Blood Sugar Levels, Food Plans, Smoking Etc..

[221177]

Curious to know how many of you are on specific food routines/plans to regulate your blood sugar level? And what difference you're noticing if any?

I used to be addicted to coffee, chocolate, processed sugar, amphetamines, nicotine & weed, and am down to weening myself off the final cigarettes and processed sugar, without getting *too* controlling about it. Definitely feeling the need to do this as panic attacks/disassociation are getting out of control. Have a tendancy to go all military style controlling with any health kicks that start, and find it difficult to achieve a balance between not self-soothing with food, whilst not depriving myself of food, and equally not thinking about it every second of the day. That said, due to my current disassociation, I'm thinking that a regular routine is probably quite a good thing to start getting back into balance.

I've just restarted quitting cigarettes (ha ironic!), and stopped processed sugar, biscuits, chocolate, even juice, but am determined to do it differently than I've done it before, so my body & mind don't go into complete shock & I feel like I've re-lost the entire plot. The more I read through google about PTSD, schizophrenia, mental health issues and blood sugar level, it all seems to make more sense, that we can be incredibly hypersensitive and fixing the diet/everything that peaks & troughs our blood sugar levels, can be a really important step in recovery.

I'm currently opting for lots of protein, veggies, water, and complex carbs in small amounts, & not eating big portions, but small meals every 2-3hrs. Normally I eat all the good stuff, but don't eat enough, and eat a few too many bananas, which are better than junk food, but still have the ability to sugar peak the bs level, and I still can get easily spaced out one minute, and down to the depths the next, with physical pains galore. I'm supplementing with wheatgrass juice in the morning (detoxing), vit c & zinc, 5-HTP, iron supplements, amino acid supplements, & herbal tea.

So much food in fact I don't think I could fit chocolate cake in even if I tried! But that said, the control stops here, and if I am offered a piece of non-organic wholemeal toast with peanut butter and *oh my god shock horror* it wasn't on the meal plan of today, I still may be able to say yes and smile with it.

Curious to know what's working for everyone and what you notice about your blood sugar levels in relation to anxiety/state of mind/disassociation etc... :)

(p.s. I hope this is in the right section because god knows I keep getting it wrong :-/)

 

[Philippa]

I noticed that after all the trauma, I felt so abnormal that I started eating chocolate again (I had lost my taste for it years ago), gave me a sense of doing things that 'normal' people do. It wasn't so much for the sugar rush or the taste, as I had to re-train myself to like it again (if that makes sense?), but more for the normality factor...like "everyone likes chocolate". I started buying new clothes and treating myself again, after a long period of having no money from being unemployed (and unemployable for so long), so having money again when I finally did find work again was fun.

Coffee...I started drinking it again at work in the last 6 months, and with the last guy I was seeing (who I'm not seeing anymore), more for the laxative effect. I find it brilliant in this regards...very cleansing. It also helps me concentrate at work, as my job is very monotonous though I have to be accurate with the data I enter in the computer, so I really am forced to pay attention, which is hard because it's SO FREAKIN' BORING!

I think it's a good job for someone in recovery though, and it was passed onto me by a woman who was in recovery herself,so...

I find that I eat a lot of protein. Tuna from a can, pasta, quinoa, fresh vegies. I've gone kinda raw lately, raw salads, carrot sticks for work, baked beans. Fried egg on toasted pumpkin bread for breakfast, and sometimes dinner too. Quick, tasty and protein packed. I go for really quick options, like polenta, which cooks in under 2 minutes, is such a comforting porridgey type food, great for winter or whenever I need to feel warmed up.

Roast vegies are always good...lots of potatoes, pumpkin, garlic etc.

I get organic vegies and fruit delivered to me, which is so great. I can just come home from work and it's there waiting for me.

I buy nuts as snackfood quite frequently, and like to mix it up as well. Cashews this week, walnuts the next etc. These are always good when I feel my energy levels drop and I do draw on them a lot when I'm hungry but can't be bothered cooking anything. They are a really great snack to have on call. I also get these homemade 'muesli' type fruit and nut bars from the nut shop, which contain sesame seeds and honey, nuts and fruit...so yummy.

Coconut water is my thing at the moment, and I also drink boiled water with a teaspoon of Apple Cider Vinegar as a general tonic (have been doing this the past 5 days now) and it has helped my overall feeling of well being quite noticeably in the last few days. I add a few crystals of magnesium into the water as well.

I drink more tea than coffee, and notice it's soothing effect. I do recall having loads more energy when I wasn't drinking coffee at all, and I hope to get back to that once I've found new work or gotten my business off the ground. For now though, it helps me concentrate at the job I am doing, so it is helpful in that way, plus the lax effect. I really don't like coffee that much though.

I quit smoking years ago, but I will sometimes have a rollie with a friend. I was smoking weed for about a year recently, though not every weekend, just now and then...which was pleasant. I've stopped now, and have cut out my weed smoking friends from my life.

 

[The Albatross]

I got mega allergies and have been doing "meal planning" to take the anxiety out of what I can and can't eat by email with a friend online. It has decreased the stress level.

I was glucose intolerant 5 years ago but was normal on last years retest with nutrition changes and compliance on the 7 basic foods and glycerine that I am allergic to but did additional testing because I was having some consistent physical problems (blood histimine over 2500, allergic is 150).

I got malabsorbtion issues on some nutients... and after a long crap shoot trying to add in the missing minerals, gave up and I take Raw Prenatals (dairy, wheat, soy and preservative free though they do contain yeast which I am allergic to). I been doing it for about three months and have had some improvements (I am osteopenia, unexplained infertility, premature aging and had nail thinning pretty badly).

Having a tough time on nicotine because of the antidepressant qualities and I'm actually not allergic to it (smoking the organic 100 percent natural tobacco but of course I need to quit again - was 5 years and almost 2 years quit cold turkey as I had random suicidal thoughts with the prescription meds that are supposed to help).

I am allergic to caffine, coffee green and black teas... which sucks and due to the numerous plant allergies, finding an acceptable equivalent has been hard. Because I actually like something hot in the mornings and the aroma. So I did find an oregano/sage and also a clove/cinnamon equivalent... but brewing it takes a bit of time because it's only good for three days at a time... and when the plant is blooming it doesn't work and I get an allergic reaction.

I don't do weed or drugs... and just stepped back down to one prescription pill a day, an antihistimine. I'm relying more on whole foods with natural anti-inflammatory properties. Sort of experimenting on myself trying to get more comfortable.

Allergic to chocolate which I can't stand because I like it, but I've nixed it because of dairy, soy and I'm allergic to the cocoa too.

I have been stressing some about an appropriate breakfast food... I don't like doing veg in the morning and am allergic to most other breakfast foods. But do lean meats, fish, veggies, and I did a 30 day fast off of all yeast, distilled products, and fruits and sugars like in January. I felt better, but now that spring is here am struggling some.

I substitute peppermint tea occasionally and try to generate a sweat every day, get some sun (about 15-30 minutes a day) and it helps. I can't run but joined Curves so I can do cardio 3 times a week and can get some endorphins. I actually like it except for the affirmations that they pipe in.

My mom is a diabetic, and I don't do alcohol. Part of my story was that at one point I was full blown compulsive when I was actively isolating in my home. I quit and got 3 years sober, relapsed and then 2, relapsed... but it was traumas that knocked me off... and not having the coping skills. Working through that for about the last 2 years, but I did find that my body sets up a crave for sugar, and now I understand it because I didn't know about the many food intolerances and allergies until last December.

 

[The Albatross]

P.S. Forgot to say how this helps my PTSD. Well a friend told me that a sound holistic approach is body, mind, spirit. So if I can improve all three in one day I will naturally go up and improve. Some days, I can only do two, and it helps me deal with the anxiety if I can't do the body, but I can do the mind and spirit stuff or I can't do the spirit but I do the mind and body stuff (you get the idea I hope). It is a consistent way to make decisions and move ahead to cultivate good or better habits and I've found it less anxiety or depression causing too. If I imagine a triangle and two are moving up to good behavior, then the third must follow. That's a visualization I give in my head. Like the fluid filled thermometers, it either goes up quickly, goes up slowly, goes down slowly or goes down quickly. It takes the pressure of when I'm having a bad day and most often I find I can do two.

 

[Kintsugi]

I was kind of macrobiotic/vegan for a while, which honestly did feel healthy and good. An any case, no processed sugar, so I found myself making a lot of smoothies as one of my small grazing meals, like what you are describing in your meal schedule. I still ate yogurt, so I would just throw that into a smoothie with a bunch of fruit. I find that using frozen strawberries and blueberries is not as delicious but cheaper and then there is no need to water it down with ice. A banana and a handful of each of those with a cup of yogurt makes a filling and sweet meal without overloading the sugar. If you don't eat yogurt, soy milk works well, too, particularly for a light starter in the morning, maybe with some granola on the side. If I was looking to treat myself specifically, I'd throw in a banana, organic peanut butter, a little chocolate syrup (or chocolate soy milk or milk depending on your diet) and soy milk/milk. It tasted milkshake-like without being bad for me, and the peanut butter was far more stabilizing than peanut butter ice cream would have been.

I also am hypoglycemic, so I am used to having to watch my sugars. Another HUGE way to reduce your sugars without sending yourself into shock is to replace processed grains with whole grains. The less extreme way to do this is to replace pastas with rice--it's less dense and less processed.

My mother is finishing a graduate degree in the mind, body, spirit approach to nutrition that Albatross is talking about. Something that she stresses to me is that mindfulness is important, but obsessive thinking is still letting that thing control you. Would it maybe be easier to regulate what food you allow in the house to a dietary style rather than micro-managing? I'm not criticizing you at all, but just thinking about the kind of planning you're doing gives me terrible stress/anxiety, and it seems like it may be less stressful do find a structure that gives you the restraint you need without the intensive management. For instance, general rules-of-thumb in macrobiotics is that your meals should be ~%30 vegetables, ~%60 whole grains, and ~%10 protein per meal. That's a structure with fill-in-the blank content. Much more detailed descriptions of foods to be eaten monthly/infrequently/optionally, weekly, and daily is provided here: [DLMURL]http://www.kushiinstitute.org/html/what_is_macro.html[/DLMURL]

I don't know if this was helpful. I hope you find the plan you're looking for. The Kushi Institute (liked above) is a very helpful resource for learning some of the fundamental principals of macrobiotics their philosophies on food and well-being. Good luck.

 

[Abrasky]

I'm a type 1 diabetic on insulin and I have wacky blood sugars and PTSD. (Even a good diabetic can't get the control the wonderful natural pancreas can. I had PTSD with no diabetes for 7 years before getting type 1 diabetes and having that and PTSD.

I've noticed that hypering (being high say 19mmol has very similar symptoms to a panic attack. Hyperventilating and breathing fast and feeling of fullness in the head and high anxiety. It is like having a panic attack. Similarly being low blood sugar (under 4mmol) feels a bit like a panic attack to. A low blood sugar will make me feel light headed and dizzy, a bit like a panic attack. I actually can't tell the difference so I will do a test. Being 7.8-8.5 also gives me a fast breathing symptoms a bit like a panic attack. So breathing I think is effected a lot by blood sugars.

A non diabetic probably does not experience high blood sugars very often. A teenager has more wacky blood sugar and highs than an adult because of hormones. Hormones really drive blood sugars a lot. But it is not really common for a non diabetic to go above 10mmol, and if they do it's probably only after lunch and is going to stay like that for about an hour at a maximum. (I got this from a graph about blood sugars of normal versus diabetics.) It might be on google.

Insulin is released in a primary dose from the pancreas with a follow up of slow release insulin later.SO eating sugar isn't going to really effect a non diabetic. The sugar get's stomped on right away by the insulin.

Fat is more likely to effect blood sugars than sugar. Fat increases insulin resistance which raises blood sugar over the next day.

Sugar is a carbohydrate as rice and white bread are carbohydrates which aren't much different to sugar really in their effect on blood glucose. Sugar has a high GI which can raise the blood sugar spike (1 hour after meal) higher than say a low GI meal like Fruche. Which is why sugar isn't as good as a Fruche for a diabetic. I haven't noticed any difference between my mood between eating a high GI meal and a low GI meal. Not being able to eat sugar is a wives tale for diabetes really. I eat sugar occasionally. It's just not advisable to make it a regular thing due to the high GI of the food.

Having low blood glucose and high blood glucose isn't really a problem for non diabetics as their pancreas is so good at fixing it. However I was having low blood sugars on occasions for years before I became a diabetic and that did effect my moods.Lower Gi foods last longer than higher GI foods. Non diabetics can release glucose without food too by converting fat into glucose. Diabetics can't do this as easily.

I think it was interesting that when I was breastfeeding, my PTSD symptoms went away completely. Oxytocin in something I would love to take as a treatment for my PTSD. I found it twice as effective as diets or antideppressants. I was working full time as a mum and felt like I had been living in a big beam of sunshine. And the effects lasted for 6 months after I stopped breastfeeding. I don't think it is available though : (. It regulated something pretty good.

However eating good meals, and getting all the nutrients it might help keep you feeling good and having energy.

Food is there to enjoy though, don't forget that as that is what keeps us all healthy about our view of food :)

 

[ronin47]

I mainly try to avoid refined carbohydrates such as white bread and pastries. I'm actually working with a dietician right now who said that complex carbohydrates (beets, green beans, etc) and calcium rich foods are the best for keeping you blood sugar level stable. It is true that drops and/or spikes in blood sugar exacerbates anxiety and other such emotions. Also trying to get as much vitamin D as you can is good as vitamin D has a negative correlation with things like mood swings and depression. Sunshine is said to be a good source of vitamin D by some, but I've been told some dietary experts believe most Americans are too far from the equator for the sunshine to significantly effect their vitamin D levels. I got my vitamin D levels tested and much to my surprise they were very low. A healthy amount is at least 30, mine was only 9. After that I started taking supplements as I realized drinking milk wasn't going to cut it.

 

[dsantos]

I went cold turkey on cigarettes by drinking lots of water out of a large fat straw every time I felt the trigger. The large fat straw was the circumference of a cigarette and satisfied the oral need to suck on something. So the trigger of picking up something and putting in my mouth was satisfied. They say the physical addiction to nicotine is not as powerful as the psychological triggers. So, everytime I felt a trigger, I had my water/straw handy. It worked for me. Kept me busy drinking water and running to the bathroom. I think it helped speed the detox during the first week, as well.

Good luck. Cigarettes are a tough one. I am not one of those people who can smoke now and again. I get addicted.

 

[221177]

Grateful for the feedback and certainly helping.

I've eased off on too much obsessive thought about what I eat as a wise woman once told me - there is nothing good or bad, but too much of anything can throw us off balance.

I guess things get complicated because I've had eating disorders in the past, and the whole acceptance of me, myself & I in relation to my body can get complicated if I let it.

I'm still taking supplements, but also sticking to things that regulate blood sugar level, and making sure I get lots of sleep when I'm able. When I'm out of balance, and sleep becomes hard, it's generally because I've overdone it with something, and then I punish myself for this or that. Psychologically I am coming to terms with not punishing myself, and trying to stop black & white thinking. I have isolated myself so much over the years and am an only child, so to keep my perspective on what is the norm and what is okay can go a bit astray. People always say trust yourself and what works for you, but I can question this too much, esp when I'm out of balance, and so a little gentle discipline on the body, mind, spirit front is important, as is food, exercise, rest.

Definitely feel that my blood sugar levels affect my behaviour big time, and low blood sugar levels can cause panic attacks. Before I've been panicking about the panicking thinking that there's something significantly wrong with me, but if I take an evaluative approach I see that again I've been pushing myself too hard, and need to simply be kind, tell myself I'm okay, and that's it okay to take it easy.

Such complex trauma that I continually search for the ultimate lifestyle or routine, but what a punishing black & white & traumatic way to live! Easy does it as they say..

Thanks all.. glad to hear balance seems to be restored through so many ways - great to have this shared xx

 

[Mina]

I also find that my diet affects my behavior, thoughts, reactions, etc. on a major scale. When I'm not eating processed sugars and eating healthy on a regular basis, I am waaaay more stable, less likely to get triggered, and cope much better with whatever is thrown my way. Even my husband notices that I'm not so much of a rollercoaster. I also shouldn't/don't eat gluten or potatoes due to sensitivities, and have to be careful with fats, and just feel a lot better overall when I stick to that. Occasionally I'll binge on something I'm not supposed to have, but do pay the price :sick:

Forgot to address caffeine...it helps me wake up, focus, whatever at the time, but hours later, I get reeeeally crabby. Like if I have coffee at 8, around 3:30 I want to rip people's heads off and that lasts into the evening. So overall, I try to avoid it, especially if I'm going to be interacting with my husband that afternoon/evening. Not nice that he should bear the brunt of my reaction to caffeine!

 

[OKRADLAK]

Does PTSD effect blood sugar? I heard that it effects the brain, so I guess it can effect a lot of stuff?