Diabetes & Bodybuilding: Why Tracking Your Blood Glucose Matters

Good morning all, I hope you’ve had a solid week of training!

In todays newsletter we are going to deep dive into topic which I feel doesn’t get enough air time, it’s a health issue that bodybuilders are at massive risk of getting and that is diabetes.
 

What is diabetes?

For this newsletter remove any thought of being a bodybuilder (then come back to a bodybuilder right at the end). Although this information is about general population, it will also help us understand how bodybuilders are at greater risk.

“Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterised by elevated blood glucose (blood sugars), which over time leads to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves.”

Types of diabetes

There are two types of diabetes (type 1 and type 2).

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not make insulin, often individuals with type 1 are born with it.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin to function properly or the bodies cell do not react to insulin. You are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes if you are not physically active and are overweight (or have obesity).”

Type 2 diabetes is our focus for this email because type 2 happens (for nearly all cases) due to our lifestyle.

How does it all work?

Whenever we eat something our blood glucose levels rise, our pancreas will then release insulin to move the glucose into cells, our cells use glucose for energy.

So now imagine you are a pancreas…
When we used to roam about thousands of years ago eating a couple hundred calories a day the pancreas could no doubt handle that. A couple of berries or the odd animal would go in the system, glucose rises, insulin released - no dramas for the pancreas.

But nowadays although we have the same pancreas, the amount of food the average person eats (not even talking about bodybuilding here) has increased by literally thousands of calories per day.

There is only so much insulin the pancreas can churn out before it can no longer keep up with demand, once this begins to happen we have whats called insulin resistance, which then leads to type 2 diabetes (which is confirmed by taking a glucose score).

In the general population type 2 diabetes cases continue to rise.

“Our data shows that more than 4.4 million people in the UK live with diabetes. Additionally 1.2 million people could be living with type 2 diabetes who are yet to be diagnosed”.

Now this right here is the scary part, you can unknowingly have type 2 diabetes and if left untreated can lead to heart disease, a stroke, kidney issues, nerve/ foot issues (which can lead amputation) and eye damage.

Type 2 Causes and Risk Factors

1. “Genetics: Family history plays a significant role in the risk of developing T2D. Specific genetic mutations can affect insulin production and function.

2. Obesity: Excess body fat, especially around the abdomen, is a major risk factor due to its role in insulin resistance.

3. Physical Inactivity: Lack of exercise contributes to obesity and insulin resistance.

4. Age: Risk increases with age, particularly after 45.

5. Ethnicity: Certain ethnic groups, including African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians, are at higher risk.

6. Diet: Poor dietary habits, such as high intake of sugary foods and beverages, processed foods, and low fiber intake, contribute to the risk.”

Keeping all the above in mind, which is based on the general population, now step back into the bodybuilding shoes.

As bodybuilders we are essentially over weight/obese people (vs our recommended BMI) who chronically over eat and perhaps could also do with tidying up the diet in general (especially the dirty bulkers out there). Now bring in the PED use coupled with a lack of cardio, and we can start to understand why we could be considered high risk for type 2 diabetes.

So what can we do to avoid type 2 diabetes?

It all starts with knowing where your levels are at

Link to the blood glucose monitor I use:
https://amzn.to/3VgNtv9 

Fasted Glucose Scores 

100 mg/dL (5.6 nmol/L) or less is normal.

100-125 mg/dL (5.6-6.9 nmol/L) is considered pre-diabetic.

Here is where I would advise dieting to get your score back into range (9/10 that does the trick).

126 mg/dL (7nmol/L) or higher on x2 separate means you have diabetes.*

Your score can for sure go above this and not categorically mean you have diabetes (continue to test over a couple days and talk to your GP if they remain high).

Another way to check your glucose function is to test your levels 2 hours after a meal has be consumed.

2HR Post Meal Glucose Scores

The score that is considered healthy is 140 mg/dL (7.8 nmol/L).

Prevention Strategies

There is a seven times greater risk of developing diabetes in obese people compared to those at a healthy weight (three times greater in overweight people).

With this in mind the biggest piece of advice I can give is to not take your bulks to far and to track your glucose so you get an understanding of what to far looks like (is it 20lb above stage weight, 30lb etc).

Set yourself boundaries where if your glucose levels rise into pre-diabetic range you’ll move into a deficit until resolved.

Supplements - Code SNB10 for 10% off

Supplement Needs GlucOx is an 11 ingredient supplement designed to support the pancreas.

Berberine has been clinically proven to improve blood glucose

https://www.supplementneeds.co.uk/products/supplement-needs-berberine-hcl-60-capsules 

Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6434235/#:~:text=Berberine%20improves%20physiological%20stimulation%20of,fat%20to%20insulin%20(16).

Have a great weekend, catch up next week!

Lewy Blackmore