Elevated Blood Glucose and Growth

As I listened to a previous pod cast of Dr. Bernstein, I caught a very interesting comment he made. I listened carefully (while my kids were trying to tell me how starving they were, it was almost dinner time you know).

He talked about how he was a small man because he missed growth spurts due to elevated blood sugars throughout his youth. He was dx at 12 and it was not until he was about 39 that he started on what he now calls a more paleo-type-low carb-diet (what in his book he calls low carb.) If you read his book you will indeed find his carbs too low for many, but his prescription is meant to be tweaked if needed to fit a persons needs if need be. Nothing is one size fits all and needs to be uniquely adjusted to you. 

When he began the low carb journey, he monitored of the effects of a low carb diet and its effects on b/g levels. He noticed that he was able to keep his b/g levels in better control. He still has to take insulin and the high carb diet for decades exhausted his pancreas.

Here is an excerpt from his book (Diabetes Solution pages 387-388)

It has long known that elevated  blood sugars adversely affect growth in children and teenagers.  As blood sugar approach normal, children with delayed growth rapidly return to their prediabetic growth curves. I, unfortunately, missed the opportunity because I was thirty nine years old when I finally figured out how to normals my blood sugars. I did have, however, the joy of watching my nondiabetic son and some of my diabetic patients become giants in comparison to me.

Most dramatic and commonplace is the feeling of satisfaction and control that nearly  everyone experiences when they produce normal or nearly normal blood sugar profiles. This is especially true for the individuals who had already been taking insulin, but appears also to those who do not take insulin.

I find this information fantastic. The fact that our children can catch up on growth spurts if missed due to high b/g levels is a blessing. Growth spurts that we may have never known about. Just another plus for eating well and keeping b/g levels in control.