When this sugar gets stuck to the blood protein, it doesn’t come off; it’s stuck there permanently until that blood cell dies. So, when you eat more sugar, you get more sugar stuck to this protein until this protein can’t work anymore. The name for this is that the protein is glycated. The main takeaway is that when you eat sugar, you destroy the ability for the blood cell to carry nutrition to the body and oxygen. This glycated protein molecule now plugs up your circulation, leading to a lack of blood flow and pooling in the lower parts of your body, causing swelling.
The Role of Sodium and Potassium
This also destroys the inside of your arteries and creates a leakiness outside the cell. The fluid that was supposed to be inside your vessels can now escape. Another thing that happens when you eat a lot of sugar is that it creates sodium retention. Not to mention, the other mineral called potassium gets locked up in the sugar. Wherever the sodium goes, the water goes. Over time, this will affect the nerves in the bottom of the feet, leading to numbness and tingling, known as peripheral neuropathy.
So yes, when you look at a diabetic, you see a lot of fluid in the ankles, but even people who are not diabetic or pre-diabetic but are heading in that direction also have fluid retention.
Essential Nutrients to Correct Edema
There is a very important vitamin to correct this, but there are two other minerals you need to get from your diet. The obvious one is potassium. The problem with potassium is that it’s not easy to get from the diet because we need so much. An average person needs 4700 milligrams. Think about what that means: if you were to eat one banana, that’s like 300 milligrams. So how many times does 300 go into 4700? You’d have to consume 15.6 bananas every day just to get your potassium, but that’s hard and a lot of sugar.
Instead, you might be better off eating avocados, more salads, and even more fruits like berries. You can get a lot of potassium from these sources. The other mineral, magnesium, is behind something called ATP, which is the energy currency of the body. Yes, you’ll get cramps if you have magnesium problems, but you’ll also have a lack of energy.
Sources of Magnesium
To get magnesium, you probably need to consume more pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, as well as leafy greens. You don’t need 4700 milligrams like potassium; you need about 420 milligrams of magnesium. You can also get both of these from a good electrolyte powder, but make sure the electrolyte powder is high quality and doesn’t have hidden sugars.
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