Insulin secretion is regulated physiologically ( under normal condition of the body ) by the food elements, hormones, herbs and drugs circulating in the blood.
Glucose, Mannose, B-keto acids, Amino acids ( Leucine, Arginine and others) are the food components that increase insulin secretion.
Glucose is the most important stimulatory agent of insulin secretion, as it is always present in the blood, its concentration is kept withina narrow range and its amounts consumed by humans are the largest ones amongst all nutrients.
Thus sugars and starchy foods that release glucose like Potatoes, Rice, Pasta, Bread...etc, all lead to rapid rise in blood glucose concentration having a high Glycemic Index ( GI) which is an index of the speed of appearance of high glucose concentration in the blood after ingesting food.
Insulin secretion increase is not a good favor for the normal person. For example, if a normal healthy person ingested food that increases insulin secretion sharply, the secreted insulin will cause glucose vanishes quickly from the blood and this person will feel hungry, consequently he will take foods that block this feeling , i.e. foods with high Glycemic Index and this effect will create spikes in blood glucose level. This may lead to overweight of normal person ( having other predisposing factors), as well as it is a predisposing factor to insulin resistance.
Insulin secretion increase on eating high Glycemic Index foods is not the case of a diabetic subject, as his debilitated pancreas may not secrete the sufficient amounts of insulin to meet the requirements needed to meet the sudden glucose load, leading to hyperglycemia.
Pregnancy hormonal levels can increase the blood sugar of a pregnant woman to the point that some people with normal glucose metabolism become diabetic during pregnancy, and although 95% of them recover after delivery yet, consuming much of the high Glycemic foods can exacerbate this case.
Some foods like Garlic and Onions can decrease blood sugar by competing with Insulin for Insulin inactivating sites in the liver, and this results in increase in free Insulin in the blood and this Insulin decreases blood sugar.
Ginseng herb has been shown to increase the release of insulin from the pancreas and to increase the of Insulin receptors, i.e. it enhances the effect of Insulin in decreasing blood sugar.
The list of foods that decrease blood sugar is long and include many foods, thus to discuss their mechanism of action, amounts to be taken, precautions and drawbacks of high intake, I need to write another article.
Living with Type II Diabetes?
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