Dr. Tracy McAlvanah's Wellness Blog

Often chronic health problems can be traced back to one thing: unstable blood sugar that comes from eating too many desserts, sweet coffee drinks, processed grains (bread, pasta, etc.), and other starchy foods. Our cultural complacency with high-carbohydrate diets has made us the most obese and chronically sick population in the world. How blood sugar becomes imbalanced We only needs about a teaspoon’s worth of sugar in the bloodstream at any one time, a level we can meet just by eating vegetables. Consistently indulging in high-carb foods -- dessert, pasta, potatoes, rice, sweet coffee drinks – requires the pancreas to secrete increasingly larger amounts of insulin to lower overly high blood sugar. These insulin surges cause  blood sugar  to drop too low and create symptoms. As a result, you crave sugar or high-carb foods to reboot your blood sugar, which starts the whole cycle all over again. Although these blood sugar highs and lows constitute a normal day for many Amer...

Do you consistently wake up around 3 a.m. and can’t fall back asleep? Although the reasons for sleep problems can be complex, waking up too early is often a symptom of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, and can be remedied through dietary changes and nutritional therapy. Why you wake up at 3 a.m. The brain is highly active at night, transforming short-term memory into long-term memory and carrying out repair and regeneration, and it depends on a steady supply of energy to do these tasks. When you sleep at night your body goes into a fasting state. In order not to deprive the brain of the food it needs for energy, the body compensates by gradually raising cortisol, an adrenal hormone. Cortisol stimulates the body to release or create glucose to supply the brain with energy during the night-long fast. Chronic low blood sugar, however, throws a kink in this process. People with hypoglycemia tend to have difficulty making the right amount of cortisol at the right times of the day or nig...

You could eat a “heart-healthy” diet, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight and still be at risk for heart disease. Why? Because the root cause of heart disease is inflammation, and managing inflammation goes beyond standard prevention advice. The whole grain diet, inflammation, and heart disease Are you following popular guidelines by eating a whole grain diet? Opting for whole wheat bread may seem like a healthy choice; however research suggests that as many as one in five people have a gluten sensitivity . For the gluten-intolerant person, even whole wheat products cause inflammation, increasing the risk of heart disease. In fact, more and more people are discovering that they can significantly reduce inflammation by eliminating grains all together. Other foods—such as dairy or eggs—may also cause sensitivities and increase inflammation. An anti-inflammatory diet can help ferret out which foods increase inflammation. Whole grains and blood sugar A grain-based...

Now that the food comas, sugar hangovers, and holiday binges are over, it’s a good time to “clean house” with a detox diet. A detox diet calms inflammation, stimulates repair and recovery, and boosts energy. A detox diet should never involve frequent hunger or lack of nutrients, factors that only stress the body further. Finding food intolerances Many people don’t realize they have food intolerances. These foods trigger an immune reaction and cause such symptoms as low energy, rashes, joint pain, digestive issues, headaches, anxiety, depression, and more. They also prevent weight loss. The foods people most commonly react to are gluten, grains, dairy, eggs, and nuts. Other inflammation triggers Other common immune triggers include nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, etc.), legumes, coffee, and, of course, foods high in sugar. Don't forget, sugary foods include sweet fruits and natural sweeteners, such as honey, maple syrup, and agave. The hunger-free diet plan At this ...

Question I know sweets are bad for me, but why do I crave them all the time? Answer Sweet cravings can signal a blood sugar imbalance. Addressing the imbalance can curb your cravings. Consider reactive hypoglycemia We like sweets—sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup, and fruit—because they give us a burst of energy and even make us feel euphoric. But feeling like you can’t live without them can signal a blood sugar disorder, a risk for diabetes later in life. One common reason for sweet cravings is reactive hypoglycemia, which occurs when blood sugar drops too low. Symptoms include feeling spacey, lightheaded, weak, irritable, shaky, or nauseous. Reactive hypoglycemia prompts a sugar craving in an attempt to quickly raise blood sugar again. We weren’t designed to eat ample sweets The problem is sweets raise blood sugar too high—our bodies weren’t designed to run on caramel lattes, candy bars, fruit smoothies, or pastries. These foods cause blood sugar—and energy levels—to skyrocket and the...