Blood Sugar Management 101 Have you often heard from your parents, or grandparents or even your friend that they need to get their blood sugar in control? Growing up, I always thought only people who are at risk for diabetes need to be wary of their blood sugar. But when I started my own wellness journey I realised that it may not be the case. Blood sugar management is an essential for everyone (yes, not just for the middle aged) and it is connected to everything - weight, metabolism, acne, brain fog and more. In this article, I’ll explain the science behind blood sugar and why it is important to get it in balance. We need energy to stay alive, and we get this from the food we eat - more specifically, glucose. Most of the food we eat is made up of glucose - broccoli, banana, bread, they all have it! When we eat food, our body starts to break down the carbs into glucose. The glucose travels through our bloodstream to cells where the glucose is further broken down (this process is called glycolysis) and releases energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), or simply "energy currency" of the cell. Insulin is a hormone released by our pancreas when glucose enters our bloodstream. Insulin acts like a "key" that helps glucose enter our cells. Our cells have tiny doors, called receptors, and insulin binds to these receptors which signals the cells to open and allow glucose in. When there is excess glucose that our cells do not need, insulin stashes it away as glycogen in our liver and muscles to keep it out of circulation and protect us from damage. Whenever our body needs glucose, during exercise or in between meals, our body releases glycogen stores by quickly converting it back to glucose. When we consume carbs too quickly our blood sugar tends to spike.