What is “personalized nutrition” and what does it have to do with blood sugar health?

What is “personalized nutrition” and what does it have to do with blood sugar health?

by | Jul 13, 2019 | Uncategorized

For much of modern nutrition history, a rather large assumption/concept has dominated thinking by experts in nutrition as well as in the general population: the “one-size-fits-all diet“. An example is the U.S. government food pyramid, or the current iteration “MyPlate”. Almost every government peddles some version of this – and sadly most are wrong… just look at the pandemic of metabolic diseases plaguing our planet.

In reality, current science supports the idea that nutrition plans and diets should be tailored for individuals, their culture, genetics, microbiome, environmental exposures, metabolic health, etc. Science supports using data to make decisions about what you eat, not fads, macronutrient ratios, etc. Modern nutrition science requires us to learn some actual science, use validated information to support decisions about what we eat, and last but not least, to cook and eat whole, real food (not food-like products and additives).

This means, when you hear someone tell you how to manage your blood sugar by giving you rote directions from a standardized diet plan, or worse yet, proffers some half-baked diet philosophy, commercialized proprietary food product regimen, or snake oils in form of expensive supplements, health-shakes, etc., then walk away. Some may do better on a low-fat diet, some on a low-carb diet, some on plant-based foods, and others on an animal-based foods – or all of the above. Don’t let food fanatics and philosophers, and with all due respect, kettlebell instructors, mislead you about what is good for you.

Added sugar? Processed carbohydrates? That isn’t food or nutrition, so it is a “no-brainer” to cut these out.

Regrettably, some (many) healthcare institutions and providers don’t have a clue about nutrition – just look at the last meal you had in a hospital – either as a patient or as a visitor. Less than 30% of doctors are required to take a nutrition course during medical school. This means you have to shop around, find the right expert to guide you: someone who uses actual data, and then tailors a plan for you based on what the data and the science say, not their opinion or belief system. It is relatively easy to sort out the charlatans from the professionals – the professionals gather information, ask questions, and then formulate a plan… the charlatans just prescribe the same thing to all their patients, like you are a member of a herd. Don’t be part of the herd – be heard! 

Below, we share a few articles and resources for you to get acquainted with this issue.

This diagram by the Nutrition Coalition shows that the diets recommended by the U.S. Government are basically all the same.

Personalized Nutrition References

Personalized Nutrition Companies and Organizations

Doctors and Books That Might Help Expand Your Thinking on Nutrition

Technology Tools

 

To Infinity and Beyond

To Infinity and Beyond

by | Jul 12, 2019 | Uncategorized

From a paper by folks at NASA

The Effects of Blood Glucose Levels on Cognitive Performance: A Review of the Literature

AIM: To investigate whether perceptions of task difficulty on neuropsychological tests predicted academic achievement after controlling for glucose levels and depression.

WHAT IS BLOOD GLUCOSE?

Blood glucose, or blood sugar, is sugar in the bloodstream that easily passes the blood-brain barrier. The regulation of blood glucose involves the pancreas, liver, brain, and several hormones. Glucose is a simple sugar, which is an immediate source of energy for cells. Our brain uses a large amount of energy, and is dependent on blood glucose as its source of energy. The primary source of glucose is carbohydrates or starches and sugars, and consumption of these carbohydrates affects the rise and/or fall of blood glucose levels. Normal blood glucose levels in healthy (non-diabetic) adult individuals range from 70–110 mg/dl, and up to 140 mg/dl after meals. Consumption and digestion of all foods containing carbohydrates will raise blood glucose levels; however, some foods will raise levels at different rates than others. Because the brain cannot store glucose, it requires a continuous supply of glucose to function properly. Any shortage in this availability of glucose to the brain has adverse consequences for its functioning.

Reduced blood sugar level, or hypoglycemia, is “an abnormally low plasma glucose level that leads to symptoms of sympathetic nervous system stimulation or of central nervous system dysfunction” (Merck & Co., 2001). Hypoglycemia has been found to induce adrenergic symptoms such as nervousness and tremor as wells as central nervous system symptoms such as tiredness, confusion, and slowed mental function (Lincoln & Eaddy, 2001). Hypoglycemia occurs when glucose is released into the bloodstream more slowly than needed, when body glucose is used up too rapidly, or when excessive insulin is released into the bloodstream. The first signs and symptoms of low blood sugar can begin to occur below 70 mg/dl, although this varies from individual to individual. Hypoglycemia’s effects on the central nervous system also include symptoms like deficiencies in coordination, headaches, blurred vision, anxiety, and dizziness (Field, 1989). Normal glucose regulation varies throughout the day. Circadian rhythms, time of day, and glucose tolerance have been reported to be associated with varied blood glucose levels. In some cases, performance has deteriorated only on certain tasks (e.g., sustained attention task) and glucose tolerance was worse in the afternoon, rather than in the morning.

Allulose

Allulose

by | Jul 11, 2019 | Uncategorized

Whether or not an added sugar or sweetener is “healthy” must be determined by science, and so far, whether caloric or non-caloric, “natural” or “artificial”, these food additives are a question mark in terms of human health. However, many hope for a non-caloric sweetener that has no negative health impacts.
 
Alluluse is the new kid on the block – d-Allulose (previously referred to as d-psicose), a C-3 epimer of d-fructose, has 70% sweetness of sucrose, is rarely found in nature, and therefore is referred to as a rare sugar. The FDA has determined that products using allulose are exempt from declarations of total carbohydrate and added sugar.
 
This study shows results that indicate “dietary supplementation of D-allulose especially influences postprandial hyperglycemia and obesity-related hepatic steatosis, without exercise therapy or dietary restriction. Therefore, D-allulose may be useful as a supplement for preventing and improving obesity and obesity-related disorders.”

d-Allulose enhances postprandial fat oxidation in healthy humans.

Articles

What Is Allulose and Is It a Healthy Sweetener?

Everything You Need to Know About Allulose, The Sugar Substitute That’s Having a Moment

Other Clinical Evidence

Establishing maximum one time and daily dosing
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315886/

Might help people lose weight and body fat “…The high d-allulose group revealed a significant decrease in not only body mass index (BMI), but also total abdominal and subcutaneous fat areas measured by CT scans compared to the placebo group.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5852736/

Possible Side Effects

Gastrointestinal Tolerance of D-Allulose in Healthy and Young Adults. A Non-Randomized Controlled Trial
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315886/

Is allulose healthy?

(Excerpt from Everything You Need to Know About Allulose, The Sugar Substitute That’s Having a Moment)

It’s been well documented that low-calorie or no-calorie sweeteners (such as saccharin, aspartame, and sucralose) may not be the healthiest substitutes for sugar. In 2017, after reviewing 37 studies — seven of which were randomized controlled clinical trials lasting an average of six months, while the rest occurred over a 10-year period — researchers from Canada found that artificial sweeteners were linked to an increased risk of weight gain and obesity, along with cardiovascular conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease.

Also, in a 2014 article published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues, study authors discovered that sucralose, as well as the artificially produced food fillers maltodextrin and glucose, were shown to suppress the good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, which could lead to weight gain and obesity.

However, the initial research on allulose is encouraging.

“Although the sample sizes have been very small in studies conducted on humansallulose appears to lower blood glucose and insulin levels, which may be promising to those with diabetes,” says Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, author of 2-Day Diabetes Diet: Diet Just 2 Days a Week and Dodge Type 2 Diabetes. “Animal studies also suggest it may have a positive impact on body composition, helping to reduce visceral ‘belly fat.’ ”

In fact, a 2017 study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Studyfound that rats who drank water with a syrup containing allulose and other rare sugars for 10 weeks gained less weight, had less abdominal fat, and had lower blood glucose and insulin levels than rats who were given water mixed with high-fructose corn syrup.

Palinski-Wade explains that even though allulose is absorbed into the blood, the majority of it is excreted in the urine without being used as fuel, which is why it does not have seem to raise blood sugar or insulin levels. “It also resists fermentation in the gut, so it is unlikely to cause gas or bloating like some sugar alternatives,” she adds.

And so far, researchers have not recorded any negative side effects. “This compound appears to be safe and unlikely to cause harm in moderate consumption,” says Palinski-Wade. “However, there is always a risk for individual sensitivities when it comes to any food or additive.”

Dorothy Mullen and The Suppers Programs

Dorothy Mullen and The Suppers Programs

by | Jun 20, 2019 | Uncategorized

One of our blogs, “Along the way to food system change,” has featured the work of Dorothy Mullen and The Suppers Programs. In that piece, Dorothy Mullen is described as “a force of nature with a heart of gold and seemingly unlimited energy for making transformational change possible.” You don’t have to take our word for it – just look at the photo to the right featuring “Dor” (front and center), as she is affectionately known, with just a small sampling of her many students and graduates of The Suppers Programs training. 

As stated in our previous story, there are various models for creating food system change – business models, organizational models, academic models, etc.  Dorothy champions the community model – eschewing approaches that monetize change. Dorothy’s work in central New Jersey, known as the Suppers Programs, thrives on the currency of love and community, relationship building, powerful concepts such as “harm reduction,” and the idea that “logical miracles” are possible when your needs are met for nourishing food, social support, and having a safe place to experiment and self-observe (“how you feel is data”) while you change old habits. Dorothy and her co-founders have forged a powerful learn-by-doing approach for everyday folks who come together to cook, eat, taste, learn, and feel their way to vibrant health using whole, real food. No dietary dogma or bias – there are vegan, vegetarian and omnivore meetings.

An amazing manual for The Suppers Programs exists it is called “Logical Miracles.” Wolfram Alderson, CEO for the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation (HSF) wrote a testimonial for the 2nd Edition titled “It’s about love.” It’s such a great story, we also want to share it with you here.

Wolfram’s Story: It’s About Love

For me, food is love. Gardens are love. Even compost piles are love!  It’s in my nature to find the love in things, situations, people and places; to find those magical places of refuge in life that keep you going, inspire you, restore and invigorate your faith and sense of well-being, so that you can be an active partner in creating a better world where love rules. During my time with the amazing Suppers community in Princeton, I saw people spreading love all over the place – in private homes, around dinner tables, in kitchens, and even in a restaurant. 

As the folks in Princeton were about to close the door on material for the second edition of Logical Miracles, Dor contacted me, saying, “Wolfram, we have to include one more concept: It’s not just about food!  You’re the love guy, write something about love.”

Suppers is a hyper local organization with a very broad appeal, which creates strange challenges. The intensely local approach of serving only 8 or 10 people at a time at meetings draws attention from far and wide because it is powerful experience – which is shared by thousands on the web. Many in the for-profit and non-profit worlds are trying to address metabolic disease by focusing on monetizable approaches, such as sophisticated behavior change programs, tech, and pharma solutions. Suppers champions a “community model” that works at profoundly deeper level with real people, real food, and real problems solved one delicious mouthful at a time. As founding Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Nutrition, I employ a time-tested strategy called “finding the good and praising it”. Rather than trying to “recreate the wheel”, we identify existing viable models and effective programs for dealing with the epidemics of metabolic disease which are — make no mistake — almost completely avoidable by changing the way we eat. Then we look for ways to share and support what they are already doing.

Shortly after meeting Dor at a food systems conference in San Francisco where we were both presenting as “thought leaders”, I flew to New Jersey for the basic facilitator training of Suppers. I wrote shortly thereafter that Suppers has discovered the Holy Grail of Lifestyle Change. Before assuming that I have joined some airy-fairy cult in New Jersey, hang on – I want you to know that The Suppers Programs is one of the best examples of applied science I have ever seen. The scientific method is simply a way to identify a problem, gather relevant data, formulate a hypothesis, and then test the hypothesis empirically. My love of science doesn’t cloud my understanding that a fundamental flaw of the processed food supply is that it is loveless. It is devoid of caring. It lacks the “localness” that has characterized all food systems up until very recently in the history of human eating. It fails to account for the trust and transparency of food production that were so important to all but the most recent generations of eaters. The promise of “better living through chemicals” has failed.

The Suppers Programs engages us with food and community, and also manages to factor in what I call the Love Algorithm. While it isn’t formally spelled out in their well-written manual, it is part of the “secret sauce” that makes Suppers Programs so successful, and is baked in to virtually every aspect of what this community is doing.

Suppers brings together food and love everywhere you look, and the loving message of non-judgment is ubiquitous and powerful in their gatherings. Ask any of the participants why the program works so well – it isn’t just what they are learning, it is how they are learning it. I acknowledge that mixing up love with food can be detrimental to our health, since the food industry is so adept at exploiting our biochemical responses to trick us into believing we “love” addictive food-like substances made in factories. But this isn’t real love or real food. So much of our food system has removed love from our food, turning it into a soul-less substance with a long shelf life and a fantastic profit margin. The Suppers Programs has figured out a way to put science and love back into the recipe for food and health. “How you feel is data” is concept used by the Suppers Programs that provides individual and collective means for examining our objective and subjective responses to food, and helps us sort out the true impact of foods on our health. This applied science is done in a supportive climate of non-judgment and harm reduction. So when Dor asked me to share my thoughts about how Suppers is not just about food, I was happy to report:  It’s about love, community, and transformation, served up a forkful at a time.

Learn more about The Suppers Programs at https://www.thesuppersprograms.org

The Suppers Programs is a 501(c)(3) and its mission is to provide safe and friendly settings where anyone — and especially people with food-related health challenges — can develop and manage their own personal transitions to a healthier life. Four principles guide their mission: 

1) The active practice of non-judgement
2) Whole food preparation
3) No commercial messages
4) Restoration of the family table

You can order “Logical Miracles” on Amazon by clicking here.

Visit The Suppers Programs on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/TheSuppersPrograms (don’t forget to “like” their page!).

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia

by | Apr 16, 2019 | Uncategorized

Sitting in the doctor’s office and being told you have type 2 diabetes is a pretty scary moment.
 
It can feel like a prison sentence – or worse. What if there was a sign, evident much earlier in your metabolic life, that there might be a health problem worth paying attention to that, if attended to, and acted upon, could save years of pain and suffering, not to mention tens of thousands of dollars?

“The low blood sugar of today is the diabetes of tomorrow.”
– Dr. Seale Harris

The root causes of most metabolic dysfunction are fundamentally the same – poor nutrition. The metabolic system is essentially our cellular engine, making (and destroying) all cells in our body. Hypoglycemia is on a long list of metabolic disorders that have a complex range of causes but are primarily food-related disorders. Hypoglycemia may be considered an early indicator of more advanced disease. The insight highlighted above by Dr. Seale Harris regarding hypoglycemia was prophetic – in the 1920s he understood the importance of viewing blood sugar dysfunction systemically. Low (and high) blood sugar are indicators that something is out of balance with the metabolic system (most likely disruption in blood sugar metabolism caused primarily by diet).

“…If you think you may be going crazy; if you have thoughts of suicide; if you’re constantly exhausted, anxious and depressed; if you go weeks without a decent night’s sleep; if your personality changes like the flip of a coin; if a counter full of munchies doesn’t satisfy your sweet tooth; and if your doctor thinks you might be a hypochondriac because medical tests don’t show anything physically wrong with you – don’t despair, there’s hope!”
–Roberta Ruggiero – The Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia: An Everyday Guide to Low Blood Sugar. (5th Edition)

Roberta knows this story well – she lived it. Decades ago, after having her two kids, she experienced years of debilitating symptoms that were poorly diagnosed and treated – and she was sent for shock treatment! In the end, all she needed to do was change her diet. This experience catalyzed her to become a life-long patient advocate, founding the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation in 1980.

The patient with low blood sugar is often confused or frustrated because they aren’t getting the appropriate information and instructions from their doctor on how to stabilize or control their hypoglycemia symptoms. Roberta exclaims: “If you’re lucky to get diagnosed, you may get one sheet of instructions. They don’t know any better because they are not told or taught about hypoglycemia in medical school. Exacerbating the problem is that only 30% of medical schools even require a course in nutrition! In 1960, the AMA did a turnabout and declared hypoglycemia a non-disease! Half of the correspondence I get is from frustrated patients who say their doctor doesn’t believe hypoglycemia exists! I’ve also been told, over and over again, “my doctor says just eat more sugar!”

“It is an alarming fact that countless Americans suffer – unsuspectingly – from the debilitating effects of hypoglycemia, a diet-related condition caused by low blood sugar. Unless the symptoms are diagnosed, a multitude of mental and physical disorders can go undetected.”
–  Dr. Harvey M. Ross, Hypoglycemia: The Disease your Doctor Won’t Treat

Despite the fact that distinguished doctors and researchers have, for decades, been calling for hypoglycemia to be taken seriously, no official medical guidelines for diagnosing and treating reactive or functional hypoglycemia have been established. Looking seriously at unstable blood sugar (and what is driving it) at an early stage in the spectrum of disease states leading to more advance metabolic disorders provides an important opportunity for early intervention. However, lacking guidelines or even basic awareness, medical professionals dismiss the symptoms of low-blood sugar, and even worse, often make harmful recommendations, like getting quick fixes of processed carbs or sugary beverages – without addressing the root causes of the condition.

Many doctors and researchers have understood the progression of blood sugar and insulin dysregulation can ultimately lead to type-2 diabetes, and that adjusting patients to proper levels of carbohydrate restriction can reverse the process. Reactive hypoglycemia or low blood sugar is not the opposite of diabetes (high blood sugar). It is the same condition – just an earlier phase.

Dental disease and hypoglycemia are new being understood to be “canaries in the coal mine” of metabolic disease – indicators of systemic dysfunction. Understanding hypoglycemia in the context of overall metabolic health is key. So, pay attention to your blood sugar symptoms…and do your best to get your doctor to take this issue seriously – or find a doctor who will.

Here is a great infographic on the subject from https://hypoglycemia.org/info/

Just click on the image to view the whole infographic.

Wolfram Alderson is CEO of the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation. Once diagnosed as “pre-diabetic,” he has been able to eliminate low-blood sugar symptoms and reverse his declining metabolic health by focusing on real food.

Hypoglycemia Support Foundation Unveils New Website

Hypoglycemia Support Foundation Unveils New Website

by | Apr 15, 2019 | Uncategorized

News for Immediate Release

April 15, 2019

Today, April 15, 2019, the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation (HSF) unveils its new website at https://hypoglycemia.org. Why should you care, just another website, right?

In every minute taken to read this news, someone is dying from preventable diet-related disease.

More people have died from preventable metabolic disease since 1980 than the sum of all the world’s military conflicts combined. This is more than a burgeoning health issue – it is a national security issue with profound economic implications.

Another relevant fact: back in 1980, the HSF was founded by a patient advocate named Roberta Ruggiero. Today, if you live in South Florida, you might run into Roberta at the supermarket, beauty salon or local bookstore – she would just seem like a nice lady, an ordinary citizen, going about her daily business – but she is more than that – she is modern day superhero.

Forty years ago, after suffering years of being misdiagnosed for a mysterious set of ailments profoundly affecting her physical and mental health, Roberta was subjected to a travesty of medical abuse – receiving multiple “treatments” of electroshock therapy…for a condition that would later, finally, be recognized as hypoglycemia. 

Many of us would have been permanently wounded by such an experience, but Roberta responded by writing a book, The Do’s and Don’ts of Hypoglycemia, and founded a nonprofit, the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation, and then kept it going for four decades – reaching millions with vital health information and changing countless lives. “I couldn’t let what happened to me, continue to happen to others – so I took action. I had no idea the epidemic of blood sugar disorders would grow to the proportions it has today,” Roberta said.

Imagine if you had advance notice, years ahead of getting type 2 diabetes, non alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), or worse yet, a heart attack or stroke? Hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar, is one of the earliest and most often experienced indicators of metabolic dysfunction by the general population. For decades, the HSF has been filling a critical gap in educating the public about a health issue that is a significant precursor to more advanced metabolic diseases.

What if you have received the “gift” of hypoglycemia? Wait, what? Hypoglycemia: a gift? Yes. Gift. Because, long before you get type 2 diabetes or heart disease, low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, sends you insistent warnings, like a “canary in a coal mine,” while you still have time to spare yourself. The gift messages take many forms: anxiety, depression, physical and mental fatigue, brain fog and cravings – all with the same greeting: ‘Change while there’s still time.’ Assuming you listen and act, it could save you a lifetime of unnecessary suffering.

The new www.hypoglycemia.org website was made possible with support from Connie Bennett, bestselling author of Sugar Shock and Beyond Sugar Shock and the upcoming book, I blew my diet! Now what?

“When I first talked to Roberta more than a decade ago, I was a huge sugar addict, carb junkie, night owl and overworked journalist with 44 baffling ailments. With help from Roberta Ruggiero and the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation, I kicked my sugar addiction, stabilized my blood sugar and got a new lease on life.

“I never would have learned about low blood sugar and why it’s so important to kick processed carbs and sweets if it weren’t for the eye-opening information and tremendous patience of the amazing Roberta Ruggiero,” Bennett says. “Then, a few years ago, Roberta came to my rescue again when I had months-long carb relapse after losing my dying Mom.

“Roberta is such a selfless, altruistic woman, and she and the Hypoglycemia Support Foundation have educated millions and saved countless lives.”

“I’ll forever be grateful,” continues Bennett.

Connie is one of tens of thousands who have found the HSF after years of unnecessary suffering. So, no, this isn’t just another website; the urgency of this work has never been greater.

The new HSF website offers a wide range of useful information for sufferers of a medical condition that is now affecting a majority of the global population. While there are many types of hypoglycemia, the most common form, and typically misunderstood and undiagnosed, is reactive hypoglycemia… a condition that is preventable and reversible for most. While simple diet and lifestyle changes are often extremely effective, this can be very hard, especially when we live in a food environment that barrages us daily with processed foods laden with sugar and junk carbohydrates, constantly tipping us in the wrong direction. So, the HSF continues its exceptional journey of education and support, offering an extensive new range of resources and articles on its website, including the world’s first comprehensive infographic on hypoglycemia. Complementing its website are a public Facebook page and private Facebook Support group.

“We expect this new website to change many more lives –  I have suffered for many years on the “blood sugar roller coaster” and know how frustrating it can be to lack vital information about one’s health. Serving as the first CEO for the HSF is exciting because it allows me to “swim upstream” and reach millions of people before they sink into chronic and debilitating metabolic disorders – simply by helping them recognize early signs that our blood sugar gives us,” states Wolfram Alderson.

For further information, please contact:

Wolfram Alderson, CEO
Hypoglycemia Support Foundation
[email protected]