Sugar Sensitivity Test Rates Tolerance to Carbohydrates

Determining Your Sensitivity to Sugar and Eating Habits

Directions: If the statement applies to you, put the number of points (in the parenthesis) on the line. When you are done, add the points and look at the key below for what the total means.

(5) _____ I have a tendency to higher blood pressure.

(5) _____ I gain weight easily, especially around my waist and have difficulty losing it.

(5) _____ I often experience mental confusion.

(5) _____ I often experience fatigue and generalized weakness.

(10) ____ I have diabetic tendecies.

(4) _____ I get tired and/or hungry in the mid-afternoon.

(5) _____ About an hour or two after eating a full meal that includes dessert, I want more of the dessert.

(3) _____ It is harder for me to control my eating for the rest of the day if I have a breakfast containing carbohydrates, than it would be if I had only coffee or nothing at all.

(4) _____ When I want to lose weight, I find it easier not to eat for most of the day than to try to at several small diet meals.

(3) _____ Once I start eating sweets, starches, or snack foods, I often have a difficult time stopping.

(3) _____ I would rather have an ordinary meal that included dessert than a gourmet meal that did not include dessert.

(5) _____ After finishing a full meal, I sometimes feel as if I could go back and eat the whole meal again.

(3) _____ A meal of only meat and vegetables leaves me feeling unsatisfied.

(3) _____ If I'm feeling down, a snack of cake or cookies makes me feel better.

(3) _____ If potatoes, bread, pasta, or dessert are on the table, I will often skip eating vegetables or salad.

(4) _____ I get a sleepy, almost "drugged" feeling after eating a large meal containing bread or pasta or potatoes and dessert, whereas I feel more energetic after a meal of only meat or fish and salad.

(3) _____ I have a hard time going to sleep at times without a bedtime snack.

(3) _____ At times I wake in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep unless I eat something.

(5) _____ I get irritable if I miss a meal or mealtime is delayed

(2) _____ At a restaurant, I almost always eat too much bread, even before the meal is served.

Total _______

KEY:

A score of 20 or less indicates that you are a person who can do well on low fat / high complex carbohydrates diet, and might do well as a vegetarian, or on a Pritikin type or Ornish type diet. These diets are approx. 10% to 15% fat, 15% to 20% proteins, and 65% to 75% carbohydrates by calories. *

Those of you with scores of greater than 25 need diets lower in simple sugars, like sweets, alcohol and starches, but higher in protein and fats. * The higher your score, the more fastidious you should be regarding your protein to carbohydrate ratios at each meal and the more important the following tests. The "Zone Diet" of 40% complex carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat is a good example of the diet you might follow. Indeed, the Zone Diet is also known as the 40-30-30 Diet.

Those with very high scores may do well to consider high protein, moderate fat, low carb strategies like the Atkin's Diet, Dr Eades Protein Power, and Crayhon's "Carnitine Miracle" Caveman Diet.

Regular exercise is also a vital component in any program to optimize blood sugar control.

The higher your score, the more at risk you are for the all too common dysglycemias: hypo-glycemia, Syndrome X**, and adult onset diabetes, a major disease of aging. Having your blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides checked in a "cardiac risk profile" blood test is a good idea then, as high blood pressure and high blood lipids is a sign of Syndrome X. Having your doctor test your blood sugar and insulin level via a two hour post-prandial glucose challenge is indicated as well with the higher scores if middle aged or older.

Those with higher scores might do well to take the "Adrenal Stress Index" salivary hormone test by ZRT Labs. This is the Two Tube Test Kit to measure morning and evening cortisol and a Two Test Kit to measure progesterone and DHEA. See the RX Learning Channel article, "Stress, The Ultimate Ager" for more information. Abnormal patterns of DHEA to cortisol are common with dysglycemias. Correcting such a pattern first is a good place to start.

Important: Middle aged and older apple shaped females who carry fat in their upper torso and arms and score higher on the above insulinogenic scale, particularly women who suffer adult acne and facial hair, are showing strong signs of dysglycemias. Dysglycemias tend to shunt DHEA into testosterone over estrogen, resulting in a high testosterone to estrogen ratio, sometimes even leading to polycystic ovary syndrome. Therefore, the enhancing of the androgens, i.e., DHEA, androstenes and testosterone should be avoided until salivary tests show them not to be too high. 7-KetoDHEA (7-KetoLean) is the choice for weight loss in these cases. See the RxShopping Channel for more info.

To restore hormonal balance the following guidelines are offered:

1. Follow the basic instructions suggested in from Vol. 1, lesson 1 article, "How to Enhance the Effectiveness of Hgh". This includes good diet, exercise, supplementing with MultiWellness without Iron at six / day, and enhancing HGH w/ Hgh Plus if over 40.
2. Strongly consider low to low moderate carbohydrate diets and low glycemic diets like the Zone or 40-30--30 diet and the Atkin's diet. Links are in the RxResources Channel. Books are in the Wellness Community bookstore.
3. Use a low glycemic sweetener like Agave Nectar.
4. Measure your hormones via saliva tests as suggested above, that is the adrenal stress index, restoring hormone balance as in dictated by the results.
5. Have your doctor consider performing cardiac profile and post-prandial blood sugar and insulin tests.
   IF hyper-glycemia and or hyper-insulinemia are found, and or you score high on the Syndrome X Survey, consider supplementing with:
   • Insulin Wellness( Niacin, chromium, zinc, magnesium and vanadyl sulfate, AKG and ginseng),
   • EPA-DHA Complex (fish oils), ground flax seed, and
   • Alpha-Lipoic acid

   These products are intended to enhance insulin sensitively and/or provide the extra anti-oxidant activity necessitated by the dysglycemias.

6. 6 If diabetic, consider adding to the above Glucose Wellness. These are herbs and nutrients that greatly support a normal blood sugar. Glucose Wellness is so effective in restoring insulin sensitivity that you must be careful not to go into insulin shock if you take insulin! +++ Even though Glucose Wellness is a totally natural product, please inform your doctor of your plans before proceeding +++.

* These fats should consist of no more than 1/3 saturated fats. A variety of small amounts of ground or well-chewed nuts and seeds are the best source of fats, generally speaking, as are the cold water fish as well.

** Syndrome X signs includes HBP, high blood lipids with poor HDL/LDL ratio's, poor lean body mass, and hyper-insulinemia, or insulin resistance/insensitivity.

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