Unfortunately, that is not as healthy as you had thought...

During the past year, with the shutdown and people looking for personal ways to better understand their health, I pivoted (love that this is the word-du jour) and embraced all my education on holistic health counseling.

What does that mean...?

Primarily, it means a client comes to me searching for solutions for health outside of a doctors office and a pharmaceutical. This does not mean I am a replacement for either, it simply (or not too simply in many cases) says that where daily health, and chronic disease is concerned, someone to advise on food, supplements, lifestyle, and movement/fitness can be the difference between lots of medical intervention and none at all.

In the past year I have worked with clients struggling with the kinds of concerns that are the most frustrating and isolating in some cases: severe GERD, anxiety, Crones and Colitis, psoriasis, infertility, weak pelvic floor and urine/fecal incontinence, BPH, pre-diabetes BS... and more.

These are the conditions that many people go from MD to MD searching for the right practitioner to help them. In the case of each of the clients who had the conditions listed above, we worked as a team, together, routinely (see a trend here?) to suss out triggers, history, and a plan to bring it under control.

The concept of a holistic health Counselor is that you are NOT alone on your journey and you have a plan that is timely and able to be adjusted as needed as you begin to see changes. This is way different than the medical model that can put so much distance between appointments and can leave patients confused because doctors contradict each other all the time.

I see clients weekly at first , schedules permitting, then we stretch out visits when the time feels right to go every other week and so on. I am always available by email and even text message. Counselor = Ally

Below is an excerpt from an article I have sent out to clients regarding food and blood sugar (BS - not bullsh**). Keeping your blood sugar in a healthy zone is more important than you may realize and many foods you may be assuming are safe, really are not. No judgement, just education...

Reach out to me if you think you would like to gain better understanding of your health.

As always, I am here for you.

Yours in Health,

M

10 of the worst foods for blood sugar—according to CGM data

These foods produced some of the worst blood sugar responses among Levels members. Here's how you can make them healthier.

- written by the team at LEVELS

"[The Levels] app pulls in data from a continuous glucose monitor to measure blood sugar, then analyzes several aspects of the glucose response (rise from baseline, height of the peak, recovery time back to baseline) along with the activity around that meal that may impact glucose (say, a post-meal walk). Together, that yields the Zone Score, a simple 1-10 rating for that meal, 10 being the best.

In aggregate, those thousands of logs tell a story about some of the worst foods for our metabolic health; foods that frequently caused a significant glucose response had the lowest overall Zone Scores.

Some foods on the list, such as donuts, will likely not surprise anyone. But you may not expect to see something like sushi—fish, after all, is a protein, unlikely to spike blood sugar. However, the white rice under the fish is a processed starch that can cause a glucose rise in many people. Another surprise? Grapes made the list. Whole fruit is better than processed food (or juice) for sure, but some fruits contain more sugar than others.

This list has some caveats. First, people rarely log foods alone, and meal order and composition affect the glucose response. So a dinner log might consist of chicken, broccoli, and bread. The first two are unlikely to spike one’s glucose, but the bread almost certainly will. If you eat the protein first, it can blunt the bread’s impact. Had a glass of wine? That can further confound the results.

So we focused on entries where the listed food was the only thing in the log. That’s why it’s heavy on foods often eaten alone, like pizza or dessert, or just categories, such as Thai.

Second, this is by no means a definitive list of foods that can cause a blood sugar rise or negatively impact your metabolic health. That would include just about anything with added sugar, high-carb foods like bread, and most processed foods.

Five Surprising Foods That Spiked Blood Sugar—and How to Make Them Healthier

1. Grapes

Why it Likely Scored Low: Many fruits are high in sugar and will produce blood sugar spikes (although whole fruit is always better than juice). Grapes have 15g–20g of sugar per cup, and though they have a low glycemic index, many people find they raise glucose levels sharply.

How to Make it Healthier: Eat fewer grapes, pair them with fat or protein, or swap them for berries like strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries, which have around half the sugar.

2. Oatmeal

Why It Likely Scored Low: Often considered a go-to healthy breakfast, oatmeal surprises many Levels members as a glucose spiker. Heavily processed “instant” or rolled varieties break down more quickly, leading to a sharp blood sugar rise, and flavored varieties often contain added sweeteners.

How to Make it Healthier: Swap your morning bowl for a healthy smoothie topped with hearty toppings like hemp seeds, almond butter, chopped nuts, and chia. If you just can’t give up oatmeal, aim for steel-cut oats or groats, and pair with healthy fat and protein like walnuts, almond butter, and chia. We also love swapping oatmeal for grain-free granolas or a warm chia pudding.

3. Sushi

Why It Likely Scored Low: Sticky white rice is refined and high in starch. Soy sauce also frequently contains sugar.

How to Make it Healthier: Order sashimi with no rice, and don’t drown it in soy sauce. Or, try cauliflower rice sushi, which is starting to appear at restaurants and is easy to make.

4. Acai Bowl

Why It Likely Scored Low: Acai berries are low in sugar (just 2g or 3g per 100g) and loaded with antioxidants, but they have a slight bitter taste, so commercial bowls tend to mix in sweeter fruits like bananas or mangos, sweeteners like honey, or sweetened nut milks, shooting the sugar through the roof. Blended bowls are even worse, reducing some of the fiber

that can slow glucose absorption.

How to Make it Healthier: Mix your own at home, or go off-menu when you order. Reduce the sweeteners, add low-sugar fruits like berries, lemon juice or coconut, and mix in unsweetened milk. Even better, add veggies like spinach, and healthy fats like chia or flaxseeds.

5. Pho and Ramen

Why It Likely Scored Low: Though these are two distinct foods, the spike is most likely from the same culprit: noodles. (Note that we also see food logs

for broad cuisines like Thai and Chinese food, but there too the glucose offender is a particular ingredient such as white rice or a sweet sauce. There are many, many healthy Thai and Chinese menu options.) Noodles (even rice noodles) are a processed food made with refined grains that tends to spike many people.

How to Make it Healthier: Look for dishes without noodles, or if you’re cooking at home, swap in alternative pastas made with konjac root or vegetables. Many pho and ramen restaurants now offer vegan options with spinach noodles, zucchini noodles, or tofu noodles. Also, avoid any sugary sauces or glazes.

For the next 5 foods and more info: https://www.levelshealth.com/blog/10-of-the-worst-foods-for-blood-sugar-according-to-cgm-data