New to UCAN?
Contents
We’re all familiar with the afternoon slump. You’re going about your day, feeling fine, but then 2 p.m. hits—and instead of thinking about a pre-dinner workout, you’re suddenly thinking about a pre-dinner nap.
That’s about the time of day when many people’s blood sugar and energy levels drop. And while it’s natural for that level to change throughout the day, you don’t have to accept major dips and spikes as a given. While your blood sugar level (the amount of glucose in your bloodstream) is impacted by many factors—including medications, stress, and your activity level—what you eat plays the biggest role. Keeping your blood glucose steady can benefit you both mentally and physically.
One way to do this is to eat carbohydrate-rich foods with a good amount of fiber together with foods that contain protein and healthy fats, says Bob Seebohar, a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics and former sports dietitian for Olympic Team USA. As soon as you eat carbs, your body starts working to break them down into glucose for energy. Simple carbohydrates that have added sugars or don’t have fiber (think cookies or white rice) are broken down much faster than complex high-fiber carbs. They give you a quick burst of energy but also lead to a quick crash. Protein and fat both take longer to digest than carbs and eating them helps slow down how quickly carbs raise your blood sugar.
Your body breaks down carbohydrates—found in grains, fruit, vegetables, milk, and sweets—into glucose. When glucose enters your bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin to carry it to your cells so it can be used for energy. Any that is left over is stored in the liver and muscles to be used later on when your blood sugar gets low.
“Sugar and processed carbohydrates have the largest effect on blood sugar,” says licensed and registered dietitian Julie Burns, an integrative sports nutritionist and team nutritionist for the Chicago Blackhawks. When you eat too many processed carbs, your pancreas pumps out an increased amount of insulin to move the glucose from your blood into your cells. In the short term, that can cause your energy to surge and then crash.
To compensate, the pancreas pumps out even more insulin to get blood sugar to your cells, but over time, your cells stop responding and can become insulin resistant. The pancreas keeps producing more insulin for these cells but eventually, it can’t keep up, so your blood sugar continues to rise. If this behavior goes unchecked, over time it can impair your body’s ability to regulate and use glucose for energy, which can increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
However, carbohydrates are a vital macronutrient, so you just need to be smart about the type of carbs you choose. These are the three main types:
By: Kate Cohen
Get a free shipping on all orders over $200 (Australia)
Write us an e-mail: sales@generationucan.com.au
If you order before 12am, your package will be received within 2 days.
We ship in South Asia, send us an e-mail: sales@generationucan.com.au
Sign up for our newsletter for all the latest news and offers.
At UCAN, we believe in the combined power of innovation, science, and sports nutrition. We’re on a mission to empower athletes at all levels to achieve their personal best, and reach beyond their own expectations.
© Created by September Studio – Designer and WP developer | Copyright Generation UCAN Ltd
Comments are closed