Research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology estimates that 63% of Americans have less-than-optimal blood sugar health—up from about 40% of Americans in 2010. This rapidly worsening trend spells bad news for our general metabolic health, a measure of a person’s risk factor for chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
“Our cells depend on this sugar source as their main energy source for bodily processes,” explains Laura Purdy, MD, MBA, a family medicine physician licensed in all 50 states. But it’s a delicate balance. Too much sugar can overwork your body’s systems, resulting in cell, nerve, and organ damage. Too little sugar, and your body can’t power its normal functions. In both cases, unmanaged blood sugar puts your physiology under serious stress—and if that stress sustains, it can contribute to the development of chronic disease over time.
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