Lifestyle Health Lifestyle has a direct impact on the overall quality of our lives. Our lifestyle choices also affect others around us and the environment in which we live. We are truly healthy when our bodies are healthy and when we have a positive effect on others and on the environment we inhabit. Taking responsibility for all aspects of our lives is a full-time job – but the rewards are great. A major hindrance to a healthy lifestyle revolves around blood sugar levels. AIMGlucoChrom™ helps you maintain this aspect of your health. Blood Sugar We hear a lot about the harmful effects of a poor diet on our health. We hear about how it leads to obesity, how it can lead to increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, and how it can mean overall poor health due to lack of nutrition. Another risk of an unhealthy diet – especially if it includes large quantities of carbohydrates and simple sugars – is what it does to our blood sugar levels. Blood sugar is, simply enough, the amount of sugar (glucose) we have in our blood. When we eat, the body breaks down the carbohydrates in foods to produce sugars. The sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, which carries it to every cell in the body. Blood sugar fuels the cells, providing them with the energy they need to keep us healthy. It is extremely important that blood sugar levels remain consistent and not be too high or too low. How It Works The amount of sugar in the blood is largely controlled by the hormone insulin. When the body recognizes that we are eating and turning food into sugars, the pancreas secretes insulin. Insulin acts as a travel guide, escorting sugar through the bloodstream and then "knocking on and unlocking the cells' doors" to allow glucose to enter. When the pancreas, insulin, and the cells are not working in harmony, the result can be diabetes-high levels of blood sugar. Diabetes In diabetes, blood sugar levels are too high. There are two reasons for this. Insulin-dependent diabetes, known as Type I diabetes or juvenile-onset diabetes, is caused by damage to the pancreas. Part of the pancreas, beta cells, manufacture the insulin that escorts blood sugar to the cells. If beta cells are not working, or not working well, you do not produce enough insulin – there are not enough "travel guides" to get the blood sugar to the cells. The result is that the blood sugar remains in the bloodstream – high blood sugar levels. In noninsulin-dependent diabetes, known as Type II diabetes or adult-onset diabetes, insulin is produced, but the cells remain resistant to it – you might say they keep changing the "locks" so that the insulin cannot bring in the blood sugar. This also results in high blood sugar levels. Type II diabetes is by far the most prevalent, accounting for 90 to 95 percent of all diabetics. Diabetes and high blood sugar result in frequent urination, extreme thirst, increased appetite, unexplained weight loss, dry skin and frequent skin infections, recurrent vaginitis, blurred vision, fatigue, drowsiness, and nausea. Diabetes has the potential for serious long-term complications that can lead to increased risk for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, visual problems and blindness, slow healing of injuries, kidney failure, and damage to the nervous system. Support For Blood Sugar Healthy blood sugar levels can be maintained through diet and lifestyle changes. Of special interest are the minerals chromium and vanadium and the herbs bitter melon and Gymnema sylvestre.