Nutrition Questions and Answers
Vital Health Zone is proud to announce Anastacia Sampson , who is our resident naturopathic expert and who is available to answer questions about nutrition and health.
Anastacia Sampson has a private practice and is available for consultation in a number of ways.
Anastacia Sampson will answer your nutrition-related questions.
Q: Do you have any information on D-Ribose? I have slightly high blood sugar, and I am not currently taking any medications for this.
I'm looking for supplements that will naturally lower blood sugar levels to normal. I'm a runner and work out regularly, height/weight proportionate, and very healthy.
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A: Blood sugar levels at a higher than normal level means that the pancreas is slightly overworked and is not able to produce enough insulin to use up the glucose from the food that is eaten.
Excessive levels of glucose occur when there is a higher intake of foods that are high GI (or have simple sugars that can be broken down very quickly by the body to produce glucose). You may be surprised to know that while fruits are really good for us, they are broken down very quickly in the body and produce glucose, which is the reason why nutritionists focus more on a higher proportion of vegetables compared to fruit in the diet.
Your diet needs to incorporate 5-7 servings of vegetables each day together with 2-3 servings of fruit (these links take you to the foods groups and an understanding of what actually constitutes a serving), together with adequate amounts of legumes, seeds and nuts. Good quality protein should also be part of the diet, at every meal together with unsaturated fat (such as olive oil). The vegetables have many essential nutrients and especially antioxidants which help the body reduce the effect of free radicals which every person needs in their diet. Be careful not to eat too many processed foods, in which there are many sugars hidden in the ingredients list as they will be broken down very quickly in the body and released as glucose in the bloodstream.
I presume you mean deoxyribose when mentioning D-ribose. It is a part of DNA and a sugar unit but with one OH (hydrogen oxide) group being just H (hydrogen).
Being an athlete requires proper sports nutritional guidance. Please note you work out and that increases your nutritional requirements, so you need supplementation. I know that energy drinks aimed at people who go to the gym are high in sugar and perhaps you need to monitor what and how much sugar you are taking in. Also try to supplement with the 9 essential amino acids to support yourself after tougher physical exercise. Try eating more onions to lower your blood sugar while supplementing on calcium, magnesium, zinc, chromium and other micro-minerals. Do try be sure to have regular protein in healthy forms as structural damage during exercise requires replacement and plant proteins definitely stabilises our blood sugar levels.
Please note that the information provided is for educational purposes only and is not meant to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Consult with your medical physician regarding appropriateness of using supplements in your healing process.
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