Staying Healthy in the Fast Lane

staying healthy in the fast lane

take insulin shots to lower their blood sugar). But first, this person
might develop what is called “insulin resistance.”

Sugar and Insulin Resistance

The chronic ingestion of any added sugars that lead to excess
calories can aggravate insulin resistance. Excess calories, weight,
and excess fat in the cell (intramyocellular fat) can all increase the
risk of insulin resistance, leading to higher circulating insulin (and
blood sugar) levels. So while it is important to eat low glycemic
carbohydrates, it’s also important to keep your total calorie and fat
levels down to improve insulin resistance.
Excess insulin can also increase cholesterol.^7 So eating sugar
could indirectly increase cholesterol and cardiovascular risk. High
insulin levels also increase fat storage.
Insulin is an inflammatory hormone. Since almost all chronic
diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, bone loss, stroke, hyper-
tension, and degenerative eye and brain disorders) come from ex-
cessive inflammation, excessive insulin is not a good thing. Insulin
is also a growth-promoting hormone, so aside from increasing in-
flammation it can also increase the risk of cancer.
Bottom line: if you control your blood sugar (fasting < 90 mg/
dl, some say < 80 mg/dl is optimal) and keep you insulin low (<10
uU/ml, some say lower), you reduce your risk of chronic inflam-
matory diseases and slow the aging process.

Staying Healthy “Pearl” about Sugar

One common point that is a true belief of every dietary philoso-
phy I know, from raw food veganism to the high-fat, high-protein
diet proponents, and everything in between: The goal of all diets
is to control blood sugar (and insulin) levels for optimal health
and chronic disease prevention and/or reversal. Every diet guru
agrees on this. And it is correct. Controlling blood sugar and insu-
lin levels—sometimes called “good glycemic control”—increases