What's up dudes and what's up ladies? Bryan here and in this video we are gonna discuss blood sugar
level. We're gonna discuss what it is, why it's important, and some things you can do to keep
yours in check. Let's roll. So, what is blood sugar level? Well, blood sugar level is actually exactly
what it sounds like, it's the amount of sugar, or glucose, present in the blood. Our body gets
glucose from some of the foods we eat. All right, so if we look at this little illustration here, what
we have, is we have the liver, have the pancreas, we have blood stream leading from the liver, and one
leading from the pancreas, to this little blue area, which is going to contain cells. Now the
cells aren't going to be in just one area. This is going to be throughout the body, I've just tried to
simplify this for you, to get you to understand the concept. And then over here we have a blood glucose,
blood sugar meter, that we're gonna keep an eye on as we go through this. So, after the digestive
process the liver is going to release glucose into the bloodstream, it's going to send it to the cells
to be used as energy, now, as glucose is released into the bloodstream, blood sugar levels are going
to rise, as we can see on our little meter here. This triggers the pancreas to release the hormone
insulin, insulin is important because it acts like a key master, it tells the cells listen, open up,
let the glucose in. When this happens blood sugar levels are gonna decrease, and this process happens
many times throughout the day, after we eat. Normal fasting blood sugar level, that's no food for eight
hours, is gonna be between 70 and 99 milligrams per deciliter, and a normal level two hours after
eating, it's gonna be less than 140 milligrams per deciliter. So, why is this important? Well there are
three main reasons we need to be aware of our blood sugar level. The first reason is that high
blood sugar levels can lead to type 2 diabetes, and 95% of all diabetes cases in the U.S. are
type 2. Type 2 diabetes is when the body doesn't use insulin properly, which is insulin resistance,
or when the pancreas stops producing enough insulin, as you can see by this animation here,
the bloodstream is just jammed with glucose. Now, over time, high blood sugar levels can put a lot
of stress on the pancreas possibly causing it to become permanently damaged. Researchers don't fully
understand why some people develop type 2 diabetes and others don't, however, there are some factors
that do increase your risk. Being overweight, the more fatty tissue you have, the more resistant
your cells become to insulin, fat distribution, the more fat storage in the abdomen area has shown
to increase risk, and then inactivity, physical activity helps you control your weight, it also
helps you use up glucose as energy, and makes your cells more sensitive to insulin. The second reason
we need to monitor our blood sugar levels is that high levels can also lead to atherosclerosis, which
is hardening and narrowing of the arteries, this can block the arteries, which puts blood
flow at risk, which can lead to other problems. The third reason is low blood sugar levels. Now, this
is rare in non diabetics and it can be caused by certain medications, excessive alcohol consumption,
excessive exercise, eating disorders, and from meals high in refined carbohydrates. Recommendations, so,
first and foremost, you're gonna want to have your blood sugar level tested from time to time, you can
discuss that with your doctor, you're gonna want to keep yourself at a healthy body weight, you're also
going to want to make sure that you're keeping active, hopefully on a daily basis, and try to limit
the amount of refined or processed foods you're consuming, try and incorporate as many Whole Foods
in your diet as you can. Alright folks, if you have any comments or questions you can leave them below, if
you liked or disliked the video hit the thumbs up or the thumbs down. Till next time, I'm out, see ya.