Wait, Really? Eating Habits That Tank Your Energy and Cause Premature Aging.

Let's play the "Put a Finger Down" game. Hold up all ten and put one down for each symptom you've experienced:

-anxiety

-depression

-cravings

-excessive hunger, especially just a couple hours after eating

-poor sleep

-acne

-weight gain

-intense menopause symptoms

-hormonal issues/imbalances

-Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)

-premature aging

How many fingers do you have left? My guess is not many. (A couple of those were only for the ladies so you men get to keep a couple.)

The mechanism for all this? Glucose (blood sugar) spikes and crashes are wreaking havoc on you, and not only making you feel like crap, but also causing serious damage to your health.

Jessie Inchauspe, aka the Glucose Goddess on Instagram, is a geneticist with a Master's Degree in Biochemistry and has been working to educate the world on the dangers of blood sugar spikes. Not only has she found links between excessive glucose spikes to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, but also heart disease and mood and mental disorders. The scientific and medical communities used to believe that monitoring blood sugar was only important for Diabetics, but Inchauspe reports that 90% of the population deals with spikes and crashes on a daily basis.

Let's look at why it's such a problem. For starters, glucose molecules running loose in our systems damage the molecules they bump into, causing premature aging. Second, too many spikes cause insulin resistance over time. Insulin's job is to shuttle glucose to the liver, muscles, or fat cells to protect the body from damage, but if we build up a resistance it can't do its job as well and our health suffers. This is where we put ourselves in danger of developing serious conditions like those mentioned above. Third, too much glucose introduced too fast creates free radicals, causing inflammation and all the issues that come with it.

The good news? Jessie has developed some brilliant hacks to help us regulate our levels- without having to cut out the foods we love! Here are her top tips for glucose regulation:

1. Eat a savory breakfast. Some whole fruit is okay (not juice), but eating sweet/carb-loaded meals like oatmeal, muesli, granola, pancakes smothered in syrup, bagels, etc, will start your day on the "blood sugar rollercoaster" of spikes, crashes, cravings, hunger, and mood swings. Stick to eggs, meat, and veggies, or other proteins, fats, and fibers.

2. Eat your food in the right order: veggies first, then fats and proteins, with carbs and starches last. The fiber in the veggies lines the digestive tract and proteins help to slow the digestive process so you won't absorb as much of the glucose and it will be over a longer period of time. For good measure, try to eat as many veggies as you will be eating carbs. This drops the blood sugar spike by 75% and the insulin spike by 50%.

3. Add some vinegar. Drinking 1 TBSP of any kind of vinegar in a tall glass of water before a meal tells your body to take glucose straight to your muscles.

4. Go for a walk after your meal. Any kind of activity will help curb the spike.

5. Always pair carbs with fats, proteins, or fiber.

Now we know how to help regulate our blood sugar but how do you know if this is an issue for you? Most people don't know they are experiencing these spikes and crashes and associate the symptoms with something else, so here is what to look out for:

Glucose Spikes:

1. You can feel agitated, frazzled or amped up. Think of a kid on a "sugar rush" or the feeling of having too much caffeine.

Glucose Crashes

1. Very tired, like you could fall asleep standing up

2. Hunger pains

3. Cravings- low blood sugar activates a part of the brain that tells you to eat high-calorie foods

4. Nausea, sweats, or shakes

5. Mental health episodes and mood swings

Try these tips out for a week, take some notes, and see what differences you notice. Your body will thank you. Think of the energy expenditure and panic response of a body that is constantly having to mitigate such drastic changes several times throughout the day; it is, basically, like metabolic whiplash. Your body works hard to keep you alive and well. Let's try to smooth out the road a bit! Take care of your body, and it will take care of you.

Want more info? Listen here.