Jeremiah Farias (00:00.238)
Those with diabetes can find themselves developing or already having high blood pressure. The reason for that is the factors that contribute to one contribute to the other. Some of these factors are related to spikes in blood sugar, insufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals, something called low -grade metabolic acidosis, and a variety of other environmental factors. Today, we’ll dive a bit deeper into these factors, but most importantly, we’ll discuss the diet and lifestyle changes that we can begin making to improve and reverse hypertension and diabetes.

Hi, my name is Jeremiah Farias. I’m a functional registered dietitian and I help adults suffering from blood sugar dysregulation issues, conditions like diabetes and pre -diabetes, using a bio -energetics approach to optimize cellular energy production. I dive into the science and mechanisms involved in optimizing health and blood sugar metabolism while also providing you with practical takeaways. I hope you enjoy today’s content. Approximately 73 .6 % of individuals with diabetes who are 18 years or older also have hypertension or high blood pressure. Why is there such a high percentage in overlap?

There are several factors that we’ll discuss today. First, we have insulin resistance and poorly controlled blood glucose. Specifically, spikes in blood sugar are going to cause something called endothelial dysfunction and lead to vascular stiffness. Essentially, when you impair the arteries ability to dilate, you’re going to increase blood pressure and you’re going to increase risk of cardiovascular disease. Second, those with diabetes waste an important mineral, magnesium. The wasting of magnesium in the urine worsens diabetes as magnesium is required.

for energy production. Unfortunately, the wasting of magnesium not only worsens diabetes, but it also leads to the wasting of another important mineral known as potassium. Potassium is crucial for blood sugar regulation, but it also plays a role in counteracting the increasing blood pressure effects that sodium can cause. So the diabetic insulin -resistant state leads to the wasting of important nutrients that are required for optimal blood sugar control and blood pressure regulation. Third, the nutrient potassium is not only directly responsible for supporting blood sugar control and blood pressure,

but it’s also impacting something called acid -base balance. Potassium does this. We’re supporting the generation of bicarbonate. Bicarbonate helps to counterbalance the net endogenous acid production that occurs when processing sulfur -containing amino acids from protein. This is a concept that I mentioned in previous videos known as the potential renal acid load or Prowl for short. What happens is when someone is consuming too much protein and phosphorus relative to potassium, calcium, and magnesium over a long period of time and for many a lifetime, this is creating the state.

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of low -grade metabolic acidosis. This is an issue because even a very mild degree of metabolic acidosis is going to decrease insulin sensitivity and impair glucose metabolism. Additionally, lower bicarbonate levels and a higher anion gap, which indicates acidosis, is independently associated with insulin resistance. When looking at blood pressure, other epidemiological studies find that those with the highest anion gap had higher systolic blood pressure compared to those with the lowest anion gap.

Alternatively, serum bicarbonate is inversely related to blood pressure. We see those with the highest bicarbonate levels have a lower systolic blood pressures compared to those with the lowest bicarbonate levels. So we see this low grade metabolic acidosis in both diabetes and hypertension or hypopressure. Lastly, unfortunately, those who suffer from diabetes may not make diet and lifestyle changes that can start improving or reversing their diabetes, but instead they continue.

the habits that led to diabetes in the first place. This means eating a poor quality diet, rich in processed foods, polyunsaturated fats, and devoid of micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, while also experiencing mental, emotional stress, physiological stress from not sufficiently nourishing one’s body, poor sleep, and even a lack of movement or activity. Old diabetes and hypertension have less to do with one’s genetics and more to do with one’s environment. This is good news because there’s a lot that we can do.

optimize and change our environment. As you can see, there are many common factors involved in the development of both diabetes and hypertension. In a moment, we will discuss how to start addressing these issues and support our blood sugar metabolism and blood pressure. Many think of only limiting their sodium intake when it comes to improving their blood pressure. But before this video, were you aware of the other factors that can contribute to not only blood pressure issues, but also diabetes? If so, let me know in the comments. If you’re looking for practical information that you can begin implementing today,

to improve your blood sugar metabolism and hypertension. You’ll wanna get my free guides. They include five steps to improving your blood sugar metabolism and my macronutrient guide. The macronutrient guide will review sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fats that I argue one should be prioritizing in their diet. You can get both of those at the link in the description below. Let’s dive in and discuss how to start reversing these issues. We will review how to avoid blood sugar spikes, how to get enough potassium to support blood sugar and blood pressure,

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but also acid -based balance, the importance of managing stress, both psychological and physiological, how to prioritize and optimize sleep, and lastly, how activity and movement support diabetes and blood pressure. There are three things that we can do to reduce the likelihood of experiencing a spike in blood sugar. The first is eating balanced meals versus eating carbohydrates by themselves.

A balanced meal is gonna contain a high quality protein source, a whole food carbohydrate source, a fat source, and potentially a non -starchy vegetable. And then for snacks, you’d want to pair carbohydrates either with protein or carbohydrates with a source of fat. The second thing that you can try is called macronutrient sequencing. If you have a meal that consists of a beef hamburger patty, some green beans, and some roasted potatoes, you’re gonna wanna have the green beans first. Then you’ll finish the burger second, and then you’re gonna save the roasted potatoes.

for last. Last, you can walk after a meal. This can be anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, but the studies where individuals walk 30 minutes after a meal show the most significant reduction in after meal glucose levels. So it overall is going to reduce how high glucose levels peak. Now, before we discuss how to get enough potassium, let’s review what is enough potassium. The previous adequate intake or AI for potassium was 4 ,700 milligrams.

However, newer adequate intake for AIs are 2300 mg for females and 3400 mg per day for males. But instead of seeing the newer AI for potassium as the ideal amount, we should see them as the bare minimum. I believe aiming for at least 4700 mg of potassium is going to be best for our overall health. This is through its impact on blood pressure, blood sugar metabolism, and reducing the potential renal acid load, which is going to help one avoid that low -grade metabolic.

To get optimal amounts of potassium, you want to consume plenty of the following foods. Sweet potatoes, yams, regular potatoes, butternut squash, salmon, beans, coconut water, oranges, and even milk and Greek yogurt. I have one disclaimer when it comes to potassium. If you’re someone with chronic kidney disease,

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you may actually want to avoid or limit your potassium intake. It’s first best to check with your primary care physician or namely your nephrologist before making any changes to your potassium intake. I also don’t recommend potassium supplements because of the potential risks that they pose for those with diabetes, insulin resistance, and kidney disease as those conditions can impair one’s ability to excrete excess potassium. Next, managing stress is important for both diabetes and high blood pressure or hypertension.

The primary stress form on cortisol is actually going to impair glucose oxidation within the cell. It also is going to impair the mitochondria’s ability to produce energy that ATP. High cortisol levels will increase blood pressure, but it will also deplete the body or waste potassium and magnesium. Now one of the ways that we can start lowering cortisol is to have stress management practices. And these stress management practices can vary, but one of the best places to start is slowing down and having check -ins with yourself.

on a regular basis throughout the day. This can mean doing activities that you enjoy, going for a walk, having a meal without any distractions of technology or social media, doing some prayer, meditation, deep breathing, even spending time at the beginning of your day, shortly after you wake up, just getting some early sunlight exposure. It can be easy to go through your day in a low grade stress state and not even be aware. It’s only when we start to slow down that we can actually notice the difference. The more that you take the time to slow down,

decompress and practice self -care, the easier it’ll be to identify when your body goes into that low -grade stress state. In addition to psychological stress, we also want to address physiological stress. Physiological stress can be any time one is severely restricting calories, carbohydrates, and or fats. If we are doing intermittent fasting, extended fasting, you are going to see…

increases in baseline cortisol levels which can worsen blood sugar and blood pressure. Next, let’s talk about sleep. Just one night of insufficient sleep can impair insulin sensitivity from anywhere from 16 to 25 percent. And consecutive nights of insufficient sleep is going to impair glucose tolerance. Unfortunately, poorly managed psychological and physiological stress is also going to impair sleep. It does this through increasing the amount of wakings one can experience. The more frequent wakings throughout the night is going to impair overall sleep.

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quality, this impaired sleep quality, acts as an additional stressor. It sort of becomes a vicious cycle. So how do we optimize sleep? First, we want to ensure we’re getting enough calories, namely carbohydrates, along with other macronutrients. The energy demands of the brain are nearly as high during asleep as they are when we’re awake. Second, we want to have a consistent bedtime and wake time. This is going to optimize one circadian rhythm or that internal clock. Third, we want to have a bedtime routine that limits blue light exposure. You can limit blue light exposure through wearing blue light blocking glasses,

dimming the lights, using bulbs that do not emit any blue light and are instead red. And if you’re using electronics in the evening, you can use filters that filter out or remove the blue light. Four is getting enough sunlight exposure, especially early sunlight exposure. Five is getting enough activity in the day. Six is limiting caffeine consumption in the afternoon, especially for those who are uniquely sensitive to caffeine. Seven is avoiding alcohol close to bed.

There appears to be an optimal amount of timing with alcohol to not negatively impair sleep. Lastly is trying to keep your sleep environment as dark as possible and relatively cool. Last, let’s jump into exercise. Exercise and movement in general are well known to be beneficial for our overall health, but they are uniquely beneficial for blood pressure and glucose regulation. This is because a sedentary lifestyle does not provide adequate stimulus for our body. Insufficient movement is going to result in a lack of muscle mass,

being able to build and maintain muscle mass, poor cellular energy production, and increase one’s risk of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even Alzheimer’s. Movement includes low impact movements like biking, walking, hiking, and swimming, but it also includes more intense activity like resistance training. Thankfully, all forms of exercise are going to improve glucose utilization in the cell, increase glucose disposal, which is a clearing of glucose that’s in the bloodstream and enter into muscles, and it’s gonna lower blood pressure.

One of the most important things is finding activities that you enjoy because you’re going to be able to do them on a consistent basis. And if you can do activities outside, there’s the additional benefit of being outdoors for the nature component and the sunlight component. As you can see, there are many things that we can slowly incorporate into our diet and lifestyle that are going to help us in reversing diabetes and hypertension. If you’re still trying to figure out where to start, this is where I can help. I work with people one -on -one and the best place to explore working with me is scheduling a free 30 minute discovery call.

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where I can discuss and share how I can help you get to your absolute best health. The link for that will be in the description below. I previously mentioned in this video we want to avoid experiencing spice and blood sugar. If you’re interested in learning why and how to avoid spice and blood sugar, you’ll want to check out my video which I’ll link to so you can watch next. If you enjoyed today’s video, please be sure to hit that like button, subscribe, and turn on notifications so you don’t miss any future videos. Take care and I’ll see you next week.