TED-x | Sugar Is Not A Treat

Dr. Jody Stanislaw offers a reframe:

Not so sweet

The pancreas isn’t an organ that most people think about a lot, but it regulates blood sugar levels by releasing insulin as needed. Overworking the beta cells in the pancreas that do this, can lead to their burnout, which contributes to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

If, like Dr. Stanislaw, you already have Type 1 Diabetes (an autoimmune condition usually diagnosed in early childhood and unrelated to what one has or hasn’t been eating), then your pancreas is already not doing much, or rather, it’s too busy fighting itself to actually do its job. This means that taking exogenous insulin (i.e., from the pharmacy rather than from your dysfunctional pancreas) will be necessary for survival. Most people with T1D will have an insulin pump if possible, to provide insulin as needed. Others will rely on injections.

So, does that mean that T1D is a free pass on the diabetes-related health risks of sugar, since after all, you already have diabetes anyway?

Nope, no such luck. Because in the case of T1D, if you then get insulin resistance on top of the fact you don’t make your own insulin, then the insulin that you are taking will stop working, and ultimately you will die. So, that’s pretty important to avoid!

Thus, Dr. Stanislaw has strong opinions on diet in this regard, and she recommends her own protocol regardless of whether you are diabetic or not:

• Avoid refined carbs (e.g. bread, pasta, or foods with added sugars).
• Start the day with protein-rich foods for balanced blood sugar.
• Drink water to curb sugar cravings caused by dehydration.
• Use low-carb substitutes (e.g. cauliflower pizza crust, zucchini noodles, etc).

While Dr. Stanislaw does recommend an 80:20 approach to eating in general (80% healthy foods, 20% indulgences), she does strongly suggest not putting sugar even into the “indulgences” 20%, because a) a diet of 20% sugar is not at all good, and b) the dangers of sugar consumption are particularly high, so it is better reframed not as a treat to be enjoyed, but rather as a threat to be avoided.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

5 Steps To Quit Sugar Easily

Take care!