A carb threshold can be interpreted as" the daily carbohydrate intake that enables one to meet their health and weight loss goals while experiencing vibrancy, stable energy, good sleep, calmness and clarity of mind."
Are you aware that your carb threshold could be the culprit behind some stubborn health concerns: high blood pressure & weight gain - especially if you find it difficult to lose weight or cannot lose weight doing the things that used to make it come off easily, could mean that you have become sensitive to carbohydrates. This means it takes fewer carbohydrates to raise your insulin levels.
Think of it like this. In your younger years, say college or early 20s, you probably were able to eat just about anything and your weight wouldn't really fluctuate. Now, when you diet and really focus on removing sweets, bread and other goodies, the scale barely budges. Why is that? Because your cells have become less sensitive to glucose over time. Insulin is also the messenger hormone that tells your cells to take in glucose when you eat. When you become less sensitive to the message (because of overuse), the insulin has to yell louder, to get the glucose into the cells. You have in essence become less sensitive to glucose or carbohydrates. Carbs do affect blood sugar the most, more so than protein and fat. Those high carbs, low-fat diets of the 80s/90s and even early 2000s did us no favors by keeping us in high carb-burning mode.
Regarding high blood pressure, the root cause is not sodium intake as we have been led to believe. In fact, sodium is an essential mineral. The root cause is chronically elevated insulin levels. So why not address the root cause and bring down your insulin levels instead of taking drugs that get rid of the excess water?
So as a functional nutritionists we take what is called an upstream approach to balancing health in the body. This is a perfect example. The downstream approach to hypertension is to take medication such as diuretics or beta-blockers to cause the body to release water and decrease blood pressure. The upstream approach is to understand why this is happening in the body (increased insulin) and address the increased insulin and lower it, while also addressing stress which can send glucose skyrocket.
Let's take a look at some of the variables that impact insulin levels and therefore, your carb threshold.
You see, there are many variables to the equation of determining your carb threshold. If you have tried a low carb diet in the past with no success, don't beat yourself up! This is actually not a simple strategy for women, particularly those aged 30 - 50, as the hormonal landscape becomes quite complex.
There are several strategies for a lower crab lifestyle, and often we start with one for a few weeks and alter to another as the body adjusts. Here are a few examples of different ways we can reset insulin levels through diet alone. That's right, no expensive testing or supplements necessary!
Adopting a low carb lifestyle to reset insulin levels and increase your carb threshold can do wonders for your metabolic health. Take it from our client, Ashley, who came to us struggling with insulin resistance and weight loss resistance as side effects of PCOS. She adopted a 28 day ketogenic diet to lose weight and reset her insulin levels. Currently, she follows a keto leaning strategy until she hits her metabolic goal.
The side effects of a healthy diet formulated for your metabolic health can do tremendous wonders for every system, as you can see here.
If you're excited about adopting a personalized formula to help you achieve stable blood sugar, lower insulin, decreased inflammation, and enhanced energy, what are you waiting for? Sign up for a free Discovery Call and get started with one of our experts in Functional Nutrition today.
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In good health,
Kristie + Rebecca
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