Blood Sugar Levels In The 200's

When we first started eating gluten free, I ran to the store and bought gluten free flour mix, bread, pasta, cookies, and cereal. Talk about sticker shock! I was determined to feed my family the best food I could, but I had no idea what to do about the last two weeks of the month. I had already spent the whole month’s budget on two weeks of food. I didn’t change how we ate, I just spent a fortune buying gluten free replacements. Definitely not a gluten free success story!

To say my kids were not excited about out new diet is a huge understatement. It didn’t matter how positively I talked about it, there weren’t convinced. Our first day was not encouraging. The kids normally devoured an entire box of cereal for breakfast. When the meal ended and half a box was left and the bowls were not empty, I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, thirty minutes later the snacking began.

Lunch wasn’t any better. No one finished their sandwiches. The “bread” was horrid – crumbly, dry, and tasteless. It was nothing at all like the fresh baked bread they were used to.

I was very optimistic about dinner. What could go wrong with spaghetti? I turns out, a lot can go wrong. The noodles were mushy and tasteless. The garlic butter didn’t hide the taste of the bread. I was left with three failed meals, hungry kids, and no money in the budget for food for the rest of the month.

After scouring the internet and lots of trial and error, I finally found recipes my family loved and I got the budget under control, but our health still wasn’t where I wanted it to be. My kids still got sick way too often, and I never felt good – just better.

If I had stopped to look at the labels, I could have figured out the problem easily.

Ingredients: Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Sorghum Flour, Arrowroot Starch, Guar Gum, Sweet Rice Flour, Rice Bran.

All we had done was substitute one high carb, high glycemic index food for another. The glycemic index of foods is measured against straight glucose. Glucose has a value of 100, white wheat bread has an index of 75, while gluten free white bread’s index is 90. The baking mix was no better. (White rice has a glycemic index rice flour is 89, tapioca is 85, potato starch is 95, and arrowroot is 85.)

Glycemic Indexes measure how a carb affects our blood sugar levels, namely, its potential for releasing a certain amount of sugar into our blood after each meal. Digestion breaks carbohydrates down into glucose and this causes blood sugar levels to rise. The pancreas, in turn, releases insulin to remove excess blood glucose. Unfortunately, the pancreas often releases too much insulin causing blood sugar levels to drop below fasting levels. When this happens we have Cranky Kid Syndrome. Case studies at our house have shown that adults are not immune to Cranky Kid Syndrome. Studies have also shown that the glycemic index was the strongest and most consistent independent predictor of glycemic stability and variability.

Cranky Kid Syndrome Symptoms

• hunger
• irritability

• Don’t try to make gluten free replacements for your favorite foods for at least a month. They will taste and feel different, and you will probably be disappointed.
• Try new things each week.
• Shop at new stores. Sprouts, Natural Grocers, and Whole Foods are obvious, but don’t forget your local Asian and Indian markets. I find prices for almond flour, dates, spices, and noodles are much lower at ethnic markets.
• Use Pinterest to find recipes. Cookbooks are great, but with the internet you not only see the recipe but also comments from real people who have prepared it. Reading the comments can make the difference between an incredible meal and a disaster.
• Plan to eat at home as much as possible. Prepare easy to transport meals for when you have to be away from home.
• Plan ahead for special occasions. We always take treats to birthday parties and get-togethers. Fudging for special occasions will make seeing the benefits of your new diet much hard to see.