By Sara Altshul
I’ve been on a health kick since the New Year and I’m proud to report I’m doing pretty well. After learning that all my numbers—blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose—were heading skyward (quite unlike my 401K), I put myself on a low-carb diet, cut out sugar and snacks, slashed portions to what a normal woman should eat instead of what an athlete-in-training should eat…and since January, I’ve lost about 15 pounds. My blood pressure’s normal now and my cholesterol numbers are all edging in a much healthier direction.
But my glucose level is still up there in diabetes territory, so much so that now I take a drug to control it. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get down to the magic 110 to 120 range. So I followed my doc’s advice to faithfully monitor my blood sugar levels daily with a glucose meter that lets me enter other relevant information, including what my stress levels are.
I just reviewed weeks of stored data—and had a gigantic duh moment.
Why I’m stressed
One things was immediately apparent: I reported myself as being “stressed” on way more days than I thought. My stress doesn’t come from anything real (except that my 401K is a shadow of its former self), but from the worry about all the bad things that could happen: Losing assignments, going into debt, having construction cranes topple over on me during a city stroll, you name it. Don’t even get me started on the arachnophobia that prevents me from cleaning out the basement closets. Apparently, worry is all it takes to mess with my chemical balance.
Though I’ve written about the stress-blood sugar connection many times before, somehow I thought I was personally immune to it. Note to self: Just knowing that something is true and writing about it doesn’t mean it won’t happen to you.
Next page: Could meditation work for me?
Comments (5)
I think it’s possible. I lowered my blood pressure by 14 points doing mindfulness meditation. And the best part: it stays down, even if I forget to meditate some days. Great article!
Sara,
Thanks for letting us in on the research. For me, I know that meditation can have a profound effect on my physiology.
As an experiment, I hooked myself to a blood pressure monitor during a 10 minute mindfulness meditation session. I performed this test during a period of high stress.
At the start of the test, my blood pressure was VERY high. After only 5 minutes, it had dropped back into the normal range. And after 10 minutes, it was back down in my normal range – 110/70.
Another option for lowering blood sugar is supplementing with omega 3s – Here is a new study showing the effects of omega 3s on fatty liver, glucose transport and insulin resistance – http://healthhabits.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/fat-and-healthy/
Many years ago (30) I started TM because was blood pressure was going up over financial insecurity. It was the best investment I made in my life. The blood pressure went quickly down to normal, although the financial issues took a long, long time to straighten out. Today, at 71, I’m still doing this great technique on a daily level and my blood pressure continues to amaze my family doctor (well, not really, because he is a meditator, too). I’ve heard that members of an Indian tribe in the midwest with a big incidence of diabetes were taught TM and it has really helped their condition. Thing about TM that is so great is that it is holistic. You can start it for one thing, such as high blood pressure, and get a benefit for that along with many other things because it is working at the most fundamental level of your physiology.
I find that Transcendental Meditation has brought balance and inner calmness to my life. I used to live with a lot of pressure, and it affected my behavior, my work, my health, and my relationships. Now, after a few years of meditating, I feel that much of the stress has lifted, and all these areas of my life have improved. Pretty cool.
Previous mentioned, Omega 3’s is helpful for blood sugar
and also cravings. Excess cortisol is mainly the cause.
One herb that will aid with balancing blood sugar and
cortisol.