Over the past few weeks we had a look at the effect that blood sugar levels can have on the functioning of the brain.
I also drew attention to some of the best (and the worst!) ways to manage blood sugar levels.
This week’s article will conclude the ‘mini-series’ on blood sugar levels by summarising some of the key insights that were shared in the previous articles on this topic.
This will be done by highlighting the top ‘ADD/ADHD Blood Sugar steps’:
1. Be aware: It is very important that we continually remind ourselves of the fact that the brain is a major consumer of energy and that it is therefore also very sensitive to changes in the availability (or not) of glucose in the blood.
Oversupply will lead to the brain enacting ‘emergency measures’ to bring the levels back into line, while low blood sugar will almost inevitably lead to a reduction in brain function.
The role of impaired brain function in triggering the effects of ADD/ADHD has been established by many different studies.
Those dealing with these effects should therefore be very aware of anything that could lead to the brain struggling to function at optimum levels.
Blood sugar spikes and troughs obviously create ‘brain conditions’ that are far from ideal and should therefore be avoided as far as possible.
2. Be Proactive: Awareness without action will not get you very far in life. This is also true when it comes to being aware of the effects of blood sugar levels on brain function.
Your next step should therefore be to design your diet and lifestyle around strategies that will ensure balanced blood sugar levels. Some of the most important of these are:
• Focus on Low-GI Foods: Foods with low values on the Glycemic Index (GI) release energy in slow and sustained ways (when compared to those that are higher up on the scale).
These foods are therefore your best insurance policy against the ‘blood sugar rollercoaster’.
Keeping a list of Low GI foods handy, and consulting it while planning your meals, can be one of the simplest, most effective, ways of changing your life for the better.
• Eat less food, more often: One of the most common causes of blood sugar troughs (with the resulting binge-spike cycle) is the attempt by many people to go for hours without eating anything.
This ‘strategy’ can be very counterproductive and should be avoided at all costs.
You should rather reduce the amount you eat during your main meals and then ‘compensate’ by eating healthy snacks at set points during the day.
• Identify, and deal with, the conditions behind binges: Most of us have a tendency to overeat during certain times and/or conditions.
Maybe it is when you watch a big game on television or if you go out to a favourite restaurant.
Making a mental map of these ‘danger points’ and putting a binge avoidance strategy in place before they occur can prove very effective as a means of staying off the rollercoaster in the first place.
Do not neglect protein: Protein can have a powerful stabilising effect when it comes to blood sugar levels.
It is therefore a very good idea to have some protein during breakfast as a means of starting your day on the right foot.
• Avoid sugary drinks: One of the biggest causes of blood sugar spikes is the prevalence of sugary soft drinks in modern society.
Many of these drinks contain ridiculous amounts of sugar, leading to inevitable blood sugar spikes in those who drink them.
It may be difficult at first, but resolving to avoid ‘liquid candy’ could prove very beneficial over the long run.
3. Be Careful: There are many strategies for managing blood sugar levels that will harm rather than help over the long run. You should, for example, do your best to avoid the following:
• Fad Diets: We are constantly inundated with new ‘secrets’ to long term dietary health. Some of these ‘secrets’ merely involve a restatement of fundamental principles and are therefore essentially harmless.
There are however other diets that move away from a balanced diet towards an overemphasis on a particular food group or type.
These diets may sometimes prove effective in the short run but will do nothing to improve your long term health prospects. Waiting for the next big thing will never be a substitute for getting the basics right!
• Sugar substitutes: The ‘diet industry’ would have us believe that artificial sweeteners is all that we need on our way to balanced blood sugar levels.
The fact is that these products have not been proven to lead to long term weight loss. Many of them also contain suspect chemicals and should therefore be avoided at all costs.
Getting off the blood sugar roller coaster should be one of your highest priorities if you are dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD.
Following this three step process (Be Aware – Be Proactive – Be Careful) should go some way towards helping you to keep your feet firmly on the ground!
Twitter
Great information, thanks!
This is wonderful information. For the past month and a half I have been studing many different sources on the subject of ADD/ADHD. I have also been working with my sons school hoping that they would be willing to work with me. I have found that this will not be the case. With all of the different avanues that I have taken, I have found Jon Bennet to be one of the most valuable imformative, and willing to be ongoing support there is. This has been the first time that I have commented because I have been in panic moad since I started on this investication of this contriversal topic. I’m sorry for miss spelled words because I have alway’s had a poblem with spelling. But for the 1st time in my life I have an understanding of why I have had a difficult time with education growing up. I am sure with all that I have learned that I have ADD/ADHD along with my son. I’m so grateful for the ongoing resurch that Jon Bennett had done to find natural way’s to deal with this Problem. Thank you so much!
Natalie,
Thank you for your kind comments. Your timing is perfect
I wish you the best of luck and I promise to keep giving everyone the best information possible. -Jon
Hi guys, I don’t think you realize how much it means to me to hear comments like this. It really makes my day!
Natalie, Thank You
Jon
AFTER READING YOUR COMMENT ABOUT YOUR SONS SCHOOL AND NOT GETTING HELP IS BS. LOOK UP, AND REMIND THEM OF OBAMA’S “NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND” POLICY. MY GIRLFRIEND IN CALIFORNIA WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING, UNTIL SHE PUSHED THE ISSUE. MY BROTHER IN NJ WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING, UNTIL HE PUSHED THE ISSUE. I TOO AM GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING WITH MY SON IN NC. LAST YEAR I WAS PUSHED AWAY, BASICALLY HAVING TO DEAL WITH EVERYTHING MYSELF. UNTIL, I LEARNED THAT IT IS THE SCHOOLS RESPONSIBILITY TO START THE PROCESS AND TO DO WHATEVER IS REQUIRED (SPECIAL CLASSES, ONE-ON-ON, COUNSELING, ETC.) TO MAKE SURE MY CHILD DOESN’T GET LEFT BEHIND. DON’T LET THE SCHOOL OFF EASY. YOU HAVE TO PUSH IT! BEST OF LUCK!
LAURA
Jon
I am sorry this is really long, but I think you and your readers might find it beneficial. I found your article and site will doing some research about my 6 year olds newly found diagnoses of ADHD combined. And it ends up being just a little more added to the pile of reasons we have/are cutting most all artificial sweetners out of our diet at our house. The first came last winter when my mom had a stroke and I went with her to see her doctor for a check up. One of the first things she said to my mom was to dump the diet pop, that she was better off risking gaining weight than to continue to drink diet pepsi. She explained something to us that was like a total DUH! to me. Artifical sweetners do not provide the natural “high” or satisfaction that real sugar provides the brain when you have something sweet. So your brain says.. “well that wasn’t enough, I want more” and hense the cycle starts. I have had an extreme “sugar” addiction for as long as I can remember. I used to hide food, candy or other sweets from my kids and husband. I would run errands just to go and have something. After seeing my moms Dr. I decided to drop my diet coke habit as well. But I took it a step farther and ditched the pop all together. The first few weeks were horrible, but after this had subsided and I was free of the caffiene, artifical sweetner cravings things became calmer. Then I started looking at other things in our kitchen that had artificial sweetners and low and behold – they are everywhere. I systematically began replacing low cal / low/no fat items that were artifiically sweetned with higher fat/cal natural products and an amazing thing happened, my cravings began to subside. I wasn’t constantly hungry -I used to be hungry even though I was full. My son also began to calm down and I could see drastic differences in my kids constant wanting to eat. Since June 1 which is when I was pretty much totally off caffiene and artifical sweetners I have lost over 25 lbs and I am more active, happier and calmer than I have been in a long time.
I think we all need to look at a more natural unprocessed approach to food, for more than just the ADHD effects.
This is totally what “3 Steps” has been preaching!!! Awesome job
Hey Jon ! Just wanted to tell you your book is GREAT! I am raising 3 of my grandkids, 2 of them have ADD, ADHD, and OD. I They have been on so many drugs and needless to say I for do not want them on those . There are too many side effects and the risk is too great. I have been reading your special report faithfully and the book. We have gone with extra vitamins and DHA cut out sugar and have been watching what we eat. They are no longer on the drugs. They are soooo much better, now they seem to be normal children, but you can tell when someone gives them something that has sugar in it. I for one Greatly appreciate you and all you do. I was about ready to pull out my hair , thanks to you I can keep it awhile longer!!!! THANKS AGAIN, Robin
After two years of teachers telling me my son had a problem and most likely needed medication i finally took him to the doctors and yes he was diagnosed with ADHD which i had pretty much already guessed to be the case. The doctor suggested he didnt want to put my son on meds because he did not think it was severe enough to and he also knew my husband and i were really against it. So now the teachers know but the school is doing nothing to help us. Im not sure what to do next. Thanks so much for all your emails, letters and great information, it really helps me and whatever i can do to help my son is my number one priority… thanks again
Karyn
I just wanted to let you know that the information you have given has saved my little son from being “drugged” into compliance in the school system. My doctor is not sure that this is the way to go but is impressed with the difference our seven year old is showing. The schools are not willing to listen and press for drugs to be used so that they can manage him easily. After doing my own research, so that I know for sure myself that what you are saying is true and DOING what needed to be done, with sugars, nitrates, and giving what the brain needed to be fed properly, we have seen a vast difference in our child. I have shared with many parents who are sometimes suspicious that something this natural could help,and yet they see the difference in our son. We have found that most public schools give us the same response. Their job is not to deal with children with ADHD issues and they feel we should give him the drugs and quick trying so hard to do anything else different. Our doctor has even suggested we school him differently so that he feels good about himself. We have found that part of that schooling is impressing on him what is helpful and good for his brain to work right so that he is feeling better about himself. Now he is telling parents about what works and encourages them to do the same when he sees a child struggling as he did in the past. To me that is some of the best schooling he can recieve so that in the long run he gets the most out of learning educationally. Thank you for taking the time to share with us these important elements that can change a childs life for good. Blessing Deborah
Although I was already on the lookout for High Frutose Corn Syrup in the foods we eat on a regular basis, I wasn’t aware of the major impact in had on my son’s behavior. I never let my kids drink soda, but I would allow my son, who is 6 to have a tootsie pop as a reward for good behavior. I discovered that when ever he has any HFCS he cannot calm himself down and he becomes unmanageable. I watch food labels more closely now. There is no HFCS is his diet and he is much more reasonable and can calm himself down easier. For Easter this year we did not give the kids candy. Instead we put coins in the easter eggs.
Thanks for this, cuz I had little or no candy, but did have a glass of wine. Is that bad? Thanks for all you guys/girls do.
What about coffee? Is my java fix as bad as my wife says it is for sugar spiking? I consume large quantities of the substance and am definitely not denying that I am addicted. I do not consume sugar in any form, including the sugar substitutes and all those cutie products with the high fructose corn syrup inside the list of ingredients.
Thanks,
Richard
Actually many ADDers find coffee can help… I will put this on the list to research and come back with an special report on it
The caffeine should have little effect on your blood sugar. (not sure) I find that when I drink too much caffeine I start to lose focus and begin bouncing from one thing to another. That is when I pop a couple of neu-beCALM’d capsules. The sugar substitutes are definitely better than loading the coffee with sugar
Are you a MD?
Absolutely NOT
My son was diagnosed with ADHD last year. From the time he started his play school his teachers have been telling me about his hyper activity, inattentiveness and so many other stuff going on in his class and this continued till his 2nd grade and thats when his class teacher brought in the school psychologist and told us he might be having ADHD. My husband and I are totally against his taking medication thinking about its side effects. I have to try this no sugar method and look at its results. Thanks for all the inputs.
Would you please suggest some low GI foods?
We will be adding more and more info on low GI foods
thanks Jon
my son turned 8 years two days ago, I sent him last year to a very expensive school that is taking care of cases of ADD/ADHD, he is doing well, but still resisting any idea of cutting off his sugar consumption! taking “sugared’ soft drinks,,
however, I will never find suitable wards to express my grattitude towards what we are learning from three steps and Jon comments
I’m glad that we are sharing our experiences from each other, and the decision of stopping retaline was due to Jon’s appreciated efforts
Dr. Muawia Gorti, PPFA Sudan
This is great information! Thank you so much for your emails. It really helps!
THANK YOU JON!