In the simplest terms, calorie overload involves an imbalance between calories consumed via diet versus calories burned through resting metabolism and physical activity. When we eat too much and exercise too little, we are in a state of calorie overload, the most obvious symptom of which is weight gain. But other factors are involved. We are typically not just gaining weight, we are gaining body fat. And body fat is not a physiologically inert tissue. Recent research indicates that it is “hormonally active”, that it is associated with increased levels of oxidative stress, and that by its sheer mass, it imposes additional physical stress on our bodies and organs.

Frequent, broad excursions in blood glucose are a second risk factor for metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Virtually every time we eat, we experience a rise in blood glucose as our foods are digested and sugars enter our blood stream. When we eat big meals rich in simple sugars and starches, the rises in blood sugar tend to be very high. In response, our bodies produce large amounts of insulin to drive that sugar into our cells where it can be used for energy. As this happens, our blood sugar drops, often below pre-meal levels. This makes us hungry and stimulates us to eat again, producing another rise and subsequent fall in blood sugar and encouraging a self-perpetuating cycle. In the short-term, these frequent and broad fluctuations in blood sugar lead to over eating, mood swings, and weight gain. In the long-term they are risk factors for metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic disorders.

Glycemic index and glycemic load are two characteristics of foods and diet that are relevant to this discussion. The glycemic index of a food is a measure of the rise in blood sugar that is produced by eating a set amount of that food. Foods with a high glycemic index produce large rises in blood sugar per unit of carbohydrate consumed. Foods with a low glycemic index produce small to modest rises in blood sugar per unit of carbohydrate consumed. The concept of glycemic load adds to the equation the amount of food you eat. If you eat a large amount of a high glycemic food (i.e. if you consume a large glycemic load) you will experience a much higher rise in blood sugar than if you eat a small amount of a high glycemic food or a moderate amount of a low glycemic food (i.e. if you consume a small glycemic load).

Insulin sensitivity is an additional factor of importance in glycemic control. When we are sensitive to our own insulin, it can readily shunt blood sugar into our cells where it is “burned” as energy and thereby disposed of. This helps to maintain healthy levels of sugar in our blood stream. But when we become insulin insensitive, or insulin resistant, we have trouble using and disposing of blood sugar. In response, our bodies over-produce insulin, which in the short-term exacerbates weight gain and in the long-term leads to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Regular physical exercise and responsible weight management are keys to maintaining good insulin sensitivity.

Related posts:

1. Glyconutrients: An Overview
2. The 8 Essential Glyconutrients That Should Be In Your Diet
3. Glyconutrients A New Paradigm

This is what they call “Hope”?

We’ve all gotten used to the idea that certain maladies will be around for a while…like until the Second Coming. Maladies such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis…and many more are expected to be around, in epidemic proportions, longer than we think we will be alive…and anyone who tries to tell us otherwise is looked upon with real skepticism. In fact, when anyone tries to tell us “there’s hope” for such maladies as, say, diabetes, we are more likely to believe that the person is trying to sell us something…and usually we are right.

But, what’s even worse is the fact that the “hope” we do receive is usually something like the following:

Studies show people at high risk for type 2 diabetes can prevent or delay the onset of the disease by losing 5 to 7 percent of their body weight. You can do it by eating healthier and getting 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. In other words: you don’t have to knock yourself out to prevent diabetes. The key is: small steps that lead to big rewards. Learn more about your risk for developing type 2 diabetes and the small steps you can take to delay or prevent the disease and live a long, healthy life.

Of course, this is good advice. No denying it. As a medical doctor, I had to dispense advice like this for years, for diabetes and other conditions. Funny, as good as it is, I NEVER saw anyone become ecstatic, do cartwheels or celebrate because they had just received such counsel. Why? BECAUSE WHAT WE REALLY WANT FROM THE MEDICAL WORLD IS A CURE!

And why not? It just doesn’t seem fair that the only real answer to conditions like diabetes or obesity is the “hope” that we stop eating almost everything we enjoy, sweat till we drop, “pop” prescription pills ’till we’re bloated, and think positive…forever.

A new future?

So, of course, I was skeptical too when I began to hear the claims associated with glyconutrition. As a long time medical professional and scientist, I know that “claims” are easily made… And who ever heard of “glyconutrition” anyway?

In 1999, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to Dr. Gunter Blobel for his work in the science of Glycobiology (the biology of glyconutrition). Out of the last eight Nobel Prizes awarded in medicine, four Nobel Prizes have been awarded for discoveries made in this ONE field. Believe it or not, this field (glyconutrition) affects maladies such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease directly. Why? Because, eight sugars have been isolated for their support of the immune system and cell communication. Additionally, human life cannot be supported without them.

This information got my attention. When a single Nobel Prize is won in medicine, everyone is paying attention. When four of them are won in the SAME field, as in this case involving glyconutrition, the medical world is “on fire” with the news.

As that information made its way through the medical world, other issues made the news too. For decades the American Medical Association, the powerhouse of medical professionals, taught that nutritional supplements were not necessary for good health. But, in June 2002, the AMA admitted that nutritional supplementation was vital to good health and helpful in treating diseases.

Also, the prestigious MIT published its findings. It wrote that these “sugars” were one of ten technologies it believed would change the world in the next decade. Nutritional supplementation was again vital to the conventional medical world…and at the center of the storm was glyconutrition.

But, what really jolted me professionally was this: Until these discoveries, scientists had NO idea how the cells of your body could tell the antibodies of your body you had an infection and that they had to “get on over here” to deal with it. Until these discoveries, scientists had NO idea how the cells of your body told the rest of your body that they needed nutrition, oxygen, waste elimination, infections healed…and a thousand and one other necessary functions of every cell. Goodness! We in the scientific world hadn’t known just exactly HOW even aspirin made its way to that nasty headache of yours. We just knew it worked. So, we prescribed it.

Sugar? Say it ain’t so, doc!

But, my attention was riveted to the news that scientists like Dr. Gunter Blobel had discovered what it was that let the cells COMMUNICATE with the other systems of the body. And would you believe it? What he found was amazing. Sugar…SUGAR! (Glyco = Greek for “sugar”) No…not table sugar (else diabetics wouldn’t be so excited over this new-found help for their diabetes). There are over 200 sugars in nature but, eight of them are VITAL to our good health. In fact, eight of them are the glyconutrition “backbone” for helping the body prevent or heal:”

auto-immune diseases such as diabetes, psoriasis
” overactive immune disorders such as allergies and asthma
” under active immune disorders such as cancer, TB, strep
” inflammatory disorders such as colitis, ulcers, Fibromyalgia
” other conditions such as Alzheimer’s, infertility, heart disease

Suddenly, the medical world was on fire over glyconutrition. The “anecdotal evidence” concerning glyconutrition is mounting rapidly as people are finding conditions which have long grieved them…to be a thing of the past. For so many, the expectation for the future is not a “long, long, road” fraught with impossible dieting, grueling workouts, thousands of dollars of prescriptions, and the need to dream positively. People are getting relief – from diabetes, heart disease, cancer, allergies, and many others – with glyconutrition…and without prescriptions! (Glyconutrition products are NOT prescription items…they’re food.)

Oh yes. I almost forgot. If you go to your doctor and he isn’t aware of glyconutrition, don’t panic. Your poor doctor CANNOT possibly keep up with all of the signs, symptoms, conditions, and their myriads of treatments, chemical make up and complications associated with thousands of maladies and the millions of prescription antidotes for those maladies. I couldn’t as a doctor, and I had several DECADES of experience in the field. “Been there … done that” as they say.

Incidentally, doctors don’t usually find out first what works. They’re just too busy being overwhelmed with the medical conditions they face, day to day. They usually find out like everyone else…They read about it or attend some seminar. Often, the marketplace produces antidotes – or research finds the right treatment, as in this case – long before they do. But, I can tell you this. Glyconutrition is helping conditions as diverse as diabetes and Alzheimer’s … and a lot of people have hope that these conditions CAN be and are being…overcome…

Suddenly, the future isn’t what it used to be…

About the author:
Dr. Robert Gamble is retired from a very successful Cardio-Thoracic surgical career spanning three decades. He is now active in researching medical issues such as glyconutrition and offers his insights for public benefit. Glyconutrition: This new science is sending shockwaves through the entire medical industry and may be the missing link between health and disease. For information and business opportunity http://www.glycoshare.comor call toll free1-866-735-5871.

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Related posts:

1. Glycemic Control and Health