Dr. Luke Wellness

Fasting is one of the world’s oldest healing strategies.Intermittent and continuous fasting have been shown to reduce circulating insulin levels which is beneficial in reversing insulin resistance, increase fat burning, improve weight loss and balance many of the hormones associated with hunger, weight and blood sugar management.

ARE ALL CALORIES THE SAME?
The old way of thinking is a calorie is just a calorie and the only way to loose weight is to control calories or to expend more calories than you consume. The “eat less exercise more” mantra we’ve all heard over and over again.
This old way of thinking doesn’t take into account the types of foods you’re consuming . This way of thinking tells us if we want to control our weight we must be in a negative state of caloric balance and doesn’t take into account what effect different macro nutrients… (carbohydrates, proteins, and fat)…are having on our bodies hormones specifically insulin.
If we over look what effect foods are having on the hormones in our body we are MISSING a BIG part of the picture. Thats because insulin….tells the body what to do with the energy we consume. It especially tell fats cells what to do.
Of the 3 macro nutrients carbohydrates are going to elevate insulin levels the most in our bodies, and when insulin is elevated the fat cells are storing fat, it doesn’t matter what the calories are… if insulin levels are elevated in our body the fat cells are in storage mode. When insulin levels are low the body can’t help but to burn fat.
So with todays low fat high carbohydrate eating, insulin levels are kept high and almost independent of calories your body starts to store fat. On the other had with low carb eating insulin levels are kept low and independent of calories your body burns fat for energy
So are calories important “YES” but they are only one piece of a larger puzzle. constant consumption of high highly processed foods dense in carbohydrate will keep our insulin levels elevated making it impossible to loose weight.
Have you ever had your fasting insulin levels checked? Research shows that fasting insulin levels can be elevated up to 15 years before blood glucose levels become a problem and someone gets diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. In a sense elevated fasting insulin levels could be considered pre-pre diabetes.
If you liked this post you can find more information on controlling your blood sugar levels by joining me at bloodsugarreboot.com for a webinar on erratic blood sugar control.
Yours in health,
Dr. Luke

What is the Dawn Phenomena?
Its is a natural rise in blood glucose levels that happens typically around 3 or 4 am in the morning and lasts around 3 or 4 hours depending on the person and other variables. This spike in glucose levels each morning can be startling, but it doesn’t need to be scary.
Why does it happen?
As we are nearing the end of sleep the body it priming itself to get up and get going. Brain activity starts to increase and so does its demand for energy. Physically the body especially your muscles which are the biggest consumers of glucose in the body… start to increase their demand for energy.
So our bodies are preparing us to get up and start moving around and obviously our metabolic needs are going to increase quickly. Basically the dawn phenomena is the bodies way of preparing us to come online, just like booting up your computer.
How does this occur?
Insulin is so good at doing its job of lower glucose levels that the body has several hormones that oppose it. Namely epinephrine, growth hormone, cortisol, glucagon and all of them start to rise during this latter part of the night or early morning. Just to be clear this is happening in non-diabetic individual as well …Its a normal cycle in the body. The problem is in diabetic and pre-diabetic individuals it can be much more pronounced.
These hormones cause the breakdown of stored glucose and the production of new glucose in the liver… In the absence of eating sugar… if your glucose levels are rising its because the liver is producing more glucose.
First of all its interesting to note that the body is a little more insulin resistant in the morning and a little more insulin sensitive mid-day. If our body is more insulin resistant in the morning naturally… and we’ve started out with already elevated sugar levels due to the dawn effect…why would we want to start our morning or breakfast with carbohydrate dense foods. For a Type 2 or pre-diabetic that’s just priming you for difficult to control glucose levels throughout the day. The dawn effect should be a call to control carbohydrates at breakfast. Which is probably one of the most carbohydrate laden meals of the day, cereals toast bagels pancakes, waffles orange juice etc….
Food for thought.
Try starting out your morning with a low carbohydrate meal and eating your last meal as early as 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. Closely monitor your blood sugar levels and see if you can find a happy place and control those morning highs and the continued blood sugar roller coaster ride throughout your day.
If you liked this post you can find more information on controlling your blood sugar levels by joining me at bloodsugarreboot.com for a webinar on erratic blood sugar control.

Yours in health,

Dr. Luke

Hi Everyone,
What is your number one complaint or challenge you face besides your hard to control blood sugar levels? What other ways does it manifest in your life? Fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, irritability ect.... Let me know.

Our DISEASE is a reflection of the DIS-EASE in our lives. No magic fix, no magic supplements, no magic pills. We have to be ready and willing to do the WORK. The doctor you're searching for is within you.

What is the difference between your A1c reading and eAG ?

A1c measures the average of your blood sugar over the pervious 2 to 3 months, basically averages the highs and lows over a 3 month period and expresses it as a percentage making it hard to understand what your blood glucose levels are really averaging over that 3 month period.

The eAG reading is reported in mg/dl (mmol/L), the same units that your blood sugar meters use, so eAG can make it easer to understand what your blood sugar is doing on average over that 3 month period. This can help you better manage your sugar levels and compare them to your own readings.

There are many eAg conversion charts available on the internet that you can download and keep as a reference.

Yours in health,

Dr. Luke

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will involve the patient in the proper use of food, fresh air and exercise.” – Thomas Edison

Just wondering what kind of diets everyone uses for controlling your blood sugars and how well you think they work for you?

Here are 5 tips for erratic blood sugar.
https://drlukewellness.com/five-tips-for-low-blood-sugar-symptoms/

Five Tips For Low Blood Sugar Symptoms - Dr Luke Wellness Sherry laid in her hospital bed thinking to herself “I finally have time to reflect on my life” she heard the voices in her head. You need to take better care of yourself,…. you need to lose weight….. you need to exercise…. you need to reduce your stress level….. sleep better … slow yo...