EE 054: If Your A1c is O-M-G…Do These Three Things
What if over the next 90 days, you could lower your A1c without a pill, potion or powdered concoction?
Sounds pretty amazing doesn’t it? It’s both amazing, and possible.
In this post, I will share the 3 rules of thumb my clients follow to lower their A1c in 90 days.
Before we dive into the details, let’s review what A1c is and why it matters to you.
A1c is the average level of glycated hemoglobin (Hb) in the body over the previous 90 days. This is an estimated timeframe. For some it’s longer; others its shorter. It is directly correlated with your Blood Glucose level for said 90-ish day period. This is a trend that helps us know whether your body’s ability to control your Blood Glucose is working in your favor or not.
In other words, what percentage of hemoglobin is coated with glucose (glycated). Hemoglobin is a protein in Red Blood Cells (RBC) that transports oxygen throughout the body and gives the RBC its red color.
Think of this glycated hemoglobin as tiny spikes (sugar crystal coating) on a disc (RBC) bouncing around in the blood vessels. This spiked disc can leave damage in its wake, especially in areas of turbulence and in the narrow capillaries. A capillary is only wide enough to allow one RBC to pass through at a time…like a single file line.
The higher your A1c, the more spikes present on the RBC. The more spikes on an RBC, the more potential for damage in its wake.
Can you visualize how this could be a problem for your vessels, especially those damaged by chronic inflammation? And if a capillary is built for ONE single RBC to pass through, how much damage might occur is the RBC is coated in sugar (glucose)?
The higher the percentage (the A1c number), the more crystallized sugar on its surface.
You want your A1c number as low as possible. Ideally less than 5. Probably goes without saying after reading the paragraph above. But it is worth stating.
So how do you go about lowering your A1c without a pill, potion, or powdered concoction?
Before I get into that, if you are currently on a drug to lower your blood sugar, or A1c more specifically, do NOT attempt any major change without discussing with your prescribing doctor. You could lower your blood sugar too much, ultimately ending up in a hypoglycemic crisis.
The 3 rules of thumb I’m about to share, when combined, are that powerful. And results happen quickly. Safety first.
If you’re concerned about an A1c that’s steadily creeping up and your doctor’s giving you “the look“, here’s what you do…
Numero Uno…stop eating & drinking all white stuff.
If it’s a sugar, a starch, some sort of milk product, or a fruit with white inside, do not eat or drink it!
The one white food exception to this statement is cauliflower, “white broccoli” is good for you.
Rule-of-thumb with the fruit. If you bite into it and it is white-ish inside (apple / banana / blueberry), spit it out! Kidding (not really kidding).
While I’m at it, until further notice, do not drink any kind of fruit juice (no matter the color). It’s just liquid sugar without the fiber! No bueno on all levels in my book.
When consumed, these foods/drinks flood your bloodstream with glucose. To which your body responds by increasing insulin. And if your A1c is on the high side…your cells are already marinating in insulin. Therefore eating these white things douses gasoline on the fire!
Best solution, stop eating these white foods for now…not forever, but for now.
Numero Dos…stop grazing.
You do not need to eat every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar balanced, or to avoid the ever-so-scary sounding “starvation mode”. Nor do you need to “stoke your metabolism” by eating and drinking at any, and all, opportunities during waking hours.
These recommendations are just Conventional Wisdom BS. Read my blog to dispel this myth.
Here’s what you do instead.
- Eat real meals. Full meals. No snacks.
- Eat at a table without distractions. No TV. No mindless social media scrolling. Be present.
- Enjoy your food and the company, or the quiet if dining solo.
- Be mindful of the eating experience. No shoving food down your gullet as you run from fire to fire…unless you ARE a firefighter, then by all means run, but chew first. No CPR for you today too, okay?
Numero Tres…join a Low-fat Dieter’s recovery group, STAT.
Seriously, that whole Low-fat Lie was the WORST nutrition advice ever!! And all based off junk science. This blog covers this topic in detail.
Fat, especially the saturated kind, is a necessity for healthy cells, healthy brains, healthy hormones…essentially healthy humans. Embrace naturally sourced fats like coconut oil, avocado, first-press olive oil, butter from grass fed cows, ghee (which is butter without the milk solids), walnut oil, olives…you catch my drift. Real food sources.
If the fat (solid) or oil (liquid) is a natural fatty food, eat it. If it was made in a lab or in a plant (not by a plant, but in one — important point of distinction), do not eat it. The stuff made “in” a plant goes through a little process known as RBD. That stands for Refined, Bleached and, wait for it…Deodorized! Do I really need to elaborate? I mean, “ewww and gross!”
In summation:
- Say NO to white foods (and drinks).
- Stop grazing like a ruminant animal.
- Eat natural fats.
Follow these 3 rules of thumb and watch your A1c go down in 90 days! Send me a shout out when it does. I love to hear success stories!