Diabetes Warrior Part 6

OMG!!! Intense Exercise: Another Resistant Starch TEST! 9

This entry was posted in activities Exercise and tagged resistant starch on January 8, 2014 by Steve Cooksey.

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A common complaint from diabetics (those that monitor their blood sugars) is the problem of intense exercise and blood sugar spiking.
For those that are insulin dependent and who attempt to monitor and maintain normal blood sugars, this is particularly troublesome.
If you don’t know what Resistant Starch is… please click here, “Intro Post“.
In this post, “Resistant Starch, Why?” I mentioned that the main reason I wanted to try resistant starch from a personal perspective was…

Too, when I exercise intensely sometimes my blood sugar levels will rise into the 130-140 mg/dl ranges…

I wrote the above on 1/2/14
I had personal injuries that finally cleared up enough so that I could test this with resistant starch (Bob’s Red Mill Potato Starch).

The Experiment

On 1/6/14 I exercised intensely doing Maximum Push Ups in (5) mins and Maximum Kettlebell Swings in (5) mins.
Having been on (4) TBS of Potato Starch daily since 11/22/13 I was anxious to see the results.
Here are the results Pre-Exercise, 1 hour post and 2 hours post.

On the plus side… my blood sugar did spike… just like before but my body did it’s job, returning to ‘normal ranges’ within two hours.
On the negative side... this was essentially the same numbers I had experienced in the past. I’d be lying if I said I was not disappointed.
Then it ‘hit me’ … I had not taken ANY potato starch before the workout.
I know it sounds crazy… right? How can ingesting something affect blood sugars… that are not a result of foods consumed?
Still … I decided to test it again today 1/8/14 … two days after this test.

Another Experiment

Today I consumed my usual breakfast and lunch … a couple of coffees infused with butter and coconut oil.
(the same as previous experiment)
Then, about 30 minutes before exercising intensely I … consumed (4) TBS of Potato Starch in cool coffee.
I posted about it on social media sites… answered a few questions and then… I GOT BUSY WORKING! :)
Same as before except I did a few more of each exercise… I did maximum push ups and maximum kettlebell swings for (5) minutes each. I believe it’s important to note that this exercise set was even more intense by a few reps than before.
Point Being: I did not work out less intensely. :)
Honestly… I was stunned!!! I could NOT believe it. I mentioned to some that I expected little change…
Below are my Pre, Post 1 hr and Post 2 hr blood sugar readings!!!

BAM!!!

If you struggle with blood sugar control, if you struggle with insulin resistance or glucose processing… why the hell are you not trying this for yourself? … I would, if I were you. :)

Take Home Message

Our gut bacteria is so extremely important to our health… the medical industry, research scientists, ALL are discovering just how important gut health is to our mental and physical well being. In my opinion it’s an important supplement for non-diabetics as well.
AT THE VERY LEAST Resistant Starch (I use potato starch) is an inexpensive probiotic that benefits the lower gut…of everyone.
At the most… I’ve seen it improve insulin resistance, improve ‘glucose processing’ and blunt the blood glucose effect of foods.
Now.. I’ve witnessed it apparently blunt a blood glucose spike from intense exercise.
Of course I will continue to experiment, with exercise as well as with other foods…
The point is … why aren’t you?
Peace and happiness to all.

PS: As always, I must thank Richard Nikoley and FreeTheAnimal.com for pushing and pulling me into this series of experiments. I said, “If it helps one person it will be worth it” …. I know it’s helped many and now… I can say it’s helped ME!