Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

It’s 3pm and you still have a report to write before you can leave the office. You head to the coffee machine for a caffeine fix to help you focus.

This is your brain on low blood sugar.

And it’s dialing 911 for caffeine, or sugar, or both.

Where it all starts

Afternoon slumps don’t have to be a way of life. Keeping your blood sugar under control can eliminate those mid-day concentration crashes and lets you have a natural energy supply all day long.

And two nutrients play an important role in managing your glucose metabolism. Not only that, they can turn you into a fat- and carb-burning machine, helping you to burn off what you eat, instead of storing it on your belly, hips and thighs.

The nutrients I’m talking about are biotin and chromium. And they’re vital for controlling your blood sugar.

It’s important to look at glucose control from the cellular level because that’s where it all starts. Making sure you have the basic building blocks in place gives you a solid foundation for all that has to happen to keep your energy level on an even keel.

Biotin – working from the inside

This vitamin, part of the B complex family, makes your body better at using glucose. It triggers an enzyme that detects the amount of sugar in the blood, telling that enzyme to send out the alert.1 Biotin is like a first responder, setting the whole glucose metabolism in motion.

It can also tell when the liver has been notified to turn its energy stores into glucose. When blood sugar is falling or getting too low, the pancreas releases the hormone glucagon. Glucagon causes the liver to make glucose and boost blood sugar levels back to normal. Research has shown that as little as 3mg of biotin gives the enzymes a nudge to get busy.

An added bonus of biotin is that it is known for strengthening hair and nails. So it not only works to make you feel more energetic, it gives you thicker hair and stronger nails. That way you can look as good as you feel when your blood sugar is steady as a rock.

Biotin is commonly added to beauty products and cosmetics because it’s a powerhouse that works from the inside out.

Chromium – knocking on the door

Chromium is a mineral that enhances the action of insulin. Insulin, of course, is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Let’s back up a moment for a brief look at how it works.

After you eat and your body starts absorbing sugar into the blood, insulin is released into the blood stream from the pancreas. It travels through the body, binding itself to cells, particularly fat and muscle cells, causing them to take sugar from the blood and use it for energy.

Basically, what insulin does is attach to the cell and “knock on the door.” When the cell responds, it opens up and lets the sugar in. This fuels your metabolism and keeps your energy levels even.

Problems arise when the cell is slow to respond. That might happen if you’re sick or under a lot of stress or if you consume too many carbohydrates. The pancreas then has to send more insulin to the cell, effectively creating a louder knock. This means the cell is becoming resistant to the insulin signal.

No more “fixes” in your future

You can avoid this blood sugar disaster by preventing the cycle of highs and lows from even getting started. Obviously the first step is to avoid high-glycemic carbohydrates that send your blood sugar on a roller-coaster ride, soaring and crashing.

When it comes to supplements, biotin and chromium are a good place to start. Biotin targets glucose directly, while chromium helps insulin bind to the cell so it can knock on the door. Together they pack a powerful punch.

Biotin and chromium are a first line of defense in keeping your blood sugar levels steady. Equally as important, they regulate metabolism of both fat and carbs in your diet, making sure you use up blood glucose as cellular fuel instead of storing it as fat.

Having complete control of your blood sugar means you won’t need the mid-afternoon caffeine or sugar fix. Understanding how your body manages glucose levels – and putting it to work for you – will keep your metabolism in high gear all day.

Steady, even blood sugar means you don’t have to worry about what you eat or don’t eat. When your blood sugar is being regulated like it was meant to be, you don’t get those sugar highs followed by an energy crash. You won’t fight food cravings and your brain power won’t fade in and out like a distant radio station.

No more drowsy afternoons. No more urgent cravings. No more mood swings and feeling out of balance. Just a constant flow of energy all day long.