On Wednesday 20 Apr 2011 8:05:29 am Radhika, Y. wrote: > i find sugar everywhere and by sugar i do not care if it > is refined sugar, glucose, fructose whatever. the only answer is to not > eat. >
The problem is worse than that Radhika - as you probably know. Fundamentally the body relies on sugar (specifically glucose) for energy. Anything you eat - even if it is lean meat alone, ultimately gets converted to glucose in the body to be utilised for the production of energy. The brain and the nervous system are particularly sensitive to the lack of glucose and stop functioning and get permanently damaged if glucose levels get too low. The "high sugar levels" that diabetics have is not so much due to sugar consumption. It works as follows. Glucose gets into the blood from the intestine (from food) or is produced in the liver and injected into the blood. Now every single cell in the body needs that glucose but there is a door with a lock that prevents that glucose from getting into any cell. That lock can be opened by Insulin. If there is not enough insulin, or if the locks fail to open even with insulin (insulin resistance) then the glucose that has reached the blood will not enter the cells and get used up. That means that although the cells are not getting the glucose they need so badly, the blood is full of gluciose that has not been used up. That is what causes the high "sugar" levels in diabetics. If sugar levels in the blood are high enough - the high glucose levels allow the diffusion of sugar into cells - giving them at least some of the glucoase they need despite the lack of help from the "key" insulin. But high blood sugar levels has its own consequences, apart from widespread "other effects" on the body. Unfortuunately medical science is "not yet there" when it comes to diabetics. there are some things that can happen in diabetics despite the best blood sugar control. It is likely (my diabetologist colewagues tell me) that there is some other as yet undiscovered chemical factor that also goes awry in diabetics. Currently the best one can do is to help one's body by remaining as slim as possible, exercising, wand watching one's sugar and lipid levels. shiv
