How To Beat Diabetes, Weight Gain & Inflammation! - 3 Ways To Reverse It | Jessie Inchauspé
Added: Apr 11, 2024
In this podcast episode, Jessie Inchauspé discusses the importance of stabilizing blood sugar levels for overall health and well-being. She emphasizes the impact of blood sugar spikes on energy levels, mood, and overall health. She explains that blood sugar spikes are caused by consuming foods high in starches and sugars, which lead to fluctuations in glucose levels in the body.Key takeaways
Stabilizing blood sugar levels is crucial for maintaining energy, mood, and overall health. Foods high in starches and sugars can cause blood sugar spikes, leading to fluctuations in glucose levels.
Adding protein, fat, and fiber to meals containing oats can mitigate blood sugar spikes, providing a more balanced start to the day.
Plant milks derived from starches like rice and oats can lead to significant glucose spikes. Opting for lower starch content milks such as almond or coconut milk can help stabilize blood sugar levels.
Incorporate movement after meals to help regulate blood sugar levels, as engaging in physical activity allows muscles to utilize glucose more effectively.
Physical activity plays a crucial role in regulating blood sugar levels and overall health, but its impact on weight loss is limited compared to dietary changes.
Understanding Blood Sugar and Oats
Inchauspé delves into the topic of oats, a common breakfast food that can lead to blood sugar spikes due to its starch content. She explains that starch is essentially a chain of glucose molecules that can cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels. To mitigate the effects of oats on blood sugar, she suggests adding protein, fat, and fiber to the meal. This can help stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent energy crashes throughout the day.
Practical Tips for Managing Blood Sugar
Inchauspé provides practical tips for managing blood sugar, such as opting for a savory breakfast that includes protein, fat, and fiber. She recommends avoiding sweet foods in the morning to prevent glucose spikes. Additionally, she suggests incorporating movement after meals to help regulate blood sugar levels. By engaging in physical activity, the muscles can utilize glucose for energy, reducing the impact of high-carb meals on blood sugar.
Plant Milks and Blood Sugar
The discussion also touches on plant milks and their impact on blood sugar levels. Inchauspé explains that milks made from starches like rice and oats can lead to significant glucose spikes due to their high carbohydrate content. She recommends choosing plant milks with lower starch content, such as almond or coconut milk, to help stabilize blood sugar levels.
Fruit vs. Dried Fruit
The conversation shifts to the topic of fruit consumption and its effects on blood sugar. Inchauspé highlights the difference between whole fruits and dried fruits, noting that dried fruits are more concentrated in sugar due to the removal of water content. While whole fruits contain fiber that can help blunt the spike in blood sugar, dried fruits should be consumed in moderation or paired with nuts to balance the sugar content.
Navigating Criticism and Feedback
Inchauspé shares her experience with receiving pushback and criticism regarding her approach to managing blood sugar. She acknowledges the importance of listening to feedback, especially from individuals with specific health conditions like type 1 diabetes. By being open to constructive criticism, she continuously refines her recommendations to better serve her audience. She also addresses concerns about her methods potentially triggering disordered eating behaviors, emphasizing the importance of balancing scientific evidence with sensitivity to individual needs and experiences.
Impact of Lifestyle Changes on Disease
Inchauspé reflects on her medical practice and the profound impact of lifestyle changes on disease management. She shares examples of patients who have experienced significant improvements in their health by addressing the root causes of their conditions. By focusing on lifestyle modifications, such as diet and exercise, many individuals have seen diseases like type 2 diabetes, anxiety, and chronic pain disappear or significantly improve.
Inchauspé explains that the current healthcare system is not adequately equipped to address chronic diseases, which require a different approach than acute problems. She emphasizes the role of lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management in managing chronic conditions. She discusses the concept of epigenetics, which suggests that lifestyle choices can influence gene expression and health outcomes.
The Four Pillars of Health
Inchauspé introduces the concept of the four pillars of health: food, movement, sleep, and relaxation. She emphasizes the importance of balance across all four pillars for overall well-being. She shares a case study of a patient with type 2 diabetes who saw improvements in blood sugar levels by focusing on sleep, stress management, and diet modifications rather than just reducing carbs.
The Threshold Effect
Inchauspé explains the threshold effect, where individuals can tolerate multiple stressors until they reach a tipping point and experience health issues. She highlights the importance of addressing underlying lifestyle factors to prevent reaching the threshold and developing chronic conditions. By taking a holistic approach to health, individuals can improve their overall well-being and prevent disease.
The Role of Environment and Willpower
Inchauspé discusses the impact of the environment on health behaviors, particularly in relation to food choices. She advises controlling the environment by keeping unhealthy foods out of the house to reduce temptation and reliance on willpower. By creating a supportive environment, individuals can make healthier choices and improve their overall diet.
Psychological Factors and Emotional Attachments
Inchauspé delves into the psychological factors that influence food choices, such as emotional attachments and comfort eating. She explores how individuals may use food as a coping mechanism or to fulfill emotional needs. By addressing these underlying emotional attachments and behaviors, individuals can make more conscious and healthier food choices.
Short-Term Pleasure vs. Long-Term Consequences
Inchauspé discusses the challenge of balancing short-term pleasure with long-term consequences when making lifestyle choices. She acknowledges the allure of indulging in unhealthy foods for immediate gratification but emphasizes the importance of considering the long-term impact on health. By prioritizing long-term health goals and making sustainable lifestyle changes, individuals can improve their overall well-being.
Benefits of Group Support
Inchauspé highlights the importance of social connection and mindful eating in promoting healthier habits. She emphasizes the importance of having at least one meal a day together around a table. By eating mindfully and engaging in social interactions during meals, individuals can reduce overeating and improve their relationship with food
She also mentions the benefits of group support in health transformation, including increased accountability, shared learning, and a sense of belonging. She explains how having a health coach or mentor can provide valuable guidance and motivation for individuals on their health journey.
Metabolism and Energy Expenditure
Metabolism encompasses all the processes in the body that require energy, including immune function, reproductive system, and basic physiological functions. While physical activity is a visible aspect of energy expenditure, it actually accounts for less than half of the calories burned each day. The majority of energy is spent on essential bodily functions that we may not be consciously aware of.
In 2009 and 2010, Inchauspé, along with collaborators, conducted a study on the Hadza community in Northern Tanzania, one of the last hunting and gathering populations on the planet. Contrary to expectations, the total energy expenditure of the Hadza people was found to be similar to individuals in the US and Europe, despite engaging in significantly more physical activity. This highlights the complexity of metabolism and how the body prioritizes energy allocation.
Constrained Energy Expenditure Model
Inchauspé introduces the concept of the constrained energy expenditure model, which challenges the notion that exercise alone is a significant factor in weight loss. While physical activity has numerous health benefits, including lower inflammation levels and stress responses, it does not have a substantial impact on overall energy expenditure for weight loss in the long term.
Importance of Physical Activity
Despite the limited impact of exercise on weight loss, Inchauspé emphasizes the importance of physical activity for overall health. Our bodies have evolved to be constantly in motion, and regular exercise is essential for proper physiological functioning. While exercise may not be the primary driver of weight loss, it offers a range of benefits, including improved immune function, stress response, and hormonal balance.
Balancing Diet and Exercise
In discussing public health messaging around weight loss, Inchauspé advocates for honesty and accuracy in conveying the role of diet and exercise. While exercise is crucial for overall health, particularly in the context of our evolutionary past, diet plays a more significant role in weight loss. The focus should be on emphasizing the importance of dietary changes for achieving sustainable weight loss, with exercise complementing these efforts.
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