202: Non-Food Influences on Blood Sugar

<p>In response to the recent episode on the 3 stages of carbohydrate intolerance, I got an email that merits further discussion.</p> <p>I want everyone to understand that while yes, our food choices drive blood sugar and are primarily responsible for our fat loss and lack thereof, there are non-food influences on blood sugar.</p> <p>That's right - there are physiological and lifestyle factors that drive blood sugar & insulin significantly enough to influence fat loss and today we're investigating those things.</p> <p><a href= "http://primalpotential.com/202-non-food-influences-on-blood-sugar/"> http://primalpotential.com/202-non-food-influences-on-blood-sugar/</a></p> <h2>Non-Food Influences on Blood Sugar</h2> <p>In order to reach our highest fat loss potential and optimize our health, we have to understand both the food and non-food influences on blood sugar.</p> <p>We need to evaluate the ways by which we can increase blood sugar as well as the factors that influence how we decrease or stabilize blood sugar.</p> <p>Three ways by which blood sugar is increased include:</p> <ul> <li>Eating - this includes but is not limited to consuming carbohydrates. The extent of the blood sugar increase depends on what and how much you eat</li> <li>Glycogenolysis - breaking down stored muscle or liver glycogen to glucose</li> <li>Gluconeogenesis - generating new glucose from a non-carbohydrate substance like protein. This can be triggered in response to low blood sugar and/or stress</li> </ul> <p>The factors that determine how quickly blood sugar drops after an elevation include:</p> <ul> <li>Your activity level</li> <li>When, what and how much you last ate</li> <li>Your carbohydrate tolerance</li> <li>Your insulin sensitivity</li> <li>Your baseline (include glycogen storage capacity)</li> </ul> <p>Factors which determine what happens to the glucose in your blood include:</p> <ul> <li>Your activity level</li> <li>Your fuel needs</li> <li>Your muscle glycogen status</li> </ul> <p>The potential uses for glucose in the blood inc