🩸 Is high blood sugar something to worry about?

Everyone is obsessed with blood sugar levels nowadays.

Although a spike in blood sugar levels is normal and the body is well equipped to deal with it, sustained high blood sugar levels (hyperglycaemia) is different because it can disrupt several physiological systems.

Example of complex health issues from sustained hyperglycaemia are:

• Insulin resistance - Prolonged hyperglycemia can contribute to damage to the cells in the pancreas that secrete insulin, increases the risk of nsulin resistance.

• Liver and kidney health - The liver increases glucose production, while the kidneys reabsorb more glucose, compounding the issue.

• Neurotransmitter dysfunction - Hyperglycemia can also affect neurotransmitters, contributing to central appetite dysregulation and increased food intake.

• Fat mass dysfunction - Deranged fat cell metabolism can further promote insulin resistance and obesity.

• Hormonal dysregulation - Testosterone and vitamin D deficiencies are common in patients with chronic hyperglycemia, influencing overall metabolic health.

• Dopamine metabolism - Dopamine levels can decrease, affecting motivation and mental well-being.

• Gut health & dysbiosis - The gut microbiota and intestinal barrier are disrupted, leading to gut dysbiosis and digestion issues (e.g. nutrient absorption problems)

So what can be done? One of the best ways to manage and reduce hyperglycaemia is:

• Exercise - this helps muscle uptake sugars from the blood and use them for exercise.

• Diet - with focus on strategies to better control blood sugar levels

🥊 Punchline

Short spikes in blood sugar levels are perfectly normal for healthy people, but sustained high blood sugar levels can cause complex health issues and so need management through lifestyle changes.

🧘🏼 How pomegranate can help athletic performance

Pomegranate is natural source of polyphenols and could therefore offer numerous health & performance benefits.

A recent review of 23 studies (507 participants) showed that pomegranate consumption (usually as juice) can:

• Improve cardiovascular health

• Enhance antioxidant status

• Improve blood pressure

• Accelerate muscle recovery

• Reduce muscle soreness

• Increase endurance capacity

The most common dose recommended to get these benefits is 250ml per day for at least 7-days.

It is hypothesised that the anti-inflammatory, greater blood delivery to muscles and lower blood pressure properties of pomegranate are behind these effects. But the full mechanism is not known yet.

Longer term and sport-specific dose standardisation studies are needed.

🥊 Punchline

Supplementation with pomegranate during intense training periods could be a valuable strategy to improve overall performance during extended exercise sessions by enhancing cardiovascular health and muscle healing.

💡 How probiotics can boost brain health in children

We all know the importance of probiotics and their potential beneficial effects on gut health.

A new animal-based study revealed how maternal intake of many different species of probiotics during pregnancy has long-lasting effects on offspring neurodevelopment and behaviour.

Prenatal multispecies probiotics supplementation can help shape offspring’s emotional development, has long-lasting effects on offspring gut health into adulthood, and modulate genes critical for gut and blood–brain barrier function.

The upregulated genes were anti-inflammatory genes and the oxytocin (aka “the love hormone”) pathway.

Interestingly, males are more sensitive to prenatal probiotic supplementation than females.

These results underscore the importance of prenatal nutrition for long term children health

And how multispecies probiotic supplementation during pregnancy could help promote long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, such as healthy neurodevelopment and behaviour.

🥊 Punchline

A new study highlights that prenatal multispecies probiotics supplementation has the potential to enhance offspring's neurodevelopment, emotional health, and gut health, with long-lasting effects into adulthood, particularly benefiting males.