At County Chiropractic our aim is to learn as much about optimal health as we can in order to pass the information on to our practice members. After writing my last blog about insulin I had a number of people who wanted to know more about the effects of raised blood sugar levels, insulin resistance and the effects on the immune system. It was my intention not to get to deep in to the details at the time but it seems this may have led to some confusion!
It’s great that people are reading the blog and that it is generating questions. We are always happy to expand on any of the topics we cover.
We are all exposed to non fibre, processed, high Glycemic index carbohydrates on a regular basis. It is known that this causes a rapid raise in blood sugar which is followed by a rapid increase in insulin production by the pancreas. This raises blood insulin levels so that the excess sugar (glucose) in the blood can be transported and stored.
Ongoing consumption of these types of foods leads to the insulin receptors on the cell surface becoming resistant to insulin. This means that blood sugar (glucose) levels remain chronically high. The pancreas goes on producing more and more insulin in an attempt to reduce the blood sugar level and so blood insulin also remains high until the pancreas eventually becomes fatigued.
We are simply not genetically designed to deal with the kind of foods that have this effect on blood sugar on a meal by meal basis.
Insulin levels also affect the immune system. When blood insulin levels are high the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. This stimulation triggers an increase of stress hormones like cortisol which inhibit cell mediated immunity – all to do with the physiological stress response that I won’t go into here.
What effect does high blood sugar have on the immune system? Vitamin C is made from glucose, they are almost identical in structure and they use the same receptors in order to gain entry into the cell. So Vitamin C and glucose (yes sugar) are competing to enter the cell. A high blood sugar level means that glucose is blocking Vitamin C from getting in to the cell.
If the cells have become insulin resistant due to chronic high blood insulin levels, this affects their ability to allow glucose and therefore Vitamin C to enter the cell. They have also become Vitamin C resistant. Also, not only is the cell becoming resistant to Vitamin C but the receptors that are working are potentially already blocked with glucose.
The cells of the immune system, called phagocytes, need high amounts of Vitamin C in order to work properly. A blood sugar value of 120 mg/dL (or 6.67 mmol/L) reduces the phagocytic index (which is essentially the average number of bacteria ingested per white blood cell per period of time) significantly. So to use the same example as before, one saltine cracker can cause the blood sugar levels to go over 100 and in some people as high as 150 mg/dL.
This is why eating sugar, including high Glycemic carbohydrates, decreases the function of your immune system (it slows down the rate at which your white blood cells can ingest bacteria and viruses). It is also why taking high doses of Vitamin C can improve immune function. The problem though is not a lack of Vitamin C supplements. The problem is toxic amounts of sugar and deficient amounts of Vitamin C rich foods.
I hope this has helped to answer your questions and gives you some personal empowerment in your family’s fight against swine flu! Please feel free to email me with any other queries – we are here to help.
Rachael
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