite of a juicy apple delivers vital nutrients and other food compounds that keep your metabolism on an even keel, curb your appetite, and nourish your heart. Chief among them is fiber, specifically soluble fiber, which has a talent that’s critical for controlling blood sugar: It turns all gooey in your intestines. That slows down digestion, which means the sugar in an apple—and it has plenty—is absorbed slowly. Eating one apple barely causes a blip in your blood sugar! Bottom line: An apple a day really does keeps the doctor away.
What happens when…I spend all day sitting around? On a day when you don’t give your muscles enough work to do, glucose remains in your bloodstream, going unused. Over time, a sit-around lifestyle encourages two major problems. Your body begins to convert that unused sugar to fat, putting hard-to-lose weight on your belly, butt and thighs. And that extra glucose in the blood increases dangerous compounds called AGEs that damage nerve and blood cells. Bottom line: Sitting all day is a set-up for bad blood sugar, weight gain, and the maladies they both cause. Change your perspective: Think of two hours of sitting as being as bad for you as eating a large candy bar. Sit all day, and that’s like eating lots of candy bars. The antidote? As simple as getting up each hour and walking for a few minutes.
What happens when…I have a cocktail before dinner? When you pour that pre-dinner drink, it’s been hours since you ate lunch. After your midday meal, your blood sugar rose, then dropped. To bring your blood sugar back to normal, your liver began releasing glucose into the blood. However, alcohol temporarily shuts down that process. In some cases this could cause you to develop hypoglycemia, or very low blood sugar. That’s especially true if you inject insulin or take diabetes medications. Bottom line: Never drink on an empty stomach. Hold off on your glass of wine or drink until after you’re well into your meal. And limit yourself to just one drink; when consumed with food, one drink is perfectly healthy.
What happens when…I spend the day really happy? When you’re feeling chipper, your body settles into a state of calm that has several physiological benefits. First, it keeps stress hormones at bay. And that means your blood sugar, heart rate, and blood pressure all stay mellow. Studies show that a calm, happy mood also can boost your immune system, making you less susceptible to colds and flu. Then there are the psychological benefits. Studies reveal that diabetes patients who are upbeat and optimistic are more likely to eat right and exercise—and have better blood sugar to show for it. Bottom line: Keeping a sunny attitude directly benefits your blood sugar management, as well as your heart health and overall well-being.
What happens when…I skip breakfast? When you wake up after a long night’s rest, your body has gone as much as 12 hours without a meal. That usually means you have a shortage of glucose in your bloodstream. Skip breakfast, and that shortage grows worse, meaning you get that low-blood-sugar jittery feeling, your brain is lacking in fuel, and your entire body chemistry starts the day out of whack. Even worse, skipping breakfast sets you up for bad eating choices later that day—unhealthy snacks, binge eating at lunch. Bottom line: While it’s natural to focus on dinner as the main meal of the day, breakfast plays the greatest role in establishing healthy internal chemistry for the day. Make a commitment: Never skip breakfast.
What happens when…I snack on an apple? Every bite of a juicy apple delivers vital nutrients and other food compounds that keep your metabolism on an even keel, curb your appetite, and nourish your heart. Chief among them is fiber, specifically soluble fiber, which has a talent that’s critical for controlling blood sugar: It turns all gooey in your intestines. That slows down digestion, which means the sugar in an apple—and it has plenty—is absorbed slowly. Eating one apple barely causes a blip in your blood sugar! Bottom line: An apple a day really does keeps the doctor away.
What happens when…I spend all day sitting around? On a day when you don’t give your muscles enough work to do, glucose remains in your bloodstream, going unused. Over time, a sit-around lifestyle encourages two major problems. Your body begins to convert that unused sugar to fat, putting hard-to-lose weight on your belly, butt and thighs. And that extra glucose in the blood increases dangerous compounds called AGEs that damage nerve and blood cells. Bottom line: Sitting all day is a set-up for bad blood sugar, weight gain, and the maladies they both cause. Change your perspective: Think of two hours of sitting as being as bad for you as eating a large candy bar. Sit all day, and that’s like eating lots of candy bars. The antidote? As simple as getting up each hour and walking for a few minutes.
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